WNBA Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics has been unanimously selected to the 2019 All-WNBA First Team, the WNBA announced today.
Delle Donne was the only player named to the First Team on all 43 ballots in voting by a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The 6-5 forward-guard becomes the only 2018 All-WNBA First Team selection to repeat as a First Team honoree in 2019.
Joining Delle Donne (215 points) on the 2019 All-WNBA First Team are Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot (197), Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (191), Los Angeles Sparks guard Chelsea Gray (175) and Seattle Storm forward Natasha Howard (158). This marks the first All-WNBA nod for Howard and the first selection to the First Team for Gray and Vandersloot.
The 2019 All-WNBA Second Team consists of Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones (150 points), Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike (146), Las Vegas Aces center Liz Cambage (65), Sky guard Diamond DeShields (54) and Minnesota Lynx guard Odyssey Sims (48). DeShields and Sims are making their All-WNBA debuts.
Voting for the All-WNBA First and Second Teams was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. Players were selected by position and received five points for each First Team vote and three points for each Second Team vote. If a player received votes at multiple positions, she was slotted at the position where she received the most votes.
2019 All-WNBA First Team
Elena Delle Donne, Mystics: Delle Donne earned her fourth All-WNBA First Team honor and fifth All-WNBA selection overall. The two-time WNBA MVP ranked second in the league in scoring (19.5 ppg), fifth in rebounding (8.3 rpg) and 11th in blocked shots (1.29 bpg). She became the first WNBA player to shoot at least 50 percent from the field (51.5), 40 percent from three-point range (43.0) and 90 percent from the free throw line (WNBA-high 97.4).
Courtney Vandersloot, Sky: This marks the third All-WNBA selection for Vandersloot, a Second Team member in 2015 and 2018. Vandersloot broke her own WNBA records for assist average (9.1 apg) and total assists (300), winning her third consecutive assist title and fourth overall (she also led the league in 2015).
Brittney Griner, Mercury: Griner was named All-WNBA for the fifth time and All-WNBA First Team for the second time (she was also First Team in 2014). She averaged 20.7 points to win her second scoring title in the last three seasons and tied the Sun’s Jones for the league lead in blocked shots with 2.0 per game.
Chelsea Gray, Sparks: An All-WNBA Second Team selection in 2017, Gray averaged 14.5 points (tied for 13th in the WNBA) and a career-high 5.9 assists (second) this season. She was named a WNBA All-Star Game starter for the first time in her third consecutive All-Star appearance.
Natasha Howard, Storm: The 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year averaged career highs of 18.1 points (fourth in the WNBA), 8.2 rebounds (sixth) and 2.18 steals (second) to go with 1.74 blocks (third). She was voted to the All-Defensive First Team for the second straight year and earned her first All-Star selection.
In honor of their accomplishments, each member of the All-WNBA First Team will receive $10,000 and each member of the Second Team will receive $5,000.
Below are the voting results for the 2019 All-WNBA Teams.
2019 ALL-WNBA FIRST TEAM
Position Player, Team 1st Team 2nd Team Total
Forward Elena Delle Donne, Washington 43 — 215
Guard Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago 37 4 197
Center Brittney Griner, Phoenix 34 7 191
Guard Chelsea Gray, Los Angeles 26 15 175
Forward Natasha Howard, Seattle 22 16 158