2026 WNBA awards winners: Wings' Jessica Shepard wins Most Improved Player in close race

Awards season has arrived in the WNBA and the Lynx are already well represented

Oct 1, 2026 at 11:20 am ET • 2 min read

Awards season has arrived in the WNBA. Ironically, two of the three awards announced thus far -- Olivia Miles, Rookie of the Year and Cheryl Reeve, Coach of the Year -- have been won by members of the Minnesota Lynx who were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday by the New York Liberty, becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed in the first round in WNBA history. 

On Wednesday, Jessica Shepard joined the honorees when she was named Most Improved Player ahead of the Dallas Wings' Game 2 win against the Golden State Valkyries. 

The WNBA has not announced an awards schedule this year, so it's unclear when the remaining honors will be announced. Still to come are MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Player of the Year, as well as the All-WNBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams. In addition, the league will hand out the Executive of the Year and the Sportsmanship Award. 

2026 WNBA awards ballot: Revealing picks for All-WNBA, All-Defensive, Most Improved and more

Jack Maloney

Rookie of the Year: Olivia Miles, Lynx

Miles, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, was named the unanimous Rookie of the Year as expected. She is the sixth player to win that honor unanimously, joining Aliyah Boston, A'ja Wilson, Elena Delle Donne, Tina Charles and Candace Parker. 

Miles, who averaged 19.8 points and six assists per game, led all rookies in scoring and assists, and finished eighth and seventh in the league, respectively, in those categories. She also broke Caitlin Clark's rookie points record (790) and led the Lynx to a 33-11 record and the No. 1 seed. 

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Jack Maloney

Most Improved Player: Jessica Shepard, Wings

Shepard joined the Wings in free agency on a two-year, $2 million deal that she immediately justified. As a full-time starter for the first time in her career, Shepard averaged 14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, up from eight points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season. She finished second in the league in rebounding and 11th in assists, was one of two players (along with Angel Reese) to average a double-double, led the league with six triple-doubles and recorded just the second 20-20-10 game in WNBA history. 

Shepard beat out Shakira Austin and Carla Leite in a close race. Marina Mabrey, Dominique Malonga and Rae Burrell also received votes. 

Player	Team	Votes
Jessica Shepard	Wings	29
Shakira Austin	Mystics	25
Carla Leite	Fire	11

Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve, Lynx

The Lynx lost six rotation players from last season's team that went 34-10, and star forward Napheesa Collier was sidelined until late July after undergoing surgery on both ankles in the offseason, yet the Lynx once again finished with the best record in the league. That was thanks in large part to a tremendous coaching performance from Reeve, who helped turn Miles into one of the league's best players and got her new-look group to gel -- at least until the playoffs. 

Reeve has now won Coach of the Year five times, extending her record and becoming the first coach in major American professional sports to receive the honor five times. 

Reeve beat out Natalie Nakase and Sydney Johnson. 

Coach	Team	Votes
Cheryl Reeve	Lynx	40
Natalie Nakase	Valkyries	20
Sydney Johnson	Mystics	14