2026 WNBA awards picks: A'ja Wilson sweeps MVP, experts divided on Angel Reese for top defender

After a thrilling conclusion to the regular season, which saw the Golden State Valkyries secure the No. 2 seed thanks to a 13-point fourth-quarter comeback against the Los Angeles Sparks, all eight playoff seeds and all four first-round matchups are set. The action will begin Sunday with a quadruple header featuring Game 1 from all four series. 

Before the playoffs get underway, it's time to honor this season's best performers with our end-of-season awards picks. A'ja Wilson is the heavy favorite to win MVP for a fifth time and a third consecutive season, while Olivia Miles is expected to be the unanimous Rookie of the Year. But what about Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year? There are real dilemmas there. Likewise, the All-WNBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams are never easy to determine. 

2026 WNBA MVP ballot: Why A'ja Wilson deserves record fifth trophy over Olivia Miles, Caitlin Clark

Jack Maloney

Below, we've made picks for every major award, as well as All-WNBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams. The official deadline for awards voting was Friday at Noon ET, and CBS Sports' Jack Maloney was once again an official awards voter. His picks below were the same as those he submitted to the league. 

Without further ado, here are our selections and explanations:

MVP

Award	Lindsay Gibbs	Isabel Gonzalez	Jack Maloney
MVP	A'ja Wilson	A'ja Wilson	A'ja Wilson

Rookie of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year

Sixth Player of the Year

Most Improved Player

Coach of the Year

Gibbs: Three of these picks here are pretty much consensus ones -- A'ja Wilson, Olivia Miles and Janelle Salaün. I was open to someone coming out of the woodwork to take the MVP mantle from Wilson after the All-Star break, but for that to have happened, Wilson would have had to slow down. But even though she was battling back soreness, her stats only decreased by a fraction -- Wilson averaged 26.1 points and 9.5 rebounds pre-All Star, and 25.8 points and 9.1 rebounds after spending time with President Obama in Chicago. She's simply too good.

The other three awards were much more difficult to pick. Defensively, I almost went with Angel Reese -- a very deserving recipient -- but ended up giving the nod to Williams, who leads the league in steal percentage at 3.5 and, in my opinion, is the most valuable defender on the best defense in the league. As rules are making it harder for perimeter defenders to get stops, Williams is finding a way. I personally wouldn't hate if we ended up with co-DPOY like last year.

My picks for Coach of the Year and Most Improved both went to the Washington Mystics, the team that exceeded my expectations the most this season. Coach Sydney Johnson guided a team with eight rookies (including the two players on developmental contracts) and three second-year players to the No 5 seed in the playoffs. The Mystics have the third-best defense in the league, lead everyone in rebounding and have wins over every playoff team. And beyond Johnson's steady hand, Shakira Austin's improvement is the biggest reason why. The fourth-year center is averaging 17.2 points and 9.1 rebounds, which is 4.5 more points and 3.7 more rebounds than she did last year. But more importantly, she's become a vocal leader who keeps her team calm in the toughest moments. In the offseason, Austin almost went to the Toronto Tempo but the Mystics held onto her with a max offer, and many wondered if it was an overpay. Nobody is thinking that anymore.

Gonzalez: A'ja Wilson leading the WNBA in points and blocks is the type of dominance on both sides of the ball that should be rewarded with the MVP. Meanwhile, Olivia Miles' historic season made her the clear Rookie of the Year. The other awards were not as straightforward because there were multiple players with good cases.

A key reason I chose Angel Reese as the Defensive Player of the Year is her league-best defensive rating difference. When she is on the court, the Dream allow 15.8 points per 100 possessions less than when she is on the bench. She also leads the WNBA in rebounds and became the first player to register 500 rebounds in a single season.

It was hard deciding between Shakira Austin and Jessica Shepard for MIP, but I chose Austin for a few reasons. Shepard is shining on a new team with a bigger role. However, Austin was already a starter for the Mystics last season, meaning her statistical improvements stemmed more from her own development than from new opportunities. The Washington center is seeing career bests in points, rebounds, assists and blocks, while also adding a 3-point shot to her game. It's also impressive that Austin has been a serious DPOY candidate.

I chose Natalie Nakase as Coach of the Year because, despite the Valkyries being in the WNBA for only two seasons, they are second in league standings and already a championship contender. Speaking of Golden State's success, Janelle Salaün easily earned Sixth Player of the Year as she leads the league in points off the bench. 

Maloney: Wilson for MVP and Miles for Rookie of the Year are stone-cold locks. No need to discuss those. Salaün for Sixth Player of the Year should also be close to unanimous. She led all bench players in scoring at 12.7 points per game, while shooting 39.2% from 3-point land. Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year all required significantly more deliberation. 

I went with Angel Reese for DPOY due to her versatility, rebounding and impact on one of the league's best defensive teams. She finished third in steals per game (1.8), seventh in stocks (steals plus blocks) per game (2.5), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (7.3) and first in defensive win shares (3.4), and the Dream's defense was 13 points per 100 possessions worse with her off the floor. 

