Tag: Elena Delle Donne

Photo Courtesy of Lorie Shaull

Team Captains Delle Donne and Wilson Select All-Star Rosters

The WNBA All-Star rosters are officially set! On Tuesday night, team captains Elena Delle Donne and A’Ja Wilson selected their teammates through the WNBA All-Star Draft.

Delle Donne and Wilson select their teams

The draft is an annual event that allows the players that got the most votes to choose their rosters for the star-studded game on Saturday. The event took place on ESPN2 and featured both team captains as they made their picks.

The draft began with Delle Donne making the first pick of the draft. Delle Donne was the leading vote-getter this year with 32,460 fan votes. For her first pick, Delle Donne selected Phoenix Mercury center, Brittney Griner.

After Delle Donne selected Griner, Wilson selected Chelsea Gray of the Los Angeles Sparks.

The team captains went back and forth selecting from the other All-Star starters. Delle Donne selected Jewell Loyd, Jonquel Jones and Kia Nurse. Wilson selected her Aces teammates in Kayla McBride and Liz Cambage, but she also selected Natasha Howard of Seattle.

Wilson had the first choice of the reserves as Delle Donne had the first choice of starters. She chose Sylvia Fowles. Delle Donne chose her Mystics teammate Kristi Toliver with her first reserve pick. Then, both players went back and forth in picking reserves.

Wilson chose Diamond DeShields, Allie Quigley, Tina Charles (who she traded), Erica Wheeler, Candice Dupree and Odyssey Sims. She traded Charles to Delle Donne in exchange for Naphessa Collier (who will replace Wilson in the All-Star Game) . Delle Donne selected DeWanna Bonner, Nneka Ogwumike, Courtney Vandersloot, Naphessa Collier (who she traded) and Alyssa Thomas.

The team captains also traded coaches, Bill Laimbeer (head coach of the Las Vegas Aces) will coach Team Wilson, and Mike Thibault (head coach of the Washington Mystics) will coach Team Delle Donne. So, both players’ coaches are going to coach their All-Star teams.

All-Star Festivities Begin

The All-Star Game takes place on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET. It will be televised on ABC. The Skills challenge and 3 Point Contest takes place on Friday.

The team captains selected extremely talented players, who will come together and put on a show on Saturday.

With the rosters set, it is only a matter of waiting for the weekend. Fans are in for a treat.

Photo Courtesy of Lorie Shaull

WNBA MVP Power Ranking

As the WNBA season continues, some players have had noteworthy seasons. These players have played well and have helped their teams succeed. Typically, when a player has such an impactful season, fans and media alike agree that the player is having an MVP caliber season.

The WNBA MVP is the most prestigious (individual player) award of the league. A player receives the award when they have an impactful season. They play well, and their team usually does the same.

Last year, Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm won the MVP award. She won after a great season where she averaged 21.8 points (a career-high), 8.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals (another career-high). She also won Finals MVP and a WNBA championship in the same year.

This year, the award could go to another deserving player. A player who like Stewart, impacts their team. Here are five potential MVP candidates and where they currently stand against other candidates.

1.) Elena Delle Donne

Delle Donne is no stranger to the MVP award. She won the award in 2015 after averaging 23.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and two blocks. Her averages in each category are her career-best. Delle Donne’s performance led to the Chicago Sky finishing second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 21-13. Unfortunately, the Sky lost in the first round of the playoffs.

This year, Delle Donne, who now plays for the Washington Mystics, averages 17.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. She ranks fourth in scoring and fourth in rebounds. Delle Donne was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 28.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in two games. The Mystics went undefeated this weekend as they beat the Fever on Friday and the Dream on Sunday. Delle Donne scored 28 points in both games and had a double-double in the overtime win over the Fever. She grabbed 15 rebounds to go along with her 28 points.

Delle Donne played great over the weekend, as she returned to the Mystics on Friday. She missed three games with a broken nose. She wore a face mask and put on a show.

The Mystics are second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 11-6. They are on a two-game winning streak as Delle Donne returned to action. They lost three-straight games when she was out. Now, they are back on the right track. This shows how important Delle Donne is to the Mystics and why she is an MVP candidate.

2.) Natasha Howard

Another player to consider is Natasha Howard. Howard averages 18.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks. She is averaging a career-high in points and rebounds and made significant improvements in both categories. Her points per game averages has improved by 5.2 points and her rebounds average increased by 1.8. Last season was her career-best in several categories, but she is surpassing those averages this year.

Howard was named the Western Conference Player of the Week as the Seattle Storm went 2-0 this week. She averaged 27.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks.

