2026 WNBA awards: Complete list of winners for Defensive Player of the Year, more

Awards season has arrived in the WNBA. Ironically, the first two awards announced — Olivia Miles, Rookie of the Year and Cheryl Reeve, Coach of the Year — were won by members of the Minnesota Lynx who were eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Liberty, becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed in the first round in WNBA history. 

Since then, Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard (Most Improved Player), Atlanta Dream Angel Reese (Defensive Player of the Year) and Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün (Sixth Player of the Year) have joined the honorees. As has A’ja Wilson, who won her fifth MVP award and became the first player to win that award in three consecutive seasons. Reeve also added another Executive of the Year award to her trophy case this week.

All major individual awards have now been announced, but still to come are the All-WNBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams, as well as the Sportsmanship award. 

2026 WNBA awards ballot: Revealing picks for All-WNBA, All-Defensive, Most Improved and more

Jack Maloney

Rookie of the Year: Olivia Miles, Lynx

Miles, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, was named the unanimous Rookie of the Year as expected. She is the sixth player to win that honor unanimously, joining Aliyah Boston, A’ja Wilson, Elena Delle Donne, Tina Charles and Candace Parker. 

Miles, who averaged 19.8 points and six assists per game, led all rookies in scoring and assists, and finished eighth and seventh in the league, respectively, in those categories. She also broke Caitlin Clark’s rookie points record (790) and led the Lynx to a 33-11 record and the No. 1 seed. 

Was Olivia Miles a better rookie than Caitlin Clark? Comparing the WNBA’s two best rookie guard seasons ever

Jack Maloney

Most Improved Player: Jessica Shepard, Wings

Shepard joined the Wings in free agency on a two-year, $2 million deal that she immediately justified. As a full-time starter for the first time in her career, Shepard averaged 14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, up from eight points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season. She finished second in the league in rebounding and 11th in assists, was one of two players (along with Angel Reese) to average a double-double, led the league with six triple-doubles and recorded just the second 20-20-10 game in WNBA history. 

Shepard beat out Shakira Austin and Carla Leite in a close race. Marina Mabrey, Dominique Malonga and Rae Burrell also received votes. 

Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve, Lynx

The Lynx lost six rotation players from last season’s team that went 34-10, and star forward Napheesa Collier was sidelined until late July after undergoing surgery on both ankles in the offseason, yet the Lynx once again finished with the best record in the league. That was thanks in large part to a tremendous coaching performance from Reeve, who helped turn Miles into one of the league’s best players and got her new-look group to gel — at least until the playoffs. 

Reeve has now won Coach of the Year five times, extending her record and becoming the first coach in major American professional sports to receive the honor five times. 

Reeve beat out Natalie Nakase and Sydney Johnson. 

Defensive Player of the Year: Angel Reese, Dream

Reese’s versatility, rebounding, and impact on one of the league’s best defensive teams were impossible for voters to ignore as she earned DPOY honors for the first time. The Dream finished third in the league in defensive rating (103.5) in large part thanks to Reese. 

Reese was third in steals per game (1.8), seventh in stocks (steals plus blocks) per game (2.5), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (7.3) and first in defensive win shares (3.4). The Dream’s defense was also 13 points per 100 possessions worse with Reese off the floor, and opponents’ true shooting percentage was 6.4% worse with Reese on the floor. 

Sixth Player of the Year: Janelle Salaün, Golden State Valkyries

As expected, Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün was named Sixth Player of the Year. She is first player in WNBA history to win the honor unanimously. The Frenchwoman led all bench scorers with 12.7 points per game, and shot 39.2% from 3-point range to help the Valkyries win a franchise record 32 games and earn the No. 2 seed. Thanks in part to the extended 44-game regular season, Salaün set WNBA single-season records for points (509), 3s (93) and double-digit scoring games (27) by a reserve. 

MVP: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

A’ja Wilson has done it again. After yet another historic season, the Las Vegas Aces star was named the 2026 WNBA MVP, becoming the first five-time MVP in league history and the first player to win the award in three consecutive seasons. Wilson took 65 of the 74 first-place votes, finishing ahead of Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles and Indiana Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark. Miles received six first-place votes while Mitchell and Clark garnered two and one, respectively. 

This season, Wilson averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks on 52.7/40.4/86.4 shooting splits. Only a dozen made free throws prevented her from joining the vaunted 50/40/90 club; her 62.5% true shooting was 6.4% above the league average. Her 26.2 points per game were the second-highest single-season scoring average ever — behind only her own 26.9 points in 2024 — and gave her a third consecutive scoring title. 

Executive of the Year: Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota Lynx

The Lynx lost six rotation players from last season’s team, which went 34-10 and earned the No. 1 seed, and played the first two-plus months without star forward Napheesa Collier. And yet, they went 33-11 to earn the No. 1 seed again. Reeve, who won her fifth Coach of the Year honor, was also named Executive of the Year for the third time in her career, matching Atlanta Dream general manager Dan Padover for the most such honors. Fittingly, she narrowly edged out Padover for the honor. Reeve drafted unanimous Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles with the No. 2 pick and signed veteran forwards Natasha Howard and Nia Coffey. 

Reeve is the first person to win Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year in the same season twice. She also did so in 2024. 

Executive of the Year is awarded by the league’s executives. One executive from each team selected three executives in order of preference and could not vote for themselves. The executive who appeared on the most ballots won the award.

All-WNBA Teams

All-Defensive Teams

All-Rookie Team

Sportsmanship award