2023 WNBA Awards: Wilson, Thomas and Stewart lead All-WNBA Teams with unanimous First Team selections

Congratulations to the members of the 2023 All-WNBA First and Second Teams!

MVP Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson and Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun, runner up for both awards, were unanimous selections to the First Team, with the trio all earning 60 First-Team votes and 300 points. Rounding out the First Team were the Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and the Dallas Wings’ Satou Sabally. Coller received 34 First-Team and 236 points, while Sabally totaled 18 First-Team votes and 186 points.

The Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike and Aces’ Jackie Young headline the Second Team. With 168 points, Ogwumike received 12 First-Team votes and 36 Second-Team votes; Young got 14 First-Team votes and 31 Second-Team votes to total 163 points. A third Las Vegas Ace, Chelsea Gray, earned All-WNBA Second-Team honors, with her 15 First-Team votes and 28 Second-Team votes giving her 159 points. The Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd made the Second-Team with 158 points from 13 First-Team and 31 Second-Team votes. Sabrina Ionescu finishes out the Second-Team, receiving seven First-Team and 36 Second-Team votes.

Here’s why these 10 players were honored as the W’s best for the 2023 season:

All-WNBA First Team

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Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty)

The 2023 WNBA MVP in her first season in New York, Stewart makes an All-WNBA Team for the sixth time in her career. Also named Eastern Conference Player of the Month three times during the 2023 season, Stewart turned in one of the most productive seasons of her career, averaging 23.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)

Wilson adds a fourth All-WNBA honor to her career resume, topping last season’s MVP-worthy performance with 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, along with a record-matching 53-point game. The back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year and three-time Western Conference Player of the Month, she also led the league in blocks per game.

Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun)

This is just the second-career All-WNBA selection for Thomas, who tallied the most triple-doubles (six) and doubles-doubles (28) in a single season in 2023. She also lead the league in rebounds per game, total rebounds and total assists, propelling her to a second-place finish in both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx)

Collier’s second All-WNBA honor joins her second All-Defensive honor and fourth-place finish in MVP voting. She scored a career-high 21.5 points per game while also grabbing 8.5 rebounds per contest.

Satou Sabally (Dallas Wings)

The 2023 Most Improved Player who finished fifth in MVP voting, Sabally makes her first All-WNBA Team after averaging a career-highs across statistical categories, with 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

All-WNBA Second Team

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Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks)

Ogwumike earns her sixth All-WNBA selection after averaging 19.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Along the way, she set the Sparks’ single-season scoring record with 689 points. The sixth-place finisher in MVP voting, she also earned All-Defensive honors in 2023.

Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)

After scoring a career-high 17.6 points per game on the highest field goal percentage by a guard, Young makes her first All-WNBA Team. She also contributed 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)

Gray passed her way to the third All-WNBA honor of her career, ranking third in the league with 7.3 assists per game as she became the franchise leader for assists in a single season. She also tallied the first triple-double in franchise history.

Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm)

This is third All-WNBA selection for the most prolific scorer of 2023. Loyd not only finished with the second-highest scoring average in WNBA history with 24.7 points per game, but also set the record for points scored in a single season with 939. She also was the MVP of the 2023 All-Star Game, scoring a record 31 points.

Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty)

An All-WNBA honoree for the second-straight season, Ionescu made the most 3s in a single season in WNBA history, hitting 128 shots from behind the arc. Her 3-point productivity contributed to her 17.0 points per game. She also showed off her stroke in winning the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend with a record 37-point final round.