Who were the biggest snubs from the 2012 All-WNBA teams?

Prior to Game Two of the WNBA Finals, the WNBA announced its 2012 All-WNBA teams. Naturally, the announcement of teams like this causes us to reflect on the season, wonder who the best players were, and then wonder, "Who was robbed snubbed?" The following is a look at a few potential snubs and the players whose slots they could possibly take.

For more on the 2012 WNBA Awards, check out our storystream on the sidebar to the right of this page.

2012 All-WNBA Teams: Tamika Catchings earns her seventh first team selection, Seimone Augustus gets first

The WNBA has announced its 2012 All-WNBA Teams today, with the last two MVPs and the 2011 WNBA Finals MVP headlining the list.

2012 WNBA MVP Tina Charles led the voting with 196 points while 2012 Defensive Player of the Year Tamika Catchings was third with 161 votes, with voting for the top three going in about the order of the 2012 MVP voting. In addition, 2011 WNBA Finals MVP Seimone Augustus got her first First-Team selection.

Voting for the All-WNBA First- and Second-Teams was conducted by a panel of 41 national and local sportswriters and broadcasters at the conclusion of the regular season. It's important to note that voters were instructed to select players by position and players received five points for each First-Team vote and three points for each Second-Team designation.

We'll have more on this later, but what are your thoughts? Any surprises? Glaring snubs? Drop 'em in the comments.

Hypothetical 2012 WNBA All-Rookie Second Team & honorable mention selections

Yesterday we took a look at the top five WNBA rookies, only listing statistics for the next five. Today we fill out an All-Rookie Second Team with a look at a few rookies who had a case for the 2012 WNBA All-Rookie Team and a few others who probably deserve incompletes for this season rather than being written off.

The top five WNBA rookies: Who was snubbed from the 2012 All-Rookie Team?

In between playoff games we've been spending quite a bit of time talking about the 2013 WNBA Draft lottery, but haven't quite gotten around to discussing specific prospects in depth. As a preliminary step to looking at 2013 draft prospects, the following is a look back at the top players in the 2012 rookie class - and specifically the 2012 WNBA All-Rookie Team - which provides a well-rounded reflection on top prospects, suspect prospects, and how some players can get better with time.

2012 WNBA All-Rookie Team: Glory Johnson, Nneka Ogwumike headline the voting

Along with the Rookie of the Year award, the 2012 WNBA All-Rookie team was announced today.

The five-woman team is as follows:

For more details on each player's ceiling, visit WNBA.com.

Carol Ross gets Coach of the Year award, Nneka Ogwumike finishes as Rookie of the Year

The Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year come from the same team - the Los Angeles Sparks - as coach Carol Ross and Nneka Ogwumike pick up the honors.

Tamika Catchings named Defensive Player of the Year

Indiana's Tamika Catchings regained her title as WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, for the fifth time in her career. Catchings who was usurped in 2011 by Sylvia Fowles, has also earned this designation in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010. She garnered 19 of 41 votes cast in the contest by media members.

Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry was second with nine votes, followed by Los Angeles teammates Candace Parker (6 votes) and Alana Beard (4 votes). Others receiving votes include Sancho Lyttle (2), Tina Charles (1) and Sophia Young (1).

Also announced were the 2012 All-Defensive Teams, as selected by the 12 WNBA head coaches (points earned in parentheses):

First Team -

• Tamika Catchings (50)
  
• Sancho Lyttle (26)
  
• Sylvia Fowles (33)
  
• Alana Beard (30)
  
• Briann January (26)
  

Second Team -

• Sophia Young (22)
  
• Candace Parker (15)
  
• Tina Charles (21)
  
• Armintie Price (18)
  
• Danielle Robinson (17)
  

Interestingly, Charles, Parker and Young, who received DPOY votes, did not make the first team. Instead, Fowles, Beard and January joined Catchings and Lyttle as first-team designees.

Los Angeles Sparks guard Kristi Toliver wins 2012 WNBA Most Improved Player Award

End of 1st Q: Stars up 25-24. Toliver with 6, Beard with 5 #WeAreSparks

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LA_Sparks) September 28, 2012

The WNBA announced tonight that Los Angeles Sparks guard Kristi Toliver has won the 2012 WNBA Most Improved Player Award in something of a landslide.

Toliver won 24 of 41 media votes (58%) from a panel of national and local sportswriters and broadcasters, more than triple the next closest candidate (Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner, 7 votes).

Toliver set career-highs in a number of statistical categories this season, but the most significant given her style of play was arguably her shooting efficiency, which improved from 42.3% in 2011 to 49.1% in 2012. That improved shooting efficiency was a primary reason why she made one of the biggest statistical improvements of any player in the league this season.

We went over the pros and cons of Toliver as a candidate at mid-season and things pretty much held to form to finish the regular season, but the bottom line is that she did take a major step forward.

The full voting results are as follows:

WNBA awards season descends on Connecticut

The WNBA is not only kicking off the playoffs from Mohegan Sun, but also the awards season - and in a big way. Your 2012 WNBA Player of the Year is none other than:

Tina Charles - MVP

She received 345 points (25 first-place votes), followed by Candace Parker (253 points), Tamika Catching (210 points) and Maya Moore (128 points). In total, 16 women received points in this year's voting.

Renee Montgomery - Sixth Woman

After four consecutive years of DeWanna Bonner, Montgomery took the top spot after garnering 23 (of 41) votes for Sixth Woman of the Year. She was followed in the voting by Danielle Adams (9 votes) and Jia Perkins (6 votes). Erlana Larkins, Monica Wright and Avery Warley all received one vote each.

Kara Lawson - Kim Perrot Sportsmanship

Lawson nabbed 18 (of 41) votes to earn the award honoring a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship - ethical behavior, fair play and integrity. This is her second selection for this honor, also winning in 2009. Second in the voting was Becky Hammon (5 votes), with Alana Beard and DeWanna Bonner both getting three votes apiece.

Mohegan Sun Arena - 2013 WNBA All-Star

If all these Tiffany blue boxes wasn't enough, it was announced that Mohegan Sun will be the site of the 2013 WNBA All-Star festivities on July 27. This will mark the third occasion the venue will host the All-Star event, also tapped in 2005 and 2009.