For MIP, I chose Carla Leite. Yes, she has a bigger role this season with the Fire than she did last season with the Valkyries, but she's made significant strides as a scorer and playmaker and was one of the league's best offensive engines. On a per 100 possessions basis -- to account for changes in playing time -- Leite averaged 8.9 more points and six more assists than she did last season, while raising her true shooting an astounding 10 percentage points. 

Finally, for Coach of the Year, I selected Sydney Johnson. After a 16-win 2025, the Mystics entered this season with seven rookies and just two players with more than one year of experience. Johnson built one of the best cultures in the league and guided the youngest team in the league to the second-best defense (103.3 defensive rating), the No. 5 seed and the Mystics' first playoff appearance since 2023. At 28-16, the Mystics' 12-win improvement was the biggest by any team this season. 

All-WNBA First Team

All-Rookie Team

Gibbs: I'll be honest, the All-WNBA First Team was not difficult to pick despite the bevy of talent across the league this year. Wilson was a given, and while the Liberty have looked flat this season, Breanna Stewart has kept them from sinking thanks to an MVP-caliber season herself, with 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. She's third in the league in PER, fourth in win shares and a force of nature. 

Guard-wise, Miles was a lock, and then it just came down to being unable to split up the backcourt duo of Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell had one of the best scoring seasons in WNBA history, with 27 straight games with 20-plus points and league records for points in a season and 3-pointers made. Clark, meanwhile, leads the league in points created and finished second in assists and third in scoring. Just unreal.

The All-Rookie team ended up being one of the hardest to settle on, however. Miles, again, was a lock, as was Flau'jae Johnson, who proved she is going to be a superstar in this league with 14.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Even though Azzi Fudd's season ended early due to injury, her 3-point shooting and defense made her an easy pick, too. For the other two spots, I went with Kiki Rice due to her versatility -- she had 13.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game -- and Sydney Taylor, an undrafted rookie a few years removed from her college days who was revelatory for the Chicago Sky this season, especially in clutch moments. Awa Fam ended up being the odd woman out, but only by a hair. Her inconsistency hurt her case, but she'll be getting many awards in seasons to come.

Gonzalez: Wilson, Mitchell and Clark were pretty set for me, but the other two all-league spots were difficult to decide because Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers also have very strong arguments. I chose to add Rookie of the Year favorite Olivia Miles because her impact on the Lynx even put her in MVP conversations. While choosing Angel Reese -- my top pick for DPOY -- could seem like recency bias because of her box scores after the FIBA break, her performance throughout the entire season is what helped her set new WNBA double-double and rebounding records. 

If we had an extra spot, it would have gone to Stewart because, without her, it's hard to imagine the kind of season the Liberty would have had. She provides consistent veteran leadership for New York every night while averaging the most points, steals and blocks on the roster. As for Paige Bueckers, she also deserves a shoutout for taking the Dallas Wings to a new level.

Miles broke Caitlin Clark's all-time rookie scoring record and has been the most important player for the top seeded Lynx this year. Meanwhile, Azzi Fudd did not get to finish the season because of a knee injury, but the No. 1 overall pick was still an impactful player for the Wings, particularly on defense, an area she worked hard to improve while she was still at UConn.

Despite Seattle missing the playoffs, Flau'jae Johnson brought a high level of energy and effort every time she stepped on the court while finishing the season as the second leading scorer in this rookie class. The future of the Storm looks bright with her on the roster, along with Awa Fam, who also made this list due to her versatility on both sides of the court and how well she moves as a 6-foot-4 center. I also couldn't leave out undrafted free agent Sydney Taylor, who turned heads as a dynamic high-volume scorer. If injury hadn't kept her off the court for so long, one of these spots would have gone to Kiki Rice, whom Toronto Tempo coach Sandy Brondello described as their "franchise player."

Maloney: I already went in-depth on my MVP ballot, which doubles as my All-WNBA First Team selections, so I'll just link that here. Finally, we've arrived at All-Rookie, which was arguably the most difficult group to figure out. Miles was obvious, but the last four spots could have gone to more than half a dozen players. It didn't help that Azzi Fudd and Kiki Rice missed significant time due to injury, and Sydney Taylor didn't hit her stride until the middle of the season. All three eventually made my list. Fudd averaged 13.1 points and 1.7 steals, and shot 39.1% from 3 before knee surgery ended her season; Rice put up 13.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 47.2/35.1/86.9 shooting splits on either side of her ankle injury; in 26 games as a starter, Taylor averaged 15.4 points, two rebounds and 2.3 assists. The fifth and final spot came down to Johnson and her Storm teammate, Awa Fam. While Johnson's role and usage rate presented her with more opportunities, it was hard to overlook her overall production: 14.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals.