The WNBA All-Defensive Team is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) honor given since the 2005 WNBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the WNBA head coaches. who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Defensive Team is composed of two five-woman lineups, a first and a second team, comprising a total of 10 roster spots. The players each receive two points for each first team vote and one point for each second team vote. The top five players with the highest point total make the first team, with the next five making the second team. Starting with the 2023 season, players are selected without regard to position; this follows the WNBA having adopted a "positionless" format for the All-WNBA Team in 2022.[1] Before 2023, each team consisted of one center, two forwards, and two guards. During that time, if there was already a center on the first team, but another center received more points than two of the guards on the first team, that center would still be on the second team.
Tamika Catchings has the record for the most total selections with 11. Catchings has 10 first team selections and 1 second team selection.
In 2020, Defensive Player of the Year Candace Parker, was not selected to either of the WNBA All-Defensive Teams. This was the first time in the history of the award that the Defensive Player of the Year was not selected to an All-Defensive Team in either the WNBA or NBA. It reflects a difference in voters: The WNBA's defensive player of the year is voted on by media, while the all-defensive teams are voted on by the league's coaches.[2]
Winners edit
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been selected |
| Player (in bold text) |
Indicates the player who won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in the same year[a] |
2005 to present edit
References edit
- ^ "WNBA Unveils End-of-Season Awards Schedule and Announces New Process for Selecting All-Defensive Teams" (Press release). WNBA. August 30, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
- ^ a b Voepel, Mechelle (2020-09-29). "Storm's Clark tops WNBA all-defensive 1st team". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
- ^ "WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard Highlights 2019 WNBA All-Defensive First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ Voepel, Mechelle (September 26, 2021). "Minnesota Lynx star Sylvia Fowles named WNBA Defensive Player of Year for 4th time in career". ESPN. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
- ^ @WNBA (August 30, 2022). "Your 2022 #WNBA All-Defensive First Team ⬇️ @_ajawilson22 @T_Cloud4 @SylviaFowles @breannastewart @arielatkinssvn #MoreThan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @WNBA (August 30, 2022). "Your 2022 #WNBA All-Defensive Second Team ⬇️ @athomas_25 @ezimagbegor @jus242 @BrittBundlez @gabbywilliams15 #MoreThan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @WNBA (September 22, 2023). "Your 2023 WNBA All-Defensive First Team ⬇️ @_ajawilson22 @athomas_25 @BrittBundlez @breannastewart @jordin_canada #MoreThanGame" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @WNBA (September 22, 2023). "Your 2023 WNBA All-Defensive Second Team ⬇️ @BetnijahLaney @ezimagbegor @nnekaogwumike @PHEEsespieces @E_Williams_1 #MoreThanGame" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "All-Defensive Teams". WNBA.com. WNBA. Retrieved 2009-01-19.