Note: WNBA.com’s Race to the MVP is the opinion of this writer and does not
reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.
MORE:Race to MVP Archive
When Breanna Stewart entered the WNBA in 2016, we knew it was only a matter of
time. A four-time Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four at UConn, Stewart
was destined to become one of the league’s best players from the moment she got
drafted. She finished sixth in the MVP voting as a rookie and looked like a
surefire candidate for many years to come.
Now in her third season, Stewart has guided Seattle to the best record in the
WNBA (26-8). Before this year, the Storm hadn’t achieved a winning season since
2011, much less the No. 1 overall seed.
It’s not just Stewart that contributed to this success. Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird
had All-Star seasons themselves, and newcomer Natasha Howard is a candidate to
be named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player. First-year coach Dan Hughes created
something special with a group that hadn’t unlocked its full potential.
In the end, Stewart’s dominance on the league’s best team seems to have won her
the MVP award. Several media outlets have indicated they will vote for Stewart,
including ESPN, The Athletic and WNBA.com contributor Michelle Smith. She gets
the final nod on this list, too.
There are other worthy candidates, namely Liz Cambage and Elena Delle Donne.
Cambage climbs back to No. 2 in our final rankings after helping Dallas reach
the postseason with a memorable performance. She dropped 43 points with 13
rebounds in last week’s win over Las Vegas to secure the playoff berth. It was
the second-highest scoring game in the WNBA this year, behind only her
league-record 53 points on July 17.
Cambage led the WNBA in Estimated Impact and Player Efficiency Rating. She
scored the most points over a 10-game span in league history (309) and became
the first player with back-to-back 35-point games. After four years away from
the WNBA, Cambage was, in a word, dominant.
Heading into the All-Star break, one could have made a legitimate case for
Cambage over Stewart. But the Wings struggled down the stretch and finished
15-19, barely holding on to the No. 8 seed. They were 16-18 without Cambage last
year.
Delle Donne, meanwhile, led Washington to a franchise record-tying 22 wins and
the third-best record in the WNBA. The Mystics closed the year with eight
straight wins before falling to Minnesota in the season finale while resting
their stars. Like Stewart, Delle Donne’s team hadn’t experienced much recent
success until she arrived in 2017 via trade.
Delle Donne ranked third in Player Efficiency Rating behind Cambage and Stewart.
The 2015 MVP made strides as a distributor, averaging a career-high 2.3 assists
per game and reducing her turnovers to less than one per contest. She did miss
five games, while Stewart played all 34.
Stewart is also the most versatile player among the top MVP candidates. She
ranked near the very top of the league in points (21.8 per game), rebounds
(8.4), blocks (1.4), steals (1.4), field goal percentage (52.9%) and three-point
percentage (41.5%). The 6-4 forward ranked ninth in the entire WNBA in
three-pointers made (61).
When Stewart entered the league, the comparisons to Storm legend Lauren Jackson
were inevitable. Jackson won three MVP awards and two titles in Seattle as a
versatile forward who could do it all on both ends. Her first MVP award came in
her third season. Now, Stewart has broken the franchise’s single-season scoring
record set by Jackson and tallied the sixth-most points in WNBA history (742).
Stewart produced the most Win Shares in the league by a significant margin, the
truest indicator of how valuable a player is to her team. And if you want to dig
deeper, Stewart outscored Cambage in all four head-to-head matchups this season.
Thus, in addition to her case as the best player on the best team, Stewart has
the numbers to back it up. At age 23, she figures to be in the MVP conversation
for the foreseeable future.
If she wins, Stewart will be the 10th different player to earn the award in the
last 10 years.
Final Rankings
1. Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm
2. Liz Cambage, Dallas Wings
3. Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics
4. Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
5. Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
6. Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
7. Tiffany Hayes, Atlanta Dream
8. Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
9. A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
10. Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut Sun
