WNBA Rookie Of The Year Winners: The Complete List

WNBA Rookie of the Year Winners: The Complete List

DRRA April 18, 2025

Competing at the highest level in any sports is no easy feat, but it’s even more difficult when you’re just getting started as a pro in your rookie year. Nonetheless, every year one rookie player in the WNBA shines so brightly that they’re named Rookie of the Year, one of the most sought-after honors in the sport that every player only gets one shot at earning.

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So, which players have put on such a show in their first season that they were dubbed Rookie of the Year? Here’s the complete list of every player who has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award.

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WNBA Rookie of the Year Winners

If some of the names on this list of WNBA Rookie of the Year award winners seem familiar to you, that’s because many of them have gone on to become some of the biggest names in the sport. Legends like Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Tamika Catchings and Maya Moore all received Rookie of the Year awards.

Here’s the full list by year:

2024: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

2023: Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever

2022: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream

2021: Michaela Onyenwere, New York Liberty

2020: Crystal Dangerfield, Minnesota Lynx

2019: Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx

2018: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

2017: Allisha Gray, Dallas Wings

2016: Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm

2015: Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm

2014: Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut Sun

2013: Elena Delle Donne, Chicago Sky

2012: Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks

2011: Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx

2010: Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun

2009: Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta Dream

2008: Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks

2007: Armintie Price, Chicago Sky

2006: Seimone Augustus, Minnesota Lynx

2005: Temeka Johnson, Washington Mystics

2004: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury

2003: Cheryl Ford, Detroit Shock

2002: Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever

2001: Jackie Stiles, Portland Fire

2000: Betty Lennox, Minnesota Lynx

1999: Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington Mystics

1998: Tracy Reid, Charlotte Sting

Which WNBA Teams Have Had the Most Rookies of the Year?

No surprise here, but the Minnesota Lynx, who are in a three-way tie for most WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm and the Houston Comets (now defunct).

Minnesota Lynx – 5
Indiana Fever – 4
Connecticut Sun – 2
Seattle Storm – 2
Los Angeles Sparks – 2
Chicago Sky – 2
Atlanta Dream – 2
Washington Mystics – 2
Phoenix Mercury – 1
Dallas Wings – 1
New York Liberty – 1
Las Vegas Aces – 1
Detroit Shock (Relocated, now the Dallas Wings) – 1
Portland Fire (Defunct) – 1
Charlotte Sting (Defunct) – 1

How is the WNBA Rookie of the Year Chosen?

The recipient of the WNBA Rookie of the Year award is selected by a panel of 60 members of the sports media, including sportswriter and broadcasters, in the United States through a voting process.

Each writer is asked to cast votes for their first, second and third place picks, with each player getting five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. The player with the highest points total after voting ends is crowned WNBA Rookie of the Year.

In 2008, Candace Parker become the first player to ever collect every single possible vote, and she was also named league MVP that year.