2023 WNBA Awards: Peak performances from Jewell Loyd, Alyssa Thomas and Courtney Vandersloot

Congratulations to the winners of the WNBA’s 2023 Peak Performer Awards:

• Scoring leader: Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm — 24.7 points per game
• Rebounding leader: Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun — 9.9 rebounds per game
• Assist leader: Courtney Vandersloot, New York Liberty — 8.1 assists per game

Jewell’s a bucket-getting gem

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While her league-leading 24.7 points per game earned her a Peak Performer Award, the first-time honor does not fully capture the prolificness of Jewell Loyd. With 939 total points, Loyd scored the most points in a single season in WNBA history. She also threatened the WNBA’s all-time single-season points per game mark. Matching the WNBA record with 12 games of 30 or more points helped Loyd meet and approach these all-time accomplishments.

As our Chelsea Leite argued, Loyd deserved more consideration in the 2023 MVP conversation for her outstanding efforts. And, she certainly deserved the two-year supermax contract extension she signed last week.

AT is the W’s boardwoman

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By grabbing a career-high 9.9 rebounds per game, Alyssa Thomas attained her first Peak Performer Award. Her nearly 10 boards per game explains why Thomas was a double-double machine, with a single-season record of 28 double-doubles in 2023. She also owns the WNBA’s triple-double crown, totaling six this season. Her single-season record of 316 total assists helped make her the greatest triple-double threat in W history.

Thomas is a tornadic transition force, snagging a board before leading the break and finding a teammate for an easy score. It’s why she’s at the center of the 2023 MVP race.

A lucky seventh assists title for Sloot

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Although she joined a new team, 2023 gave us the same Courtney Vandersloot. With 8.1 assists per game, Vandersloot claimed a record seventh Peak Performer Award. That means she’s led the WNBA in assists per game in more than half her 13 WNBA seasons!

Not surprisingly, Sloot is the near-perfect point guard. In her first season in New York, she was the conductor who made the Liberty’s über-efficient orchestral offense sing, consistently setting up her talented teammates to hit the right notes. In 14 games, she registered at least 10 assists, all but one were Liberty wins.