While injuries hit a few of the rookies this year, it was still a good year for rookies performing well. This looks like it will be one of the better drafts, with top end talent and good players stretching into the second round.
Rookie of the Year:
Crystal Dangerfield, Minnesota Lynx:
Dangerfield combines minutes played and production better than any other rookie. It is very close, and if Chennedy Carter had played the full season she very well might have been my choice for Rookie of the Year.
Both Carter and Dangerfield had impressive rookie campaigns at the hardest position for a young player to learn, as did Julie Allemand. Good year for rookie point guards. Dangerfield was a bit more efficient with 58% TS compared to 55% for Carter. Dangerfield was at times the second best player on a playoff team after Sylvia Fowles went down with an injury. Carter shot a better percentage from 3, but Dangerfield took more than twice as many 3s and hit them at an acceptable rate.
Surprisingly, Dangerfield’s main advantage was she had a much better percentage inside the arc. She did play with better spacing than, Carter, to be fair to Carter. But still, Dangerfield being more than just a 3 point shooter and caretaker point guard really helped a Lynx team that had a somewhat shaky guard rotation.
All-Rookie Team
Julie Allemand, Indiana Fever
While Allemand will probably not continue to shoot nearly 50% from 3 on 4 attempts per game, her ability to shoot lights out from 3 helped a thin Indiana Fever team. She struggled a bit to finish in the paint and had a higher turnover percentage than assist percentage.
Chennedy Carter, Minnesota Lynx
Carter is a wonderful example of how some players will thrive in the WNBA even more than in college because of the expanded spacing. Particularly once the Dream were able to play Glory Johnson more minutes, Carter was often able to take advantage of a relatively open paint, especially compared to what she was seeing at Texas A&M. While it was only on 2 attempts per game, shooting 40% from 3 is also a great sign. Carter can be effective without shooting 3s, but she will become nearly impossible to guard if teams have to worry about her 3 point shooting.
Crystal Dangerfield, Minnesota Lynx
Dangerfield will always be somewhat of a liability on defense. Making the playoffs will be a good test of whether the Lynx can cover for her, and whether her offense is valuable enough to make up for her lack of size. But as I expected before the draft, her offense in the regular season is good enough to make up for the limitations brought on by her 5’5” height. 5’5” on a good day as well, as she seems noticeably shorter than even other players listed at the same height like Leilani Mitchell.
Ezi Magbegor, Seattle Storm
On a per minute basis, Magbegor was the most effective rookie this year. She was in a small role surrounded by the best team in the WNBA, but it is a good sign for her future that she was able to carve out a role. She has the potential to be a special defender, with good anticipation, lateral quickness, and long arms. Offensively she was an effective pick and roll finisher. She showed flashes of an outside shot and the ability drive against a closeout, hinting at more than just a rim running big. She was also the youngest player in the league this year, she turned 21 during the season, which makes her performance even more impressive.
Satou Sabally:
Sabally, like Carter, may have won the Rookie of the Year award had she played the whole season. She was also hurt by a tough year shooting. Based on her college numbers, these should improve, but it’s tough to overcome shooting 37% from the field and 19% from 3. 87% from the free throw line is a good sign that she is actually a decent shooter, so let’s hope. Because she can do everything else. She played anywhere from the 3-5 this year. Her defense for a rookie big was quite good. She can handle like a guard, though she is 6’4”, and her passing is quite good.
Honorable Mention: Jazmine Jones:
Jones played hard and put up decent basic box score numbers. But she was inefficient in the minutes she got. Not her fault she was playing out of position as a point guard, but it was a stretch and she struggled, ending up with a negative assist to turnover ratio. Will be a good defender, but was not quite as effective as her activity might suggest.
Defensive Player of the Year:
The lack of tracking data in the WNBA means that even the few worthwhile defensive stats that one can use in the NBA do not exist in the WNBA. No second spectrum in the WNBA. So while I am did my best with my choices, I recognize that these awards are more subjective and mostly eye test based. On/off stats can be useful, but over a 22 game season I am skeptical of them as well.
Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm:
The choices came down to Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark, Alyssa Thomas, or A’ja Wilson. All had great years on defense. All were surrounded by defensive talent, though Alyssa Thomas’ team had a bit less, which makes sense given that the Sun ended up 4th, with Seattle 1st and the Aces 2nd in defense.
But ultimately, the gap between the Storm and even the 2nd place Aces is enough, along with Stewart’s ability to both protect the rim and generate steals in the Storm’s aggressive defense, edges the contributions of the others. The Storm improved on defense, going from 4th place with a 96.4 defensive rating in 2019 to 1st this year with 92.7 rating. This even when offense was up across the WNBA this year.
All-Defense First Team
This article is long enough as it is, so only doing first team.
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces: Candace Parker was good, but Wilson was more consistent. Her on ball defense is better, it is impressive how she can move her feet guarding even quicker guards.
Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
Does not quite offer the rim protection of Stewart or Wilson, but she can do anything and everything else on the defensive end of the court. Always funny when teams use her defender in the pick and roll. It just does not work very well most of the time. She either switches and shuts down whichever guard it is, or steals the ball on the pass back to her player. And this year was extra funny, because the center she played with struggled against the pick and roll, Brionna Jones.
Alysha Clark, Seattle Storm:
Once again, like the All-WNBA, sneaking her in as a guard. Sure, she will guard Napheesa Collier. But she also gets the assignment on Arike Ogunbowale, even though the Storm’s shooting guard is also a really good defender in Jewell Loyd. Clark nearly got my vote for this award, and if a non-big was going to win it, Alysha Clark would be my choice.
Jasmine Thomas, Connecticut Sun:
Offensively, Thomas had an up and down year. But she did not seem to let that bother her defense. Watching the very good rookie point guards go against her was a joy all year, as going from college defenders to Jasmine Thomas is quite a jump. She has enough size to guard shooting guards and has been good regardless of which guard she was paired next to Curt Miller cycled through options before Briann January was healthy.
Coach of the Year:
Cheryl Reeve:
There are a number of quality candidates for this award. Derek Fisher still has to answer questions about his playoff coaching decision, but he did a fine job in the regular season this year. Gary Kloppenburg did well stepping in for Dan Hughes. Bill Laimbeer’s insistence on starting Carolyn Swords aside, he knows his team well and was able to maximize them.
But Cheryl Reeve showed why she is considered one of the best coaches in the game. It was clear from the first game that Crystal Dangerfield was the team’s best option at the point guard. But not as many would make the change in game 1, playing Dangerfield with the starters most of the second half. By game 3 Dangerfield was starting, and Reeve has trusted her to run the team. Reeve has had success shifting the Lynx from a more defensive team with Sylvia Fowles to one that plays 5 out and relies on its offense to win after Fowles got hut.
Executive of the Year:
Bill Laimbeer and Dan Padover:
I’m not sure how the league would reward the Aces, as Laimbeer has final decision making power but Padover does much of the day to day work of an executive while Laimbeer coaches. But either way, the decision to sign Angel McCoughtry alone has earned them this award, but Danielel Robinson has been a good signing as well.
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