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WNBA All-Defensive Team
Women's basketball honor
Women's basketball honor
The WNBA All-Defensive Team is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) honor given since the 2005 WNBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the WNBA head coaches. who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Defensive Team is composed of two five-woman lineups, a first and a second team, comprising a total of 10 roster spots. The players each receive two points for each first team vote and one point for each second team vote. The top five players with the highest point total make the first team, with the next five making the second team. Starting with the 2023 season, players are selected without regard to position; this follows the WNBA having adopted a "positionless" format for the All-WNBA Team in 2022. Before 2023, each team consisted of one center, two forwards, and two guards. During that time, if there was already a center on the first team, but another center received more points than two of the guards on the first team, that center would still be on the second team.
Tamika Catchings has the record for the most total selections with 11. Catchings has 10 first team selections and 1 second team selection.
In 2020, Defensive Player of the Year Candace Parker, was not selected to either of the WNBA All-Defensive Teams. This was the first time in the history of the award that the Defensive Player of the Year was not selected to an All-Defensive Team in either the WNBA or NBA. It reflects a difference in voters: The WNBA's defensive player of the year is voted on by media, while the all-defensive teams are voted on by the league's coaches.
Winners
| **Player | |
|---|---|
| (in bold text)** | Indicates the player who won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in the same year |
2005 to present
| Season | First team | Second team | Player | Nationality | Team | Player | Nationality | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm | ||||
| Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets | Taj McWilliams-Franklin | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Yolanda Griffith | Sacramento Monarchs | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| Tully Bevilaqua | Indiana Fever | Alana Beard | Washington Mystics | |||||
| Katie Douglas | Connecticut Sun | Deanna Nolan | Detroit Shock | |||||
| 2006 | Tamika Catchings (2) | Indiana Fever | Alana Beard (2) | Washington Mystics | ||||
| Lisa Leslie (2) | Los Angeles Sparks | Margo Dydek | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Sheryl Swoopes (2) | Houston Comets | Deanna Nolan (2) | Detroit Shock | |||||
| Tully Bevilaqua (2) | Indiana Fever | Cheryl Ford | Detroit Shock | |||||
| Katie Douglas (2) | Connecticut Sun | Yolanda Griffith (2) | Sacramento Monarchs | |||||
| 2007 | Tamika Catchings (3) | Indiana Fever | Tully Bevilaqua (3) | Indiana Fever | ||||
| Lauren Jackson (2) | Seattle Storm | Rebekkah Brunson | Sacramento Monarchs | |||||
| Katie Douglas (3) | Connecticut Sun | Margo Dydek (2) | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Alana Beard (3) | Washington Mystics | Loree Moore | New York Liberty | |||||
| Deanna Nolan (3) | Detroit Shock | Chelsea Newton | Sacramento Monarchs | |||||
| 2008 | Lisa Leslie (3) | Los Angeles Sparks | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky | ||||
| Tamika Catchings (4) | Indiana Fever | Lauren Jackson (3) | Seattle Storm | |||||
| Sophia Young | VIN St. Vincent | San Antonio Silver Stars | Rebekkah Brunson (2) | Sacramento Monarchs | ||||
| Ticha Penicheiro | Sacramento Monarchs | Deanna Nolan (4) | Detroit Shock | |||||
| Tully Bevilaqua (4) | Indiana Fever | Katie Smith | Detroit Shock | |||||
| 2009 | Tamika Catchings (5) | Indiana Fever | Lisa Leslie (4) | Los Angeles Sparks | ||||
| Lauren Jackson (4) | Seattle Storm | Sancho Lyttle | VIN St. Vincent | Atlanta Dream | ||||
| Nicky Anosike | Minnesota Lynx | Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| Tanisha Wright | Seattle Storm | Deanna Nolan (5) | Detroit Shock | |||||
| Tully Bevilaqua (5) | Indiana Fever | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| Alana Beard (4) | Washington Mystics | |||||||
| 2010 | Tamika Catchings (6) | Indiana Fever | Lauren Jackson (5) | Seattle Storm | ||||
