WNBA MVP Ladder: Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers make their push for A’ja Wilson’s crown originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Wednesday in the WNBA will see 12 of the league’s 15 teams in action.
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It is the final slate of games before the league’s All-Star Game on Saturday, which means this is a great time to check in on the league’s MVP candidates via our very own ladder.
There has been a small but notable shift since our last update. The Dallas Wings have lost just one game in July and have continued their surge up the standings. The Minnesota Lynx continue to set the pace and imminently will welcome back star forward Napheesa Collier. And a familiar name is keeping multiple worthy candidates at arm’s length entering All-Star Weekend.
Honorable mentions
Kelsey Mitchell, Jessica Shepard, Breanna Stewart
Stewart has gone down a few rungs as the New York Liberty has struggled for consistency in July. New York is just two games above .500 at 14-12 and has lost eight of its past 11 games — not great for a team with championship-caliber talent. Though the losses have piled up of late, Stewart has maintained her strong play: the two-time MVP is averaging 21.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.7 stocks while missing only one game.
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Shepard debuts as there can be little debate about her importance to this Wings team. An All-Star starter for the first time this year, Shepard leads the league in total rebounds and rebounds per game. Her 31.9 defensive rebound percentage is tops in the WNBA, and only Angel Reese has a higher offensive rebound percentage when she is on the floor. Shepard is having a career year offensively too, averaging 14.8 points per game with an eye-popping 128 offensive rating.
Mitchell remains integral to the Indiana Fever and is set to raise her scoring average for the third successive season. The four-time All-Star is third in the WNBA with 23.3 points per game, and she is flirting with a 50-40-90 season — a club with only two other WNBA players in it. Mitchell has been held to under 20 points just eight times in 26 games, and she has scored at least 25 points in a dozen games already.
The Caitlin Clark tier
The Fever‘s ascent to the top spot in the Eastern Conference reflects positively on Clark, who is seventh in the league in scoring (20.7 points per game) and second in assists (7.8 per game). However, Clark’s average 3-point shooting (33.3 percent) and general inefficiency relative to her usage rate are not so positive. She also continues to struggle on the defensive end, which cancels out the gains made by her offensive production.
Thus, Clark remains in her own tier as someone whose overall impact is overstated but noteworthy because of her counting stats.
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Bueckers rises to third on the ladder as she remains wildly efficient and an undoubted contributor to winning.
Dallas has been one of the WNBA’s best stories this season. The Wings are on pace to win 29 games, and Bueckers is moving closer to a 50-40-90 campaign. The second-year guard is averaging 20.9 points on 51.8 shooting; she makes 3-pointers at a 38.5 percent clip, and her free-throw percentage has risen to 87.2 percent.
It is probably too soon for Bueckers to win her maiden MVP award. But rest assured: she will win one soon.
2. Olivia Miles, G, Lynx
Miles holds on to second place as her historic rookie season continues.
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Like Bueckers, Miles faces a certain stigma of being in too early a phase of her career to win an MVP award. Also like Bueckers, she undoubtedly is a future winner of the award.
The Lynx were supposed to have a challenging season after Collier underwent offseason ankle surgery. Instead, Miles has piloted Minnesota to first place in the standings — and Collier now walks into a team that is 21-6 and a firm championship favorite.
Miles is averaging 19.6 points on 50.1 percent shooting. She ranks seventh in the league in assists per game. She is already one of the league’s top defensive guards. She plays with a poise and a maturity well beyond her years.
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Wilson continues her march to a historic fifth MVP award as the league’s most complete player.
As the Aces jockey for playoff position at the top of the standings, Wilson is pacing the WNBA in points per game; she’s the only player averaging greater than 25 a night. Wilson ranks first in field goals made and is shooting 52.5 percent from the floor on heavy usage; her 33.3 usage rate is the highest in the league.
But Wilson also is one of the league’s most feared defenders. She ranks first in blocks, fourth in rebounding, fifth in defensive rebounding percentage and third in defensive efficiency.
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Wilson is the complete package, and if the season ended today, she would be voted MVP for the third year running. Barring an injury that would change everything, the situation seems unlikely to move much in the next two months.
