Elena Delle Donne Wins WNBA MVP

16 Sep, 2015

Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky, who posted the fifth-highest scoring average in WNBA history this season, has been named the 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player, the league announced today.

The third-year guard/forward earned 38 of 39 first-place votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Delle Donne won the MVP award for the first time, leading the Sky to a 21-13 record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The second overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft averaged a league-high 23.4 points in 31 games, scoring at least 40 points twice, 30 points five times, and 20 points 21 times.

She also shot a WNBA-best 95.0 percent (207-for-218) from the free throw line and finished third in the league in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and blocked shots (2.06 bpg).

A three-time All-Star selection and the 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Delle Donne (385 points from voters) is the first Sky player to capture the MVP award.

Delle Donne began the season in historic fashion by averaging 28.7 points in June, a WNBA record for the first 10 games of a season (Cappie Pondexter, now Delle Donne’s teammate, held the previous mark of 25.7 points with the Mercury in 2008).

Delle Donne’s June highlights included a career-high 45 points against the Atlanta Dream on June 24, the sixth-best scoring performance in league history. She shot 19-for-19 from the free throw line in the game to set a WNBA record for most free throws made without a miss. On June 6, Delle Donne hit for 40 points against the Tulsa Shock.

The former University of Delaware star is only the fourth player in league history to notch two 40-point games in a single season.

In addition to being named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for June, Delle Donne earned the conference’s Player of the Week honor a league-best five times.

She also recorded 10 double-doubles on the season, two shy of the league high shared by Parker and Jantel Lavender of the Sparks and Charles of the Liberty.

In honor of being named the WNBA Most Valuable Player, Delle Donne will receive $15,000 and a specially designed trophy.

Sky’s Elena Delle Donne Named 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player 

H/T NBA.com

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