WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award explained

The Women's National Basketball Association's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season -- 1997, to the top defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.

Tamika Catchings has won the defensive player of the year award more times than any other player with the record of 5.[1]

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
Denotes player whose team won championship that year
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
1997Teresa WeatherspoonGuardNew York Liberty
1998Teresa Weatherspoon (2)GuardNew York Liberty (2)
1999Yolanda GriffithCenterSacramento Monarchs
2000Sheryl SwoopesGuard / ForwardHouston Comets
2001Debbie BlackGuardMiami Sol
2002Sheryl Swoopes (2)Guard / ForwardHouston Comets (2)
2003Sheryl Swoopes (3)Guard / ForwardHouston Comets (3)
2004Lisa LeslieCenterLos Angeles Sparks
2005Tamika CatchingsForwardIndiana Fever
2006Tamika Catchings (2)ForwardIndiana Fever (2)
2007Lauren JacksonForward / CenterSeattle Storm
2008Lisa Leslie (2)Center[2] Los Angeles Sparks (2)
2009Tamika Catchings (3)ForwardIndiana Fever (3)
2010Tamika Catchings (4)ForwardIndiana Fever (4)
2011Sylvia FowlesCenter[3] Chicago Sky
2012Tamika Catchings (5)ForwardIndiana Fever (5)
2013Sylvia Fowles (2)CenterChicago Sky (2)
2014CenterPhoenix Mercury
2015Brittney Griner (2)CenterPhoenix Mercury (2)
2016Sylvia Fowles (3)CenterMinnesota Lynx
2017Guard / Forward[4] Los Angeles Sparks (3)
2018Alana Beard (2)Guard / Forward[5] Los Angeles Sparks (4)
2019Natasha HowardGuard / Forward[6] Seattle Storm (2)
2020Candace ParkerForward / Center[7] Los Angeles Sparks (5)
2021Sylvia Fowles (4)Center[8] Minnesota Lynx (2)
2022A'ja WilsonForward[9] Las Vegas Aces
2023A'ja Wilson (2)Forward[10] Las Vegas Aces (2)
2024Forward[11] Minnesota Lynx (3)

Multi-time winners

AwardsPlayerTeam(s)Years
5Tamika CatchingsIndiana Fever2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012
4Sylvia FowlesChicago Sky / Minnesota Lynx2011, 2013, 2016, 2021
3Sheryl SwoopesHouston Comets2000, 2002, 2003
2Teresa WeatherspoonNew York Liberty1997, 1998
Lisa LeslieLos Angeles Sparks2004, 2008
Brittney GrinerPhoenix Mercury2014, 2015
Alana BeardLos Angeles Sparks2017, 2018
A'ja WilsonLas Vegas Aces2022, 2023

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Saying Goodbye to WNBA Great Tamika Catchings. en-US. 2016-10-01. 2016-10-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20161002045032/http://www.wnba.com/news/tamika-catchings-retirement-farewell/. live.
  2. Web site: WNBA.com: Los Angeles' Lisa Leslie Named 2008 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. www.wnba.com. 2016-10-01. 2016-03-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306160529/http://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/news/awards08_dpoy.html. live.
  3. Web site: Sylvia Fowles wins WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. 2016-09-30. en-US. 2016-10-01.
  4. Web site: Los Angeles’ Alana Beard Named 2017 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. WNBA. wnba.com. September 12, 2017. October 5, 2017. September 13, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170913044106/http://www.wnba.com/news/los-angeles-alana-beard-named-2017-wnba-defensive-player-year/. live.
  5. Sparks’ Alana Beard Named 2018 Defensive Player Of The Year . WNBA . August 30, 2018 . August 30, 2018 . August 30, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180830210220/http://www.wnba.com/news/sparks-alana-beard-named-2018-defensive-player-of-the-year/ . live .
  6. Seattle’s Natasha Howard Named 2019 WNBA Defensive Player Of The Year . WNBA . September 11, 2019 . September 11, 2019 . October 1, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191001095628/https://www.wnba.com/news/seattles-natasha-howard-named-2019-wnba-defensive-player-of-the-year/ . live .
  7. Web site: Candace Parker Named 2020 WNBA Defensive Player Of The Year. wnba.com. WNBA. September 24, 2020. September 24, 2020. October 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201002014813/https://www.wnba.com/news/candace-parker-named-2020-wnba-defensive-player-of-the-year/. live.
  8. Web site: Sylvia Fowles Named 2021 WNBA Defensive Player Of The Year. September 26, 2021. September 26, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210926195030/https://www.wnba.com/news/sylvia-fowles-named-2021-kia-wnba-defensive-player-of-the-year/. live.
  9. Web site: Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson Named 2022 Kia WNBA Defensive Player Of The Year. wnba.com. WNBA. August 30, 2022. August 31, 2022. August 30, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830171359/https://www.wnba.com/news/las-vegas-aces-aja-wilson-named-2022-kia-wnba-defensive-player-of-the-year/. live.
  10. Web site: Aces star A'ja Wilson wins second straight DPOY award. ESPN. September 22, 2023. September 22, 2023. September 22, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230922212340/https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/38461630/aces-star-aja-wilson-wins-second-straight-dpoy-award. live.
  11. Web site: Napheesa Collier Named 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year . Minnesota Lynx. September 29, 2024 . September 29, 2024.

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