My 2008 WNBA Superlative Award Picks

Now that the regular season is over, the time has come to start thinking about who will get some of the various awards/honors for the 2008 WNBA season.

As I started thinking about the various awards, one thing really struck me about this season: the players are all getting better, and it’s getting tougher each year to choose who belongs in what category.

League MVP

Since I’ve already went and posted about MVP (here), I’ll just list my pick and move on to new territory.

My pick for MVP ends up going to Candace Parker. It then also follows that for…

Rookie of the Year

Candace Parker wins here as well. Actually, when considering only rookies, while many had very good seasons, there really is no doubt which one from this very distinguished class stood out from her peers.

Most Improved Player of the Year

Some years this just jumps out at you. It’s obvious that someone has elevated their game to break into a higher caliber of player. This year has seen many players doing better than they had been, but none has really rocketed to popular acclaim. What also make this category difficult is that some players’ numbers improve solely because they get to play more or finally (e.g. Ivory Latta).

This season, one player did sort of always surprise me a bit by the caliber of her play. It’s not that she was a bad player before, but now she’s become one of those players that a team comes to depend on. My pick would be the Chicago Sky’s Jia Perkins. Through much of the season, when I’m expecting Dupree to be leading the charge, just as often as not it would be Jia. True, she was helped by not having Sylvia Fowles in the middle…but she wasn’t there last year, either, and Jia’s numbers weren’t nearly as impressive. She improved in every statistical category, and is ranked among the best in the league in both offense and defense categories.

Defensive Player of the Year

When you combine the effectivenss of steals and blocks as well as the intangible of intimidation, I think this season only one player has been consistent throughout the entire season (and she’s no slouch on the offensive side, either). I’m of course talking about the ever-great, Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks. Some of the younger players are beginning to give her a run for the money, but for now, this year, if you want defense, you need look no further than Lauren Jolie’s mom.

Coach of the Year

A lot of years there are several coaches who could arguably win this award. Often this is do at least as much to the accomplishments of the players as it is to whatever the person on the sidelines does. Not so this year. When you take a team that has lost (for various reasons) all but two of its stars, and then have it not be a rebuilding year, but one where you very nearly won your conference, then that is a magnificent feat of coaching. Obviously I’m speaking of the Connecticut Sun’s head coach, Mike Thibault. As if this wasn’t impressive enough, he also spent his Olympic break time over in China helping to coach the USA team to a gold medal. I my mind, no other coach is even close for this year’s honors.