The 2024 MVP and Defensive Player of the Year were unanimous selections for this year’s all-WNBA first-team, and for the first time since 2008, a rookie joined them on the five-player squad.
A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier both received all 67 votes for the all-WNBA First Team, which also featured rookie of the year Caitlin Clark, 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas. It is the sixth first-team honor for Stewart, who was two votes shy of unanimous, and the second for Thomas. Voting for the teams is positionless.
Clark is the first rookie since Candace Parker in 2008 to be named to the first team, when Parker also won the MVP award. Other rookies to earn this honor include Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings and Diana Taurasi. Clark received 52 first-team votes, the fourth-most overall after finishing fourth in MVP voting.
The WNBA finalists New York Liberty had two more players on the second team: Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones. Ionescu was the leading vote-getter on the second team, her third straight year placing in the top 10 of WNBA players. It’s the fifth all-WNBA honor for Jones. No other members of the Minnesota Lynx beyond Collier were named to the two teams
“I love it,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said after seeing three of her players recognized. “All these players had great seasons. The awards are nice, I know they’re (thinking) bigger picture, looking at trying to win this here, too.
“It’s always hard to make those decisions, but happy we got three players here. That’s awesome.”
The remainder of the second team was filled out with Phoenix wing Kahleah Copper, Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike and Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale and Copper were second and third in the league in scoring, while Ogwumike helped power the Storm to a 14-win improvement in 2024. It is the first all-WNBA selection for Copper in her debut season with the Mercury, while Ogwumike and Ogunbowale collected their seventh and third nods, respectively.
It is the first time since 2021 that the Las Vegas Aces did not have multiple all-WNBA players, also the last season they did not win a championship prior to 2024. Other notable players to miss out on the two teams include Kayla McBride, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Mitchell and Dearica Hamby.
(Photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