| Angel McCoughtry (2) | Atlanta Dream | Rebekkah Brunson (3) | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Sylvia Fowles (2) | Chicago Sky | Sancho Lyttle (2) | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| Tanisha Wright (2) | Seattle Storm | Lindsey Harding | Washington Mystics | |||||
| Cappie Pondexter | New York Liberty | Tully Bevilaqua (6) | Indiana Fever | |||||
| Katie Douglas (4) | Indiana Fever | |||||||
| 2011 | Tamika Catchings (7) | Indiana Fever | Sancho Lyttle (3) | Atlanta Dream | ||||
| Rebekkah Brunson (4) | Minnesota Lynx | Swin Cash | Seattle Storm | |||||
| Sylvia Fowles (3) | Chicago Sky | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Tanisha Wright (3) | Seattle Storm | Armintie Price | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| Angel McCoughtry (3) | Atlanta Dream | Katie Douglas (5) | Indiana Fever | |||||
| 2012 | Tamika Catchings (8) | Indiana Fever | Sophia Young (2) | VIN St. Vincent | San Antonio Silver Stars | |||
| Sancho Lyttle (4) | Atlanta Dream | Candace Parker (2) | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| Sylvia Fowles (4) | Chicago Sky | Tina Charles (2) | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Alana Beard (5) | Los Angeles Sparks | Armintie Price (2) | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| Briann January | Indiana Fever | Danielle Robinson | San Antonio Silver Stars | |||||
| 2013 | Sylvia Fowles (5) | Chicago Sky | Rebekkah Brunson (5) | Minnesota Lynx | ||||
| Tamika Catchings (9) | Indiana Fever | Glory Johnson | Tulsa Shock | |||||
| Angel McCoughtry (4) | Atlanta Dream | Érika de Souza | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| Armintie Price (3) | Briann January (2) | Indiana Fever | ||||||
| Tanisha Wright (4) | Seattle Storm | Jia Perkins (tie) | San Antonio Silver Stars | |||||
| Danielle Robinson (2) (tie) | ||||||||
| 2014 | Sancho Lyttle (5) | Atlanta Dream | Tamika Catchings (10) | Indiana Fever | ||||
| Angel McCoughtry (5) | Atlanta Dream | Maya Moore | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | Sylvia Fowles (6) | Chicago Sky | |||||
| Tanisha Wright (5) | Seattle Storm | Alana Beard (6) | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| Briann January (3) | Indiana Fever | Danielle Robinson (3) | San Antonio Stars | |||||
| 2015 | Tamika Catchings (11) | Indiana Fever | Tina Charles (3) | New York Liberty | ||||
| Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | Sancho Lyttle (6) | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| Brittney Griner (2) | Phoenix Mercury | Kiah Stokes | New York Liberty | |||||
| Angel McCoughtry (6) | Atlanta Dream | DeWanna Bonner | Phoenix Mercury | |||||
| Briann January (4) | Indiana Fever | Tanisha Wright (6) | New York Liberty | |||||
| 2016 | Alana Beard (7) | Los Angeles Sparks | Brittney Griner (3) | Phoenix Mercury | ||||
| Angel McCoughtry (7) | Atlanta Dream | Tamika Catchings (12) | Indiana Fever | |||||
| Nneka Ogwumike (2) | Los Angeles Sparks | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | |||||
| Sylvia Fowles (7) | Minnesota Lynx | Tanisha Wright (7) | New York Liberty | |||||
| Briann January (5) | Indiana Fever | Jasmine Thomas | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| 2017 | Alana Beard (8) | Los Angeles Sparks | Brittney Griner (4) | Phoenix Mercury | ||||
| Tina Charles (4) | New York Liberty | Rebekkah Brunson (6) | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Nneka Ogwumike (3) | Los Angeles Sparks | Maya Moore (2) | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Sylvia Fowles (8) | Minnesota Lynx | Briann January (6) | Indiana Fever | |||||
| Jasmine Thomas (2) | Connecticut Sun | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| 2018 | Alana Beard (9) | Los Angeles Sparks | Sylvia Fowles (9) | Minnesota Lynx | ||||
| Brittney Griner (5) | Phoenix Mercury | Rebekkah Brunson (7) | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Natasha Howard | Seattle Storm | Nneka Ogwumike (4) | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| Jessica Breland | Atlanta Dream | Ariel Atkins | Washington Mystics | |||||
| Jasmine Thomas (3) | Connecticut Sun | Tiffany Hayes | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| 2019 | Natasha Howard (2) | Seattle Storm | Brittney Griner (6) | Phoenix Mercury | ||||
| Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | Ariel Atkins (2) | Washington Mystics | |||||
| Jasmine Thomas (4) | Connecticut Sun | Alysha Clark | Seattle Storm | |||||
