Keep track of the awards bestowed on the 2026 WNBA postseason circuit.
Award season is in full swing on the WNBA circuit.
As four teams currently battle for championship glory, several individual efforts are being honored by the league, which recently wrapped its landmark 30th season. The honorees will continue to be revealed throughout the postseason, likely culminating in the Most Valuable Player unveiling, an award recently dominated by Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson. Accomplished coaches and executives will likewise be honored as the trek continues.
Keep track of who wins what with BIL’s 2026 awards tracker starting below …
MVP: TBA
To be added
Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota
It’s probably time to staple another page to Reeve’s resume, as the longtime Minnesota Lynx boss secured a record-extending fifth Coach of the Year title.
Reeve oversaw one of the more impressive regular season efforts in quite some time as her Lynx overcame several high-profile losses (such as that of franchise face Napheesa Collier for a good part of the season) to nonetheless pace the WNBA playoff field.
Reeve’s season also featured headlining history on July 8, as the 380th win of her WNBA career allowed her to pass Mike Thibault for the most among head coaches in the regular season.
Final Results
Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota: 40
Natalie Nakase, Golden State: 20
Sydney Johnson, Washington: 14
Leading the way in Minnesota
Cheryl Reeve is the 2026 @StateStreetETFs SPY WNBA Coach of the Year!
Reeve led the @minnesotalynx to a 33-11 regular season record and the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight season.
#WNBASeason30 https://t.co/NUr0h8sKTK
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 28, 2026
Defensive Player of the Year: Angel Reese, Atlanta
Angel Reese‘s Georgian debut has been a dream for the Dream. For now, it culminates in a Defensive Player of the Year title, the first of its kind in franchise history. Reese’s rebounding prowess has often spoken for itself but her interior presence helped Atlanta keep up the post intensity that allowed it to replicate last year’s 30-win season.
This year’s haul included a career-best in steals (77, placing third in the league) and a defensive rating that ranked third-best among women averaging at least 25 minutes a game. Reese’s pieces allowed the Dream to keep pace on defense despite losing Brittney Griner to free agency and Brionna Jones to injury. All that and more helped Atlanta end its decade-long playoff series victory drought and place it within striking distance of its first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013.
Final Results
Angel Reese, Atlanta: 46
Gabby Williams, Golden State: 20
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas: 4
Shakira Austin, Washington: 2
Veronica Burton, Golden State: 1
Rhyne Howard, Atlanta: 1
All-WNBA Teams
First Team: TBA
To be added
Second Team: TBA
To be added
All-Defensive Teams
First Team: TBA
To be added
Second Team: TBA
To be added
All-Rookie Team: TBA
To be added
Basketball Executive of the Year: TBA
To be added
Business Executive Leadership Award: TBA
To be added
Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award: TBA
To be added
Kim Perrott Sportsmanship: TBA
To be added
Most Improved Player: Jessica Shepard, Dallas
After placing third in last year’s race for top sixth woman, Shepard finally obtained some hardware after barely beating Shakira Austin for the Most Improved Player title. She’s the second North Texan to earn the title in the last four seasons after Satou Sabally prevailed in 2023.
Shepard took flight with the Wings after coming over from Minnesota, as the sixth-year interior threat set new career-bests in points (14.5), rebounds (11.1), and assists (5.3). She was one of two women (next to Atlanta’s Angel Reese) to average a double-double this season and put up six triple-doubles, two short of the WNBA record set by Alyssa Thomas in 2025.
Final Results
Jessica Shepard, Dallas: 29
Shakira Austin, Washington: 25
Carla Leite, Portland: 11
Marina Mabrey, Toronto: 4
Dominique Malonga, Seattle: 3
Rae Burrell, Los Angeles: 2
Rookie of the Year: Olivia Miles, Minnesota (unanimous)
Olivia Miles hardly needed the luck of the (Fighting) Irish to finish atop the freshman leaderboard, as her dominant year with the Minnesota Lynx swept all 74 ballots.
Chosen second in April’s draft, Miles was likely a shoo-in for the title after averaging 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.7 rebounds during her debut tour. The Notre Dame and TCU alumna swept all four Rookie of the Month awards. In addition, she set numerous rookie landmarks such as the all-time freshman scoring record (790 points) set by Caitlin Clark in 2024.
Miles is the sixth woman to win the Rookie of the Year unanimously. She joins the elite company of Candace Parker, Tina Charles, Elena Delle Donne, A’ja Wilson, and Aliyah Boston. Miles’ work, which kept Minnesota in the WNBA penthouse despite losing Collier to injury and several others to free agency, has garnered significant consideration for the MVP title. Should she prevail, she’d join Parker as the only newcomer to secure the title.
Sixth Woman of the Year: Janelle Salaün, Golden State (unanimous)
Janelle Salaün was magnifique among sixth women, handily taking the title for top reserve by garnering all 74 votes. She’s the first foreign-born player to earn the honor since Jonquel Jones did so for the Connecticut Sun in 2018.
While Golden State has staked its reputation on defense, Salaün has been a consistent offensive threat to the tune of 12.7 points a game and shooting over 39% from 3-point range. Salaün was the only player who appeared in at least 15 games off the bench to average double-figures in scoring and the Valkyries’ plus-158 advantage on the scoreboard during her minutes was also best among substitutes.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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