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Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart are no-brainer picks for First Team, but things get tricky for All-WNBA Second Team.
There are some no-brainer picks when it comes to the All-WNBA team, an honor bestowed upon the league’s ten best players and voted on by members of the media. A’ja Wilson, who is having the best season of her career, is one. Napheesa Collier is another. Caitlin Clark, the rookie phenom, has put herself into the conversation after an incredible second half to the season. Second Team was a little bit harder to pick — so many great players, so many putting up big numbers — with only five spots.
Here’s who I selected:
All-WNBA First Team
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
The first team was relatively straightforward, and it includes the best player on five of the top six teams in the league (sorry, Seattle Storm).
A’ja Wilson is the MVP frontrunner, and Napheesa Collier is having an MVP-caliber season by any metric. Breanna Stewart has been more than solid and is the best player on the best team in the league, while Alyssa Thomas has anchored the Connecticut Sun and has actually been more efficient this year than last year. Wilson, Collier, Stewart, and Thomas all return to the All-WNBA First Team for the second consecutive year.
Caitlin Clark is a new addition, but her play post-Olympic break makes her difficult to keep off the list. She’s been the Indiana Fever’s most impactful player, and has distributed the ball in a level we’ve never seen before in the WNBA.
All-WNBA Second Team
Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury
Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever
Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle Storm
Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty
Things got tricky when it comes to the All-WNBA Second Team. There are lots of players having great individual seasons, so I took into account team success as well.
Kahleah Copper gets the nod as the league’s third-leading scorer and the Mercury’s most consistent player this season.
Kelsey Mitchell is the league’s 7th leading scorer, and has been the second-leading scorer since the Olympic break. She’s also been the second most impactful player on the Fever, and is averaging 24.8 points on 50.2% shooting since the break.
Nneka Ogwumike has been the Storm’s most reliable player, and as the #5 seed, it’s only fair that Seattle is represented in the All-WNBA Team. Averaging 16.7 points per game, she’s also been very efficient, shooting 50.9% from the field and 39.4% from three.
Including Sabrina Ionescu on the All-WNBA team over Kayla McBride was probably the most difficult decision to make— Ionescu is shooting just 39.8% on the season, and the Liberty have two other players who, in totality, have had better years. Still, her playmaking and defensive improvements warrant her inclusion on All-WNBA.
Jonquel Jones has been critical to the Liberty’s defense, and she’s also been efficient offensively, averaging 14.4 points on 53.8% shooting. Stewart couldn’t do what she does defensively if it weren’t for Jones protecting the rim as she does.
Honorable Mentions
Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx
Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles Sparks
Skylar Diggins-Smith, Seattle Storm
Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces
Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
Brionna Jones, Connecticut Sun
Dearica Hamby has had a great individual season, but not great enough to warrant inclusion on the All-WNBA Team considering her Sparks finished with the league’s worst record.
Skylar Diggins-Smith has the fourth-most assists per game (6.4) and is also a Top 20 scorer, and a case could be made for her being the most impactful Storm player since the Olympics. But, it’s not enough to overcome her slow start to the year and put her on All-WNBA.
Brittney Griner’s efficient 18 points per game could have put her in consideration for All-WNBA, but the Mercury’s slide to the #7 seed doesn’t help her case.
For the Aces, both Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young warrant consideration, but neither have been consistent enough to oust one of the other Second Team All-WNBA players.
The Lynx have been the best team in the league since the break and finish the year at #2 overall, and McBride has been the second-best player on the team. If she hadn’t experienced a statistical drop-off in the second half of the season, she’d be a strong candidate.
If the Sun had a second All-WNBA player, it’d be Brionna Jones, who has been impactful on both ends and has been particularly dominant of late.
Arike Ogunbowale has been the league’s second-leading scorer this season, but the Dallas Wings missed the playoffs and she’s shot just 38.3% from the field. Jewell Loyd has also been too inefficient (averaging 19.7 points on 36% shooting). Chennedy Carter has been very efficient (17.5 points, 48.7% shooting) and would probably warrant consideration on this list if the Sky had a better overall season.
