Nneka Ogwumike and Elena Delle Donne Make Forbes 30 Under 30


This week Forbes unveiled its annual “30 Under 30” selections, featuring the brightest young stars in 20 different industries. Under the sports industry, Forbes recognized the two most recent WNBA Most Valuable Players, Nneka Ogwumike and Elena Delle Donne.

Ogwumike, this past season’s MVP, guided the Sparks to their first championship in 14 years. During the regular season, the fifth-year forward averaged career highs in points (19.7 per game), rebounds (9.1), assists (3.1) and blocks (1.2) as the Sparks went 26-8. Ogwumike also shot a WNBA-best 66.5 percent from the field, one of the highest marks in league history.

Delle Donne won MVP in 2015, putting together one of the most dominant seasons ever. The Delaware product led the WNBA with 23.4 points per game and earned a third consecutive All-Star nod.  She followed it up with another stellar season in 2016 – 21.5 points and seven rebounds per game – before an injury forced her to miss the playoffs.

Others on the list include Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants. You can view the list here, and the entire “30 Under 30” here.