MVP Delle Donne Unanimously Selected To 2019 All-WNBA First Team


– Phoenix’s Griner Named to All-WNBA Team for Fifth Time –

– Seattle’s Howard, Chicago’s DeShields and Minnesota’s Sims Make Debuts on All-WNBA Team –

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2019 – WNBA Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics has been unanimously selected to the 2019 All-WNBA First Team, the WNBA announced today.

Delle Donne was the only player named to the First Team on all 43 ballots in voting by a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The 6-5 forward-guard becomes the only 2018 All-WNBA First Team selection to repeat as a First Team honoree in 2019.

Joining Delle Donne (215 points) on the 2019 All-WNBA First Team are Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot (197), Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (191), Los Angeles Sparks guard Chelsea Gray (175) and Seattle Storm forward Natasha Howard (158). This marks the first All-WNBA nod for Howard and the first selection to the First Team for Gray and Vandersloot.

The 2019 All-WNBA Second Team consists of Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones (150 points), Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike (146), Las Vegas Aces center Liz Cambage (65), Sky guard Diamond DeShields (54) and Minnesota Lynx guard Odyssey Sims (48). DeShields and Sims are making their All-WNBA debuts.

Voting for the All-WNBA First and Second Teams was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. Players were selected by position and received five points for each First Team vote and three points for each Second Team vote. If a player received votes at multiple positions, she was slotted at the position where she received the most votes.

2019 All-WNBA First Team

Elena Delle Donne, Mystics: Delle Donne earned her fourth All-WNBA First Team honor and fifth All-WNBA selection overall. The two-time WNBA MVP ranked second in the league in scoring (19.5 ppg), fifth in rebounding (8.3 rpg) and 11th in blocked shots (1.29 bpg). She became the first WNBA player to shoot at least 50 percent from the field (51.5), 40 percent from three-point range (43.0) and 90 percent from the free throw line (WNBA-high 97.4).

Courtney Vandersloot, Sky: This marks the third All-WNBA selection for Vandersloot, a Second Team member in 2015 and 2018. Vandersloot broke her own WNBA records for assist average (9.1 apg) and total assists (300), winning her third consecutive assist title and fourth overall (she also led the league in 2015).

Brittney Griner, Mercury: Griner was named All-WNBA for the fifth time and All-WNBA First Team for the second time (she was also First Team in 2014). She averaged 20.7 points to win her second scoring title in the last three seasons and tied the Sun’s Jones for the league lead in blocked shots with 2.0 per game.

Chelsea Gray, Sparks: An All-WNBA Second Team selection in 2017, Gray averaged 14.5 points (tied for 13th in the WNBA) and a career-high 5.9 assists (second) this season. She was named a WNBA All-Star Game starter for the first time in her third consecutive All-Star appearance.

Natasha Howard, Storm: The 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year averaged career highs of 18.1 points (fourth in the WNBA), 8.2 rebounds (sixth) and 2.18 steals (second) to go with 1.74 blocks (third). She was voted to the All-Defensive First Team for the second straight year and earned her first All-Star selection.

2019 All-WNBA Second Team

Jonquel Jones, Sun: Jones averaged 9.7 rebounds for her second rebounding title in four seasons, tied for the WNBA lead in blocked shots with 2.0 per game and contributed 14.6 points to help Connecticut finish with the league’s second-best record. She was also selected to the WNBA All-Defensive Team for the first time.

Nneka Ogwumike, Sparks: This is the second All-WNBA First Team selection for Ogwumike, who was also honored in 2016, when she was the league’s MVP. Now a four-time All-WNBA honoree, Ogwumike ranked ninth in the WNBA in scoring (16.1 ppg), fourth in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and fifth in steals (1.88 spg).

Liz Cambage, Aces: In her first season with Las Vegas, Cambage averaged 15.9 points (10th in the WNBA), 8.2 rebounds (seventh) and 1.59 blocks (sixth). The 6-8 center was a member of the All-WNBA First Team in 2018, when she led the league in scoring and finished second in rebounding.

Diamond DeShields, Sky: A first-time All-WNBA and All-Star selection in her second season, DeShields ranked eighth in the WNBA in scoring (16.2 ppg) and added 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.26 steals. She joined Vandersloot in helping Chicago reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Odyssey Sims, Lynx: In her first season with Minnesota, the six-year veteran tied Gray for 13th in the WNBA in scoring (14.5 ppg) and ranked fourth in assists (5.4 apg) en route to her first All-WNBA honor. A first-time All-Star this season, Sims started all 34 games for the first time in her career.

In honor of their accomplishments, each member of the All-WNBA First Team will receive $10,000 and each member of the Second Team will receive $5,000.

Below are the voting results for the 2019 All-WNBA Teams.

2019 ALL-WNBA FIRST TEAM

Position Player, Team, 1st Team, 2nd Team, Total
Forward, Elena Delle Donne, Washington, 43 — 215
Guard, Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago, 37, 4, 197
Center, Brittney Griner, Phoenix, 34, 7, 191
Guard, Chelsea Gray, Los Angeles, 26, 15, 175
Forward, Natasha Howard, Seattle, 22, 16, 158

2019 ALL-WNBA SECOND TEAM

Position Player, Team, 1st Team, 2nd Team, Total
Forward, Jonquel Jones, Connecticut, 18, 20, 150
Forward, Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles, 16, 22, 146
Center, Liz Cambage, Las Vegas, 1, 20, 65
Guard, Diamond DeShields, Chicago, 3, 13, 54
Guard, Odyssey Sims, Minnesota, 3, 11, 48