Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson and Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Parker make All-WNBA first team

ByMechelle Voepel ESPN logo
Sunday, October 4, 2020

Las Vegas forward A'ja Wilson and Los Angeles forward/center Candace Parker were unanimous selections to the All-WNBA first team, the league announced Sunday. Seattle forward Breanna Stewart was on every first-team ballot but one, which had her on the second team.

Wilson, the league MVP, and Parker, the Defensive Player of the Year, received all 235 points from a 47-member media panel. Stewart got 233 points. It is the first selection to the All-WNBA teams for Wilson, the ninth for Parker and the third for Stewart.

Joining those three on the first team are Chicago guard Courtney Vandersloot, who led the WNBA in assists (10.0 APG), and Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale, who led the league in scoring (22.8 PPG). Vandersloot got 224 points and Ogunbowale 190.

Voting was done before the playoffs and players were selected by position. If a player got votes at multiple positions, she was slotted at the position where she received the most votes. Players got five points for a first-team vote and three points for second team.

The All-WNBA second team: Phoenix guard Diana Taurasi (150 points), Connecticut forward DeWanna Bonner (135), Minnesota forward Napheesa Collier (123), Phoenix guard Skylar Diggins-Smith (101) and Washington forward-center Myisha Hines-Allen (60).

Taurasi's record for the most All-WNBA selections extends to 14. Vandersloot is the only player on this year's All-WNBA team who also got that honor last year, when she was a first-teamer as well.

Three members of the All-WNBA teams last year -- Washington's Elena Delle Donne, Connecticut's Jonquel Jones and Las Vegas' Liz Cambage -- didn't play this season, while two others -- Phoenix's Brittney Griner and Chicago's Diamond DeShields -- left the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida, during this season for personal reasons.

Stewart (Achilles injury) and Diggins-Smith (maternity leave) didn't play last season, and Taurasi was limited to six games because of back and hamstring injuries. All bounced back with strong seasons in 2020: Stewart was runner-up to Wilson in the MVP race and their teams are facing off in the WNBA Finals.

Collier and Ogunbowale were 1-2 in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2019, and this is their first selection to the All-WNBA teams. It also is the first selection for third-year pro Hines-Allen, who saw a big increase in minutes with several other Mystics out this season. Hines-Allen made the most of that, bumping her scoring and rebounding averages from 2.3 and 2.1 last year to 17.0 and 8.9 this year. She was runner-up this season for Most Improved Player honors.

Each member of the All-WNBA first team gets $10,300, and second-team members receive $5,150.

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