| Women's National Basketball Association awards and honors |
|---|
| Championship |
| Individual awards |
| Honors |
The Women's National Basketball Association Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season.
During the first four years of the league, the Houston Comets' Cynthia Cooper won the award four consecutive times. The Los Angeles Sparks' Lisa Leslie won back-to-back in the subsequent two seasons. No other players have won the award in consecutive seasons, but Diana Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles, and Breanna Stewart have won the award twice. While some teams have won multiple championship since the dynasty years of the Comets and the Sparks, the match-up usually resulted in different MVPs. For example, in the Detroit Shock's three wins over six years, three different players won the award. As of 2021, there have been two non-American Finals MVPs – Lauren Jackson of Australia (2010) and Emma Meesseman of Belgium (2019).
| Denotes player who is still active in the WNBA | |
| Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has won |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
| Player | Team(s) | No. | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets | 4 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 |
| Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks | 2 | 2001, 2002 |
| Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | 2009, 2014 | |
| Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | 2015, 2017 | |
| Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | 2018, 2020 |
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is the premier women's professional basketball league. It is composed of 12 teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.
The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sparks have the distinction of not being affiliated with an NBA counterpart, even though the market is shared with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Lindsay Marie Whalen is a former professional basketball player and coach. She most recently served as the head coach at Minnesota.
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Alana Monique Beard is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, she was drafted second overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2004 WNBA draft. She signed on with the Los Angeles Sparks as a free agent in 2012. Beard was the 2017 and 2018 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. However, she was injured next season, only contributing a few points for the Sparks. Beard announced her retirement from the WNBA on January 23, 2020.
Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and served as the head basketball coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Weatherspoon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2016, Weatherspoon was chosen to the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.
Candace Nicole Parker nicknamed "Ace", is an American former professional basketball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Since 2016, Verizon is the official sponsor.
Cynthia Lynne Cooper-Dyke is an American basketball coach and former player who has won championships in college, in the Olympics, and in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is considered by many as one of the greatest female basketball players ever. In 2011, Cooper-Dyke was voted by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. Upon the league's formation, she played for the Houston Comets from 1997 to 2000, being named the Most Valuable Player of the WNBA Finals in all four seasons, and returned to play again in 2003. Cooper-Dyke still holds the record for most Finals MVPs with four. On April 30, 2019, she was introduced as the head coach for the Texas Southern Lady Tigers basketball team, a position she held in the 2012–13 season. She has also coached at USC, UNC Wilmington, Prairie View A&M, and, professionally, for the Phoenix Mercury. Cooper-Dyke was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Tina Marie Thompson is an American former WNBA professional basketball player and coach. Most recently, she served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018 to 2022. Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Van Winston Chancellor is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached University of Mississippi women's basketball, Louisiana State University women's basketball, and the professional Houston Comets. He was named head coach of the Lady Tigers on April 11, 2007, replacing Pokey Chatman. In 2001, Chancellor was elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was enshrined as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2007. Chancellor currently serves as an analyst for Southland Conference games on ESPN3.
Seimone Delicia Augustus is an American former professional basketball player who is one of the most recognizable faces in the WNBA. After retiring as a player in 2020, she was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for two seasons. She was drafted first overall by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2006 draft; and played for the Lynx for most of her WNBA career except for her final season in 2020 with the Los Angeles Sparks. An eight-time All-Star and the 2011 finals MVP, Augustus led the Lynx to four WNBA championships. She also won three gold medals in the Olympics on the U.S. national team.
Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times. She led the Lynx to win the WNBA Championship in 2015 and 2017, and she was named the MVP of the WNBA Finals both times. In 2020, Fowles overtook Rebekkah Brunson to become the WNBA's career leader in rebounds.
Maya April Moore is an American social justice advocate and former professional basketball player. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, Sports Illustrated called Moore the "greatest winner in the history of women's basketball". Moore was selected for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was the first WNBA season with a franchise in Atlanta as the Dream were announced in late 2007.
Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA draft. Soon after being drafted, Ogwumike signed an endorsement deal with Nike. She is the older sister of Chiney Ogwumike, who most recently played for the Sparks. Ogwumike was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year She was named to The W25 the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.
Amaya Valdemoro Madariaga is a Spanish former basketball player. She won three Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) championship rings with the Houston Comets, one EuroLeague with Dorna Godella, as well as eight Spanish leagues and one Russian Premier League. She was the Russian League Player of the Year in 2006.
Tamecka Michelle Dixon is an American former professional basketball player. She played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2009 for three different teams, was part of WNBA championship teams in 2001 and 2002, was a three-time WNBA All-Star and announced her retirement prior to the 2010 WNBA season.
The USC Trojans women's basketball team, or the Women of Troy, is the collegiate women's basketball team that represents the University of Southern California, in the Big Ten Conference. The team rose to prominence in 1976, at which time scholarships became available to female basketball players. They were the first Division I team to give these scholarships.
A'ja Riyadh Wilson is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson played for the South Carolina Gamecocks in college, and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2017, and won the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award. In 2018, she won a record third straight SEC Player of the Year award, leading South Carolina to a record fourth straight SEC Tournament Championship, becoming the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina women's basketball history, and was a consensus first-team All-American for the third consecutive season. Wilson swept all National Player of the Year awards as the best player in Women's College basketball for 2018. In the 2018 WNBA draft, she was drafted first overall by the Aces.