| Nneka Ogwumike (5) | Los Angeles Sparks | Alyssa Thomas (2) | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Jordin Canada | Seattle Storm | Natasha Cloud | Washington Mystics | |||||
| 2020 | Alysha Clark (2) | Seattle Storm | Breanna Stewart (2) | Seattle Storm | ||||
| Betnijah Laney | Atlanta Dream | Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Brianna Turner | Phoenix Mercury | Ariel Atkins (3) | Washington Mystics | |||||
| Alyssa Thomas (3) | Connecticut Sun | Brittney Sykes | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| Elizabeth Williams | Atlanta Dream | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | |||||
| 2021 | Brittney Sykes (2) | Los Angeles Sparks | Jasmine Thomas (5) | Connecticut Sun | ||||
| Briann January (7) | Connecticut Sun | Ariel Atkins (4) | Washington Mystics | |||||
| Jonquel Jones (2) | / | |||||||
| Connecticut Sun | Breanna Stewart (3) | Seattle Storm | ||||||
| Brianna Turner (2) | Phoenix Mercury | Brionna Jones | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Sylvia Fowles (10) | Minnesota Lynx | Brittney Griner (7) | Phoenix Mercury | |||||
| 2022 | Natasha Cloud (2) | Washington Mystics | Brittney Sykes (3) | Los Angeles Sparks | ||||
| Ariel Atkins (5) | Washington Mystics | Gabby Williams | Seattle Storm | |||||
| A'ja Wilson (2) | Las Vegas Aces | Alyssa Thomas (4) | Connecticut Sun | |||||
| Breanna Stewart (4) | Seattle Storm | Jonquel Jones (3) | / | |||||
| Connecticut Sun | ||||||||
| Sylvia Fowles (11) | Minnesota Lynx | Ezi Magbegor | Seattle Storm | |||||
| 2023 | A'ja Wilson (3) | Las Vegas Aces | Betnijah Laney (2) | New York Liberty | ||||
| Alyssa Thomas (5) | Connecticut Sun | Ezi Magbegor (2) | Seattle Storm | |||||
| Brittney Sykes (4) | Washington Mystics | Nneka Ogwumike (6) | Los Angeles Sparks | |||||
| Breanna Stewart (5) | New York Liberty | Napheesa Collier (2) | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Jordin Canada (2) | Los Angeles Sparks | Elizabeth Williams (2) | Chicago Sky | |||||
| 2024 | Napheesa Collier (3) | Minnesota Lynx | Alyssa Thomas (6) | Connecticut Sun | ||||
| A'ja Wilson (4) | Las Vegas Aces | Alanna Smith | Minnesota Lynx | |||||
| Ezi Magbegor (3) | Seattle Storm | Nneka Ogwumike (7) | Seattle Storm | |||||
| DiJonai Carrington | Connecticut Sun | Jonquel Jones (4) | / | |||||
| New York Liberty | ||||||||
| Breanna Stewart (6) | New York Liberty | Natasha Cloud (3) | Phoenix Mercury | |||||
| Napheesa Collier (4) | Minnesota Lynx | Aliyah Boston | Indiana Fever | |||||
| Alanna Smith (2) | Veronica Burton | Golden State Valkyries | ||||||
| Alyssa Thomas (7) | Phoenix Mercury | Rhyne Howard | Atlanta Dream | |||||
| Gabby Williams (2) | Seattle Storm | Ezi Magbegor (4) | Seattle Storm | |||||
| A'ja Wilson (5) | Las Vegas Aces | Breanna Stewart (7) | New York Liberty |
References
References
- (August 30, 2023). "WNBA Unveils End-of-Season Awards Schedule and Announces New Process for Selecting All-Defensive Teams". WNBA.
- Voepel, Mechelle. (2020-09-29). "Storm's Clark tops WNBA all-defensive 1st team".
- (September 20, 2013). "Chicago's Fowles and Indiana's Catchings Headline 2013 WNBA All-Defensive Team".
- (August 22, 2014). "Atlanta Dream's Sancho Lyttle and Angel McCoughtry Named to WNBA All-Defensive First Team".
- (September 11, 2019). "WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard Highlights 2019 WNBA All-Defensive First Team". WNBA.
- Voepel, Mechelle. (September 26, 2021). "Minnesota Lynx star Sylvia Fowles named WNBA Defensive Player of Year for 4th time in career". ESPN.
- (August 30, 2022). "Your 2022 #WNBA All-Defensive First Team ⬇️ @_ajawilson22 @T_Cloud4 @SylviaFowles @breannastewart @arielatkinssvn #MoreThan".
- (August 30, 2022). "Your 2022 #WNBA All-Defensive Second Team ⬇️ @athomas_25 @ezimagbegor @jus242 @BrittBundlez @gabbywilliams15 #MoreThan".
- (September 22, 2023). "Your 2023 WNBA All-Defensive First Team ⬇️ @_ajawilson22 @athomas_25 @BrittBundlez @breannastewart @jordin_canada #MoreThanGame".
- (September 22, 2023). "Your 2023 WNBA All-Defensive Second Team ⬇️ @BetnijahLaney @ezimagbegor @nnekaogwumike @PHEEsespieces @E_Williams_1 #MoreThanGame".
- Maloney, Jack. (September 29, 2024). "WNBA Defensive Player of the Year: Lynx's Napheesa Collier edges Aces star A'ja Wilson for first honor". CBS Sports.
- (September 29, 2024). "Announcing the 2024 WNBA All-Defensive Teams".
- Andres, Patrick. (October 8, 2025). "Napheesa Collier, A'ja Wilson Headline WNBA All-Defensive Teams".
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