2005 Lauren Jackson MVP Watch

Lauren Jackson continues to be the WNBA's most dominant individual player. As the season winds down, Jackson ranks second in the WNBA in both scoring and rebounding and is far and away the league's most efficient player. She's done it all while leading a team that lost three key players from last year's core and has seen injuries to both starting guards to a second-place tie in the Western Conference. That's the short answer as to why Jackson deserves to win her second MVP in three years. For more, check out the remainder of this page.

Check out the Lauren Jackson for MVP Video!

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JACKSON SWOOPES CATCHINGS SALES GRIFFITH
PPG 18.2 (2) 18.7 (1) 14.8 (8) 15.6 (5) 13.5 (16)
RPG 9.4 (2) 3.3 (NR) 8.1 (3) 3.8 (NR) 6.5 (11)
APG 1.8 (NR) 4.2 (10) 4.3 (8) 2.3 (NR) 1.5 (NR)
SPG 1.1 (NR) 2.0 (2) 2.8 (1) 1.8 (6) 1.2 (NR)
BPG 2.0 (4) 0.7 (NR) 0.5 (NR) 0.3 (NR) 0.9 (15)
TOPG 1.8 (NR) 2.2 (NR) 2.7 (12) 1.9 (NR) 2.0 (NR)
FG% .466 (15) .448 (NR) .371 (NR) .412 (NR) .489 (10)
3PT% .302 (NR) .370 (14) .282 (NR) .404 (11) -
FT% .848(10) .855 (7) .780 (NR) .743 (NR) .714 (NR)
TS% .575 (9) .545 (NR) .496 (NR) .496 (NR) .546 (NR)
EFF/G 22.7 (1) 17.2 (3) 18.7 (2) 12.6 (19) 15.1 (8)
EFF/40 25.7 (1) 19.2 (13) 21.5 (3) 15.7 (NR) 21.4 (4)
EFF PTS 704 (1) 570 (3) 579 (2) 391 (17) 468 (7)
PER 28.8 (1) 25.4 (2) 24.2 (4) 20.1 (14) 24.3 (3)

LJ ARTICLES
  • Seattle Times: Measuring Lauren Jackson's value
  • Seattle P-I: Jackson making her name with power, will
  • The News Tribune: Calm should reinvigorate the Storm
  • storm.wnba.com: Storm Sees More Mature Jackson
  • USA Today: Jackson leads MVP race
    • AN MVP IS � EFFICIENT
    Statistically, there is no player more efficient than Jackson. She leads the WNBA's Efficiency Rating System on a per-game, per-minute and overall basis, and no one else comes close. She also leads in Player Efficiency Rating (PER). In the two seasons since the WNBA began using the Efficiency Rating System, the league leader in efficiency per game has won the MVP both seasons. Looking back, the efficiency leader has won five of the eight MVPs in WNBA history, with the second-place finisher winning twice.

    AN MVP IS � CONSISTENT
    Though Jackson lost her double-figures scoring streak earlier this season, she's started a new one that now stands at 17 games - one of only three active streaks league-wide of 10 games or more (as of 8/16). She's also blocked at least one shot in each of her last 12 games, the second-longest active streak in the WNBA.

    AN MVP IS � SPECTACULAR
    Jackson has recorded three of the league�s top eight individual games this season by the Efficiency Rating, including the top two games by any player this season - a +40 on June 4 vs. Indiana and a +38 on July 3 vs. Sacramento. She scored a season-high 31 points against the Monarchs and has topped the 20-point mark 12 times in addition to recording nine double-doubles, the WNBA's second-best mark. Her 17 rebounds against Connecticut on June 22 are the third-highest total recorded by a WNBA player this season


    Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty
    AN MVP IS � VERSATILE
    While Jackson's offensive prowess is well-known, her world-class defense gets little attention. Jackson ranks fourth in the WNBA in blocked shots (2.0) and is second in the league in blocks per personal foul, a good measure of how intelligent a player is in deciding which shots to go after. She ranks 10th in the WNBA in free-throw percentage (84.8%) and is three inches taller than anyone else in the top ten. Jackson is amongst the post player leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02).

    AN MVP IS � A WINNER
    Despite the loss to free agency of three key players from the 2004 Championship team, the Storm is 17-14 and battling for home-court advantage in the Western Conference.

    WHERE LAUREN RANKS

    First in the league in ...
  • Efficiency Ranking (22.7)
  • Efficiency Ranking per 40 minutes (25.7)
  • Defensive Rebounds (199)
  • Defensive Rebounds per game (6.4)
  • Double-doubles (11)
  • Free Throws per 40 minutes (5.3)

    Second in the league in ...

  • Points per game (18.2)
  • Points (565)
  • Rebounds per game (9.4)
  • Rebounds (292)
  • Free Throws (145)
  • Points per 40 minutes (20.8)
  • Offensive Rebounds per game (3.0)
  • Offensive Rebounds (93)

    Third in the league in �

  • Minutes (1094)
  • Field goals (194)
  • Free Throw Attempts (171)

    		• Top five in the league in �
  • Minutes per Game (35.2, 4th)
  • Blocks per Game (1.9, 4th)
  • Blocks (61, 4th)
  • Rebounds per 40 minutes (10.4, 4th)

    Top ten in the league in �

  • Field Goal Attempts (416, 6th)
  • Defensive Rebounds per 40 minutes (7.3, 6th)
  • Blocks per 40 minutes (2.2, 7th)
  • Free Throw Attempts per 40 minutes (6.3, 8th)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Attempts (106, 8th)
  • Offensive Rebounds per 40 minutes (3.4, 9th)
  • Field Goals per 40 minutes (7.1, 9th)
  • Free-Throw Percentage (.848, 10th)

    Top twenty in the league in ...

  • Field Goal Attempts per 40 minutes (15.2, 10th)
  • Field-Goal Percentage (.466, 15th)
  • 3-Point Field Goals Made (32, 17th)

    • 2005 SEASON RECAP

  • Named an All-Star for the fourth time in her career (all four years an All-Star Game has been played).
  • Has topped 20 points 13 times. Poured in a season-high 31 against Western-Conference-leading Sacramento on July 3.
  • Leads the league in efficiency rating (22.5) and owns the two highest single-game efficiency ratings in the league this season (+40 on June 4 vs. IND and +38 on July 3 vs. SAC).
  • Ranks in the top-five in points (2nd), rebounds (2nd), blocks (4th) and minutes (4th).
  • Ranks in the WNBA's top ten in free-throw attempts and ranks 10th in free-throw percentage (.848).
  • Named WNBA Player of the Week for the week of May 30-June 5.
  • Co-leads the WNBA with 11double-doubles

    QUOTABLE ...
    "Lauren seems to have a slight edge right now as she is in the top two or three in every significant statistical category."
    - Doris Burke, ESPN/ABC Analyst