WNBA · Awards
AP’s 2026 WNBA Award Winners: Seven Women, Seven Standout Seasons
A’ja Wilson sets the standard. Olivia Miles makes an immediate impact. Meet the six players and one coach behind the AP’s 2026 individual WNBA honors.
Seven awards. Seven women. Seven different ways to leave a mark on a season.
The Associated Press announced its 2026 WNBA honors on September 27, recognizing sustained excellence, a remarkable debut, a return to form and the contributions that make a team work. This is a guide to the seven individual award recipients featured in our carousel, not a list of every All-AP team selection.
One distinction matters: these are the AP’s media awards, selected separately from the WNBA’s official league awards. Here is who won, what stands out about her season and why each achievement deserves a closer look. Award selections are drawn from the Associated Press report.
AP · Player of the Year
A’ja Wilson: Player of the Year
Las Vegas Aces
Wilson earned a third consecutive AP Player of the Year award and her fourth overall. She received 15 of the panel’s 17 first-place votes after averaging a league-leading 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and a career-best 3.2 assists. Field Level Media’s award report details the selection.
The scoring gets the headline. The broader production is worth staying for. Leading the league in points while reaching a personal best as a passer offers a fuller picture of her season: a prolific scorer whose contribution also includes creating for others. Repeated recognition should not make that combination feel routine.
AP · Rookie of the Year
Olivia Miles: Rookie of the Year
Minnesota Lynx
Miles was the AP’s unanimous rookie selection. Her introduction to the league had already included an All-Star start: Minnesota’s All-Star announcement identifies her as the only rookie starter in the 2026 game, and only the second rookie in Lynx history to receive that distinction, after Maya Moore.
That is an unusually fast arrival. The No. 2 draft pick was being recognized alongside established stars within months of turning professional. Her rookie award is a useful invitation to look beyond potential and notice what she was already contributing.
AP · Defensive Player of the Year
Angel Reese: Defensive Player of the Year
Atlanta Dream
Reese’s first season in Atlanta ended with the AP’s top defensive honor. The move itself was significant: the Dream acquired her from Chicago in April, adding a two-time All-Star who had already established herself as a formidable rebounder.
Atlanta’s announcement records 49 double-doubles across her first two professional seasons. That history helps explain the foundation she brought to her new team. Rebounding is more than a box-score total: securing the ball ends an opponent’s possession or gives an offense another opportunity. Her award puts attention on a form of influence that does not always lead a highlight reel.
AP · Comeback Player of the Year
Caitlin Clark: Comeback Player of the Year
Indiana Fever
Clark’s return brought elite production: 22.3 points and 8.3 assists per game, according to the Fever’s AP honors announcement.
The context matters. A right groin injury ended her 2025 season, during which she appeared in only 13 games, as the AP reported at the time. A comeback is not just the first game back. It is the body of work that follows. This award recognizes a season in which her scoring and playmaking were again central to the conversation.
AP · Most Improved Player
Jessica Shepard: Most Improved Player
Dallas Wings
Shepard’s season rewards a wider definition of offensive impact. Her Dallas roster statistics show averages of 14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
Read those numbers together. The scoring matters, but so do the extra possessions and the passes that create someone else’s basket. Her production spans finishing, rebounding and facilitating rather than fitting into a single narrow role. For anyone discovering Shepard through this award, that versatility is the place to start.
AP · Sixth Woman of the Year
Janelle Salaün: Sixth Woman of the Year
Golden State Valkyries
Golden State describes Salaün’s honor as AP Sixth Player of the Year. Its award announcement reports that her 12.7 points per game led reserves, while her 509 points and 93 three-pointers set single-season WNBA records for a reserve player. She shot 39.2% from three.
Coming off the bench describes when a player enters, not how much she matters. Salaün supplied both volume and accuracy from distance. Her season is a reminder to look past the starting lineup when asking who changes a game.
AP · Coach of the Year
Cheryl Reeve: Coach of the Year
Minnesota Lynx
Reeve completes this group as its one coach. Her AP award sits alongside Miles’ rookie recognition, giving Minnesota an individual honor on the sideline as well as on the floor.
The Lynx finished 33–11 and took the No. 1 playoff seed, as the WNBA’s postseason preview records. Coaching recognition asks us to look at the collective result: how individual contributions become a successful team season.
The award is the introduction
These honors recognize different kinds of excellence. Some reward dominance; others draw attention to growth, a return, a supporting role or leadership. Together, they give us more than one way to appreciate women’s basketball.
At Beautiful Ballers, recognition is an invitation to keep paying attention. Learn her game. Notice her contribution. Let the award be the beginning of getting to know her, not the end.
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Editorial note: This is Beautiful Ballers’ independently written news analysis based on the linked reporting and team announcements. It is not an AP-produced article or an announcement of the WNBA’s official league awards.