WNBA All Rookie Team 2023 And AP Awards Winners

Aliyah Boston earned the title of the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press. Boston set a new rookie record with 335 rebounds in a season.

The 21-year-old rising prospect defeated his fellow team member Grace Berger and other talented rookies to claim the best rookie award, Sports Illustrated reported.

Boston joined the Indiana Fever as the 1st overall pick of the 2023 WNBA Draft. Despite her magnificent debut season, all her efforts were not enough as she could not save Indiana from an early exit without a playoff berth.

The Fever finished the campaign with just 13 wins and were left stranded in 10th place in the league table above Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury.

The power forward finished off the season as the first rookie ever to lead the league's field goal percentage. Aliyah made 57.8 percent of her shots in her first 40 games.

In addition, the 2023 WNBA All-Star topped all other 2023 rookie players in scoring (14.4 ppg), steals (1.3 spg), rebounds (8.4 rpg), and blocked shots (1.3 bpg) per match.

In 2022, Boston helped South Carolina win their second-ever national championship in college basketball. 

She was named the most outstanding player (MOP) in the tournament and also received the Best Player and the Best Defender honors. Plus, she was the best center in women's college basketball for three years in a row, winning the Lisa Leslie Award each time.

On the other hand, two up and coming Lynx stars Diamond Miller and Dorka Juhasz alongside Seattle's Jordan Horston and Atlanta's Haley Jones are in the all-rookie team.

AP chose Stephanie White of the Connecticut Sun as the Coach of the Year. White received the honor for the first time in her coaching career.

In her return season to the WNBA, she led Connecticut to secure the third position in the league standings, trailing behind Las Vegas and New York.

The Sun clinched no. 3 seed in the playoffs despite losing two of their crucial players from the previous season.

The franchise's 27 wins were the most they have ever achieved in their history, which is impressive considering Connecticut made it to the playoffs 15 times and reached the WNBA Finals four times before.

White now shares the distinction of being a former WNBA player who has won the AP Coach of the Year award with Tanisha Wright.

After five illustrious years serving as the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores in the NCAA women's college basketball division, the Sun approached Stephanie in early 2023.

Before joining Vanderbilt, White served as the head coach of the Indiana Fever during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Her initial coaching experience in the WNBA began with the Chicago Sky in 2007.

White remained with the Sky for four seasons before she teamed up with her college coach, Lin Dunn, becoming the first former WNBA player to take on the role of an assistant coach for the Fever.

In 2015, the former WNBA player became the head coach of the Indiana Fever when Lin Dunn retired. Before that, she had worked as an assistant coach for four years.

During her initial season, White guided the Fever team to their second appearance in the WNBA Finals.

Breanna Stewart wins the race for the WNBA Most Valuable Player in 2023. Stewart had also won 3 Player of the Month Awards this season.

Easily one of the most interesting MVP battles in history, featuring three well-qualified contenders, each delivering extraordinary performances, the Liberty star claimed the honor by a margin of a single vote.

The league leader Las Vegas power forward A'ja Wilson and the Connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas were the other two on the MVP ladder.

Although many sports experts initially expected Wilson to be crowned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) because she was ranked higher than Stewart and Thomas, in the end, Breanna surprised everyone by winning the award.

Wilson was the top choice to win her second consecutive WNBA MVP award, according to some sportsbooks.

Initially, there was a lot of attention on Breanna Stewart winning her second MVP, but Wilson's outstanding performance at the end of the season solidified her case to win her third MVP in her career.

In a game against Atlanta, she pulled one of the dominating individual displays recording 53 points, This tied the record for WNBA most points in a game, which was previously set by Liz Cambage in 2018.

On the flip side, Stewart has been consistently giving man of the match performances in every single New York game. She received the Player of the Week Award six times and also won the Player of the Month Award three out of four times in the 2023 season.

In brief, the 29-year-old emerged as the league's top and most well-rounded player this season, guiding the Liberty to an unprecedented 32-win.

The winners of the 2023 Postseason Awards presented by Associated Press are:

WNBA first team 2023 roster

The All WNBA first team members are:

• Alyssa Thomas - Connecticut Sun
• A'ja Wilson - Las Vegas Aces
• Breanna Stewart - New York Liberty
• Napheesa Collier - Minnesota Lynx
• Nneka Ogwumike - Los Angeles Sparks

WNBA All Defensive team lineup

The All defensive team 2023 season includes:

First Team

• Breanna Stewart - New York Liberty
• Jordin Canada - Los Angeles Sparks
• Alyssa Thomas - Connecticut Sun
• Brittney Sykes - Washington Mystics
• A'ja Wilson - Las Vegas Aces

Second Team

• Ezi Magbegor - Seattle Storm
• Nia Coffey - Atlanta Dream
• Natasha Cloud - Washington Mystics
• Napheesa Collier - Minnesota Lynx
• Nneka Ogwumike - Los Angeles Sparks

Defensive Player of the Year 

• Alyssa Thomas

Most Improved Player

• Satou Sabally

Sixth Player of the Year

• Alysha Clark

Comeback Player of the Year

• Brittney Griner
• Napheesa Collier

Stewart won her second MVP award before the age of 30. The Aces' forward Alysha Clark earned the Sixth Woman of the Year title.

Similarly, Satou Sabally claimed the most improved player honor after averaging 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. Meanwhile, Brittney Griner and Napheesa Collier were given the comeback player honor as both returned with a blast following a long absence.