NEW YORK (AP) - Breanna Stewart earned the WNBA's Most Valuable Player award
for the second time in her career Tuesday in a very close race.
There were only 13 points separating Stewart from second-place finisher Alyssa
Thomas of Connecticut and last year's MVP A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas. Stewart
received 446 points (20 first-place votes, 23 second-place votes and 17
third-place votes). Thomas had 439 points (23, 12 and 25). Wilson received 433
points (17, 25, 17 and 1).
With Stewart and Thomas separated by seven points, this marks the
second-smallest margin between the first- and second-place finishers in the
history of the award. The closest finish was a two-point difference between
Sheryl Swoopes and Lauren Jackson in 2005.
The 13 points separating Stewart and Wilson represent the smallest margin
between first- and third-place vote-getters for MVP in WNBA history, surpassing
the 45-point difference in 2013 between Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne.
All the WNBA awards are voted on by a 60-person national media panel and had
them vote for their top five choices for the MVP award. Players were awarded 10
points for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place vote, five points
for a third-place vote, three points for a fourth-place vote and one point for a
fifth-place vote.
The Liberty's star forward was impressed with the way the other two top
candidates played this season.
"The competitive camaraderie that we have with one and another, but also the
way we're continuing to show excellence in different ways and be the
conversation. that's the way the league needs to go," Stewart said. "Have people
watching different players and making sure they see greatness on all different
levels."
The 29-year-old Stewart, who also won the award in 2018, made the decision to
move closer to home and come to New York as a free agent this past offseason.
The move has paid immediate dividends for her and the Liberty. The AP Player of
the Year helped the team finish the regular season with the second best record
and was the WNBA's second leading scorer, averaging a career-best 23 points a
game. She scored over 40 points three times this season, including 45 in her
home debut.
Now she has the Liberty back in the semifinals of the playoffs for the first
time since 2015, although her team trails Connecticut 1-0 in the best-of-five
series. She's the first New York player ever to win the league's top honor.
Wilson, who edged Stewart 478-446 last season in the MVP balloting, had another
stellar season, averaging a career-best 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds in leading
the Aces to a record 34 wins. She had 29 games of 20 points or better this
season. She's upped her game in the playoffs as Las Vegas looks to become the
first repeat champion since Los Angeles did it back-to-back in 2001-02.
Thomas was the first player in league history to record at least 600 points,
400 rebounds and 300 assists in a single season. She also set a league high with
27 double-doubles - including six triple-doubles - and set a league record with
316 assists - 7.9 per game - despite playing forward.