Howard has 33 points as the Storm beat the Minnesota Lynx 90-79. Then, she had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a close win over the Las Vegas Aces.

The talented forward ranks third in the league in points and sixth in rebounds. She is playing well despite a situation off the court. Her performance has helped the Storm remain second in the Western Conference with a record 12-8. They are on a four-game winning streak and could extend their streak as they play the Aces. Howard’s performance this season has helped them tremendously.

3.) Jonquel Jones

Jones is playing well for the Connecticut Sun as they sit on top of the Eastern Conference. She averages 15.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Her stats have improved from her previous season.

Jones has played well as the Sun are on a three-game winning streak.

In their games last week, Jones finished the games with 26 points and 12 points respectively. The forward/center is impacting her team and will likely continue to do so for the rest of the season.

4.) A’ja Wilson

The 2018 Rookie of the Year continues to shine as she leads the Aces through their season. Wilson averages 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds this season. She ranks ninth in points and seventh in blocks this season.

In their last two games, the Aces went 1-1. They lost to the Storm on Friday but beat the Lynx on Sunday. Wilson played in Friday’s game but left early due to an ankle injury. Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer says that Wilson could be out for weeks. Wilson has played well for the Aces as they are first in the Western Conference with a record of 12-6.

Wilson’s injury will affect the Aces (and her MVP chances), but she should be considered.

5.) DeWanna Bonner

Bonner is a veteran that is still going strong. She started her career in 2009 with the Phoenix Mercury and has been with the team since then. This season, Bonner averages 18.5 points and 7.7 rebounds. She ranks second in scoring and eighth in rebounds.

In their two games last week, Bonner had 10 points in the first game and 14 in the second. The Mercury won both games (one home and one away) against the Dallas Wings

Bonner has played well for the Mercury, and she plays a crucial part in their success. The veteran deserves recognition as an MVP candidate.

This year’s MVP race features several deserving candidates. Next week’s rankings could change, but as of now, these are the MVP candidates and where they currently stand.


Photo Courtesy of James Marvin Phelps

WNBA Announces All-Star Reserves

The WNBA All-Star rosters are all set as the league made a big announcement. According to the WNBA, the league’s All-Star reserves have been decided.

WNBA head coaches around the league selected the reserves. The coaches had the task of voting for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position. Their choices at either position could come from either conference, but they were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

The reserves feature 12 players from around the league. There are six guards along with six frontcourt players. They will play behind the starters, which the league announced on Thursday.

The frontcourt reserves are New York Liberty’s Tina Charles, Indiana Fever’s Candice Dupree, Phoenix Mercury’s DeWanna Bonner, the Minnesota Lynx’ Sylvia Fowles, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike and the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas.

The guards also feature a group of talented players. The guard reserves are the Chicago Sky’s Diamond DeShields, Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot, Minnesota’s Odyssey Sims, the Washington Mystics’ Kristi Toliver, and the Indiana Fever’s Erica Wheeler.

The 2019 WNBA All-Star game takes place on Saturday, July 27. The game is at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, which is home of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. This year’s game will air on ABC at 3:30 pm ET. The starters for the game were chosen by fan voting with the players who received the most votes awarded captains of each team. Team Delle Donne faces Team Wilson as Elena Delle Donne and Aces player A’ja Wilson are team captains.

The team captains choose their rosters in an upcoming draft. Delle Donne and Wilson will choose from eight starters and then from the 12 reserves announced on Monday. Since Delle Donne was the top vote getter she will get to pick first.

Their draft begins with other starters such as Las Vegas’ Liz Cambage, Phoenix’s Brittney Griner, Los Angeles’ Chelsea Gray and Seattle’s Jewell Loyd. So, the All-Star rosters will feature several talented players.

Dupree and Charles lead all players with most All-Star game selections with seven. There are four players who will appear in their first All-Star game including Howard, Nurse, DeShields, Sims and Wheeler. No rookies were selected to the All-Star game.

The coaches for the game were determined by which two teams had the best records through July 12. The Las Vegas Aces was the top team with a record of 10-5 so Las Vegas head coach Bill Laimbeer and his staff will coach Team Delle Donne. Meanwhile, the Washington Mystics had the second best record at 9-5 so Washington head coach Mike Thibault and his staff will coach Team Wilson. This does create a unique situation since Wilson and Delle Donne will be switching their regular season coaches for the All-Star game.

Las Vegas will be hosting their first ever All-Star game this year creating an exciting event for fans. It gives them the chance to see their favorite players share the same court. There are several great players who will put on a show come the 27th.

This game should be a good one, and something fans can enjoy. All that’s left is for Delle Donne and Wilson to make their decisions.