The WNBA season is coming to a close in just a few short days, and most of the playoff spots have been locked up. Maya Moore has the Lynx on the cusp of the top seed in the Western Conference. Brittney Griner has the Mercury poised to take the No. 2 seed into the postseason.
Tina Charles has guided New York to the top spot in the Eastern Conference and has the Liberty in a battle for the best record in the league. And Elena Delle Donne has the Chicago Sky back in the postseason, looking to win a WNBA title a year after coming up short. But the championship trophy is not the only piece of hardware these stars may take home at the end of the season.
All of them have put together seasons that have landed them on the Race to MVP list for much of the season. However, as has been the case since the very first edition of this series came out one week into the season, Elena Delle Donne remains the favorite to take home MVP honors.
Elena Delle Donne’s spectacular play this season has turned heads and attracted plenty of attention from fans across the league. She’ll have the chance to close out the season strong in the Sky’s final two games against Tulsa and Connecticut. Delle Donne averaged 16 points and seven rebounds over the past week. She remains the favorite to take home MVP honors.
The Minnesota Lynx are on the verge of clinching homecourt advantage throughout the Western Conference portion of the playoffs, and they wouldn’t possibly be in that position without Maya Moore. She’s done a little bit of everything for the Lynx this season and her play has made her the primary contender for EDD’s No. 1 spot in the Race to MVP all season. She averaged 17 points over the past week and has a chance to make a final push to bring home back-to-back MVP honors in Minnesota’s final two games against Seattle.
The Liberty have accomplished almost all they can possibly accomplish in the 2015 WNBA regular season, but there’s still one thing lurking: homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Tina Charles’ dominance in the frontcourt has guided the Liberty to the best record in franchise history. With one win in their final two games or a Lynx loss, they would cement the best record in the league. And they would not be in that position without Charles. She averaged 17.3 points and 9 rebounds last week.
Brittney Griner has been simply remarkable since returning from an early season suspension and has the Mercury poised to defend its 2014 WNBA title. Griner averaged 19 points on 82.4% (!!!) shooting over the past week. On the season, though. it’s her defensive play that has consistently left opposing teams dumbfounded. Griner has recorded a total of 103 blocks on the season (10.3 block rate, or percent of opponent field goal attempts blocked). Her closest competition? Kiah Stokes. And she has 66.
If Candace Parker had played the entire season there’s no question she would be competing for the top spot on this list week in and week out. She’s been unreal since her return after the All-Star break and is putting up numbers that have rarely been seen in the WNBA. Her play has helped guide the Sparks back to the postseason, and now they await a potential first round matchup with the West-leading Lynx. Parker averaged 29.5 points on 63.6% shooting this past week while also averaging 9.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
2015 Stats
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
19.4
10.1
6.3
48.9%
81.5%
Also considered: DeWanna Bonner (PHX), Angel McCoughtry (ATL), Epiphanny Prince (NYL)
,xPosition=.5,yPosition=.5)
,xPosition=.5,yPosition=.5)