WNBA Award Races Resume After World Cup Break: MVP, Rookie of the Year, More

The WNBA regular season resumes Thursday, Sept. 17, four days after Team USA beat France 97-79 in Berlin for its fifth straight FIBA Women's World Cup title. The top eight teams have each played 40 games, and the regular season ends Sept. 24.

A combined 70 current and former WNBA players appeared at the tournament, according to NBC Sports. The league last played Aug. 30. All eight playoff berths had been decided before the pause.

Breanna Stewart came home as the first player to win World Cup MVP twice. She scored 22 points in the final. The title was her fourth at the World Cup, a total only Sue Bird had reached before her.

The Americans trailed by 14 points in the first half before rallying past France behind Stewart and Jackie Young. For Stewart, the goal every time the program plays is gold.

"We are the standard," Stewart said. "USA Basketball has continued to show up and go for gold and to have done that however many times consecutively is an insane stat. We want to make sure that we continue to build on that standard and everybody else knows it."

Stewart plays for the New York Liberty, who are 24-16 and tied with the Washington Mystics and Dallas Wings. FanDuel Sportsbook listed her at +25000 to win WNBA MVP on Aug. 31.

Young joined Stewart on the tournament's All-Star Five. She scored 18 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and added 5 assists in the final, becoming the first player to win World Cup gold, Olympic gold in both 3x3 and 5-on-5, and WNBA, NCAA, and high school state titles. Her Las Vegas Aces are 27-13.

A'ja Wilson was a -1250 favorite at FanDuel to win a third straight MVP as of Aug. 31. Olivia Miles, the Minnesota Lynx rookie, was next at +800. No other player was shorter than +4500.

Entering the break, Wilson was averaging 26.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. She added 1.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 52.3% from the field and 39.8% from 3-point range. SI credited her with 8.0 win shares.

Last season, Wilson became the first four-time MVP in league history. She received 51 of 72 first-place votes, according to BetMGM.

Miles was averaging 19.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.0 assists with 5.9 win shares. Minnesota is 31-9 and sits two games ahead of the Golden State Valkyries for the No. 1 seed.

Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell (+4500) and Caitlin Clark (+8000) followed on FanDuel's board. Wings guard Paige Bueckers was listed at +25000, the same price as Stewart. Clark, Bueckers, and Angel Reese made their World Cup debuts in Berlin.

Gabby Williams also made the All-Star Five. She scored 20 points for France in the final, and the silver medal was France's best finish in the event.

Williams signed with Golden State in free agency. BetMGM had her at +100 to win Defensive Player of the Year in its Sept. 2 update, ahead of Wilson.

The Valkyries led the league with a 99.8 defensive rating, 3.7 points better than any other team, per BetMGM. Williams was averaging 1.6 steals. Golden State is 29-11 and has won four straight.

Wilson has won the award three times. She shared the 2025 honor with Alanna Smith, who was with Minnesota at the time. Smith now plays for Dallas, and NBC Sports reported she was injured at the World Cup while playing for Australia.

Mystics center Shakira Austin and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese were also on BetMGM's board.

Miles was a -5000 favorite at BetMGM in July, according to WNBA.com. She was averaging 18.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.7 assists at that point. BetMGM reported that 83.4% of the money in that market was on Miles.

Jessica Shepard was a -235 favorite at BetMGM as of Aug. 20. Austin followed at +500, and Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey was at +800.

Shepard was averaging 14.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists for Dallas in BetMGM's update. The book credited her with four triple-doubles, which moved her to second on the WNBA's career list.

The Wings won four straight before the break. They host the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, and none of their last four opponents will reach the playoffs, according to NBC Sports.

Veronica Burton won the award last season with Golden State.

Janelle Salaün was listed at -1000 when BetMGM last posted the market in early August. Chennedy Carter had led that market from the start of the season until the Aces released her.

Salaün has come off the bench in every game for Golden State. In BetMGM's last update, she was averaging 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 42.5% shooting. The book named Fever guard Sophie Cunningham as the top challenger.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was a -1000 favorite at BetMGM in its Sept. 2 update. Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, the 2025 winner, was at +750. Mystics coach Sydney Johnson was at +2500.

Napheesa Collier did not make her season debut until after an early July loss to New York, following surgeries on both ankles, according to NBC Sports. Reeve has won the award four times, most recently in 2024.

Van Chancellor is the only coach to win it in consecutive seasons. He did it in each of the league's first three years with the Houston Comets.

Minnesota lost its final two games before the break. The Lynx host the Liberty on Friday and close the regular season with two games against the Fever.