WNBA Most Improved Player Award

The Women's National Basketball Association's Most Improved Player Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 2000 WNBA season, to the most improved player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters throughout the United States, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.

In 2019, Leilani Mitchell became the first player in history to win the award twice, after winning the award in 2010. In 2004, there was a tie -- both Kelly Miller and Wendy Palmer received the award. Nicole Powell, Natasha Howard, and Jackie Young are the only players to win the Most Improved award and a WNBA title in the same year.

Winners

	Denotes player who is still active in the WNBA
	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
	Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
	Denotes player whose team won championship that year
Player (X)	Denotes the number of times the player has won
Team (X)	Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won

Season	Player	Position	Nationality	Team
2000	Tari Phillips	Forward / Center	United States	New York Liberty
2001	Janeth Arcain	Guard	Brazil	Houston Comets
2002	Coco Miller	Guard	United States	Washington Mystics
2003	Michelle Snow	Forward / Center	United States	Houston Comets (2)
2004	Kelly Miller	Guard	United States	Indiana Fever
2004	Wendy Palmer	Forward	United States	Connecticut Sun
2005	Nicole Powell	Forward	United States	Sacramento Monarchs
2006	Erin Buescher	Forward	United States	Sacramento Monarchs (2)
2007	Janel McCarville	Center	United States	New York Liberty (2)
2008	Ebony Hoffman	Forward	United States	Indiana Fever (2)
2009	Crystal Langhorne	Forward	United States	Washington Mystics (2)
2010	Leilani Mitchell	Guard	Australia[lower-alpha 1]	New York Liberty (3)
2011	Kia Vaughn	Center	United States[lower-alpha 2]	New York Liberty (4)
2012	Kristi Toliver	Guard	United States[lower-alpha 3]	Los Angeles Sparks
2013	Shavonte Zellous	Guard	United States[lower-alpha 4]	Indiana Fever (3)
2014	Skylar Diggins-Smith	Guard	United States	Tulsa Shock
2015	Kelsey Bone	Center	United States	Connecticut Sun (2)
2016	Elizabeth Williams	Forward / Center	United States[lower-alpha 5]	Atlanta Dream
2017	Jonquel Jones	Forward / Center	Bahamas[lower-alpha 6]	Connecticut Sun (3)
2018	Natasha Howard	Forward	United States	Seattle Storm
2019	Leilani Mitchell (2)	Guard[6]	Australia[lower-alpha 1]	Phoenix Mercury
2020	Betnijah Laney	Forward/guard[7]	United States	Atlanta Dream
2021	Brionna Jones	Forward[8]	United States	Connecticut Sun
2022	Jackie Young	Guard[9]	United States	Las Vegas Aces
2023	Satou Sabally	Forward[10]	Germany[lower-alpha 7]	Dallas Wings

Notes

Leilani Mitchell was born as a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. She represents Australia internationally.[1]
Kia Vaughn was born in the United States and is a naturalized citizen of the Czech Republic. She has represented the Czech Republic internationally since 2017.
Kristi Toliver was born in the United States and is a naturalized citizen of Slovakia. She has represented Slovakia internationally since 2014.[2]
Shavonte Zellous was born in the United States and is a naturalized citizen of Croatia. She has represented Croatia internationally since 2015.[3]
Elizabeth Williams was born in the United Kingdom and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. She has represented the United States internationally since 2009.[4]
Jonquel Jones was born in the Bahamas and is a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has represented Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally since 2019.[5]
Satou Sabally was born in the United States to Gambian and German parents, and is a citizen by birth of all three countries. She represents Germany internationally.[11]

References

"WNBA Most Improved Player Award". Retrieved January 19, 2009.

FIBA World Championship for Women. Joyce thrilled to get Mitchell on board.Retrieved 2014-04-18
Washington Post. .Retrieved 2019-11-24
Indianapolis Star. .Retrieved 2019-11-24
USA Basketball. .Retrieved 2019-11-24
Nassau Guardian. .Retrieved 2019-11-24
"Leilani Mitchell Named 2019 WNBA Most Improved Player". wnba.com. WNBA. September 18, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
"Crystal Dangerfield Named WNBA Rookie Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
"Connecticut Sun Brionna Jones Named 2021 KIA Most Improved Player". wnba.com. WNBA. September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
"Jackie Young Named 2022 KIA WNBA Most Improved Player". wnba.com (Press release). New York, NY: WNBA. August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
"Dallas Wings' Satou Sabally Named 2023 KIA WNBA Most Improved Player" (Press release). WNBA. September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
Ayala, Erica (August 27, 2020). "Satou Sabally Is a Unicorn". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 27, 2020.

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[Mitchell-2] Leilani Mitchell was born as a dual citizen of the United States and Australia. She represents Australia internationally.[1]

[3] Kia Vaughn was born in the United States and is a naturalized citizen of the Czech Republic. She has represented the Czech Republic internationally since 2017.

[5] Kristi Toliver was born in the United States and is a naturalized citizen of Slovakia. She has represented Slovakia internationally since 2014.[2]

[7] Shavonte Zellous was born in the United States and is a naturalized citizen of Croatia. She has represented Croatia internationally since 2015.[3]

[9] Elizabeth Williams was born in the United Kingdom and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. She has represented the United States internationally since 2009.[4]

[11] Jonquel Jones was born in the Bahamas and is a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She has represented Bosnia and Herzegovina internationally since 2019.[5]

[18] Satou Sabally was born in the United States to Gambian and German parents, and is a citizen by birth of all three countries. She represents Germany internationally.[11]

[1] FIBA World Championship for Women. Joyce thrilled to get Mitchell on board.Retrieved 2014-04-18

[4] Washington Post. .Retrieved 2019-11-24

[6] Indianapolis Star. .Retrieved 2019-11-24

[8] USA Basketball. .Retrieved 2019-11-24

[10] Nassau Guardian. .Retrieved 2019-11-24

[12] "Leilani Mitchell Named 2019 WNBA Most Improved Player". wnba.com. WNBA. September 18, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.

[13] "Crystal Dangerfield Named WNBA Rookie Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.

[14] "Connecticut Sun Brionna Jones Named 2021 KIA Most Improved Player". wnba.com. WNBA. September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.

[15] "Jackie Young Named 2022 KIA WNBA Most Improved Player". wnba.com (Press release). New York, NY: WNBA. August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.

[16] "Dallas Wings' Satou Sabally Named 2023 KIA WNBA Most Improved Player" (Press release). WNBA. September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.

[17] Ayala, Erica (August 27, 2020). "Satou Sabally Is a Unicorn". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 27, 2020.

WNBA Most Improved Player Award

Winners

See also

References