WNBA: Answering the key questions about the MVP and other awards

Last week, we set the stage for the final sprint of the 2025 WNBA season with five questions about contenders’ playoff circumstances. This week, we turn to league’s other most-contested, to-be-determined matter: award winners.

Just as the race for playoff seeding promises to be one of the more consequential in recent WNBA history, so does the battle for the top individual honors. So, let’s begin with the big one.

1. How intense will the MVP battle become?

Edwin Garcia already has anticipated the coming consternation about who wins the WNBA’s premier individual honor, while Josh Felton outlined how what kind of value one prioritizes can lead to a different, yet equally legitimate, MVP conclusions.

Yet game by game, the contenders for the crown keep up the ante, turning in evermore incredible performances.

At this point, any game of at least 30 points and 10 rebounds might as well be called an “A’ja,” as A’ja Wilson achieved her 10th such game of the season in the Las Vegas Aces’ most recent win, which just so happened to be their 10th-straight win, the longest winning streak in the WNBA this season.

Alyssa Thomas’ signature is the triple-double, of which she now has six this season—with five coming in the Phoenix Mercury’s last nine games. Allisha Gray does’t miss for the Atlanta Dream, whether it’s a shot or a game. The league-leader in minutes played who has not missed a game has become one of the W’s most dangerous long-range shooters.

And then there’s Napheesa Collier, who returned from her seven-game ankle injury absence to, once again, elevate the Minnesota Lynx into greatness. Phee logged 32 points on better than 68 percent shooting, while also grabbing nine boards—a game illustrative of why she might not just be this season’s MVP, but, as Beckett Harrison proposed, is also authoring the greatest individual season in Lynx history.

2. Who are the five best rookies?

Take a gander back through the archive of the WNBA’s All-Rookie Teams and it’s not hard to find some uninspiring selections. For many seasons, honoring five worthy candidates was a struggle.

That will not be the case in 2025. There will be some serious snubs. While it can be expected that the Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers and the Washington Mystics’ duo of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen will be unanimous honorees, the final two spots could be claimed by a number of fantastic first years.

Connecticut Sun fans are screaming for Saniya Rives and Aneesah Morrow, while also insisting that Leïla Lacan deserves strong consideration, even though she did not debut until the middle of the season. Out in Golden State, it is assumed that Valkyrie rooks Janelle Salaün and Carla Leite will get their shine. The X-Factor, meanwhile, will want to make sure that the Mercury’s Monique Akoa Makani and Kathryn Westbeld, despite being non-traditional rookies, are respected for their unexpected efforts. Up in Seattle, a Storm will be a brewing if Dominique Malonga does not make it. And down in the ATL, Dream fans will demand that Te-Hina Paopao be included.

It would be surprising if Malonga does not make the team, even if her resume, while including some high highs and phenomenal flashes, is a bit thinner than candidates who have been more consistent contributors for their teams over the course of the season.

3. Is Becky Hammon actually a Coach of the Year candidate?

From the hot seat to the hardware? At midseason, a Becky Hammon end-of-season dismissal seemed more likely than an end-of-season award.

But now? While the Aces head coach likely remains a long shot to the Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase, Dream’s Karl Smesko and Lynx’s Cheryl Reeve, it would not be crazy for her to capture her second Coach of the Year trophy.

As ESPN’s Kendra Andrews recently detailed, Hammon adopted a new, more collaborative approach to help the Aces escape the funk the seemed destined to doom their season. She challenged players to create their own scouting reports, which, according to Andrews, she hoped “would ignite a new level of engagement and attention to detail.” It’s worked, with the innovative approach—one indicative of coach who possesses the requisite combination of humility, creativity and intuition—transforming the Aces from first-round fodder into a true title threat.

4. Should Stewie be the DPOY?

No, Stewie’s probably missed too many games. And her Defensive Player of the Year case has been made in absentia.

Honors are usually are determined by a player’s impact when she is on the court, not when she is off it. Yet, it’s hard to ignore how the Liberty’s defense has fallen apart without Breanna Stewart. Since July 26, the game in which Stewart injured her knee, New York’s defensive rating has spiked to 107.0. Before then, it was 98.1. With a healthy Stewart, the Liberty defense was second only to the league-best Lynx outfit, which has been anchored by DPOY candidate Alanna Smith. With Stewart sidelined, only the single-digit win teams and the leaky Los Angeles Sparks have defenses that rate more poorly.

Even if Stewart’s defensive counting stats have decreased compared to prior seasons, her extended absence has highlighted her still under-appreciated ability to mask mistakes, clean up messes and optimize her teammates’ defensive strengths. That kind of sounds like a DPOY.

5. What does it means to improve the most?

When previewing potential Most Improved Player candidates before this season, Eric Nemchock emphasized the subjectivity of “improvement,” where the honor can go to a player who has thrived in an expanded role or one who has demonstrated an expanded skill set.

This season’s two top candidates exemplify those two possibilities.

Veronica Burton, arguably the leading candidate at midseason, most fulfills the first category, as she has flourished in a larger role for the expansion Valkyries, emerging as a nearly 30-minute-per-night starting point guard. That’s not to suggest Burton hasn’t also shown off sharpened skills; she has improved her shooting percentages even as she has increased her shot attempts, all while bearing a significant playmaking burden. While her stints with Wings and Sun cast her ceiling as a second-unit defense-first guard, Burton is now a bona fide starter capable of functioning as a primary offensive initiator.

Naz Hillmon’s transformation with the Dream has been even more drastic. Believed to be a tweener who did not have a true position, and thus a reliable role, in the WNBA, Hillmon has made herself essential by re-engineering her game. A rare and reluctant 3-point shooter, she’s boldly bombing away from behind the arc, demanding that opponents pay attention to her even if her percentage is not spectacular. She also dices up defenses as one of the WNBA’s savviest cutters. And on the other end, she’s turned her size into an asset rather than a detriment, becoming a versatile defender who is strong enough to hold up on the block yet also comfortable guarding on the perimeter. Hillmon’s traditional stats may not pop, but her advanced stats overwhelm, with her team-best 12.8 net rating encapsulating her impact—and improvement.