Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Explained

The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court—ethical behavior, fair play and integrity." This is the same criterion used by the analogous NBA Sportsmanship Award, given by the NBA since its 1995–96 season.

Every year, each of the WNBA teams nominates one of its players to compete for this award. From these nominees, a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters vote for first and second place winners of this award. First place selections receive two votes, while second place selections receive one. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.

Since the 2000 WNBA season, the award is named for the late Kim Perrot, who helped guide the Houston Comets to their first two WNBA championships before she died in August, 1999, after suffering from cancer for seven months.

Nneka Ogwumike, Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings have won the award the most times, with 3 selections.

Winners

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
SeasonPlayerPositionNationalityTeam
1997Zheng HaixiaCenterLos Angeles Sparks
1998Suzie McConnell SerioGuardCleveland Rockers
1999Dawn StaleyGuardCharlotte Sting
2000Suzie McConnell Serio (2)GuardCleveland Rockers (2)
2001Sue WicksForwardNew York Liberty
2002Jennifer GillomForward / CenterPhoenix Mercury
2003GuardSacramento Monarchs
2004Teresa EdwardsGuardMinnesota Lynx
2005Taj McWilliams-FranklinForward / CenterConnecticut Sun
2006Dawn Staley (2)GuardHouston Comets
2007Tully BevilaquaGuardIndiana Fever
2008Vickie JohnsonGuard / ForwardSan Antonio Silver Stars
2009Kara LawsonGuardSacramento Monarchs (2)
2010Tamika CatchingsForward[1] Indiana Fever (2)
2011Sue BirdGuardSeattle Storm
Ruth RileyCenterSan Antonio Silver Stars (2)
2012Kara Lawson (2)GuardConnecticut Sun (2)
2013Swin CashForwardChicago Sky
Tamika Catchings (2)ForwardIndiana Fever (3)
2014Becky HammonGuardSan Antonio Stars (3)
2015DeLisha Milton-JonesForwardAtlanta Dream
2016Tamika Catchings (3)ForwardIndiana Fever (4)
2017Sue Bird (2)GuardSeattle Storm (2)
2018Sue Bird (3)GuardSeattle Storm (3)
2019Nneka OgwumikeForward[2] Los Angeles Sparks (2)
2020Nneka Ogwumike (2)Forward[3] Los Angeles Sparks (3)
2021Nneka Ogwumike (3)Forward[4] Los Angeles Sparks (4)
2022Sylvia FowlesCenter[5] Minnesota Lynx (2)
2023Elizabeth WilliamsCenter[6] Chicago Sky (2)
Notes

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fever's Tamika Catchings Wins 2016 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. en-US. 2016-10-01.
  2. Los Angeles’ Nneka Ogwumike Wins 2019 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. September 15, 2019. September 15, 2019. NBA Media Ventures.
  3. Web site: Los Angeles’ Nneka Ogwumike Wins 2020 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. September 29, 2020.
  4. Web site: Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike 2021 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. wnba.com. WNBA. October 3, 2021. October 4, 2021.
  5. Web site: Minnesota Lynx’ Sylvia Fowles Wins 2022 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. wnba.com. WNBA. August 19, 2022. August 19, 2022.
  6. Elizabeth Williams Receives 2023 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award . WNBA . October 24, 2023 . October 24, 2023.