WNBA Announces First Awards of 2026 Season: Olivia Miles, Cheryl Reeve Among Honorees

Awards season has arrived in the WNBA. Ironically, the first two awards announced -- Olivia Miles, Rookie of the Year and Cheryl Reeve, Coach of the Year -- were won by members of the Minnesota Lynx who were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday by the New York Liberty, becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 8 seed in the first round in WNBA history.

Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard (Most Improved Player) and Atlanta Dream Angel Reese (Defensive Player of the Year) both joined the honorees earlier this week. Now, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün is part of the club after she was named the unanimous Sixth Player of the Year.

The WNBA has not announced an awards schedule this year, so it's unclear when the remaining honors will be announced. Still to come is MVP, as well as the All-WNBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie Teams. In addition, the league will hand out the Executive of the Year and the Sportsmanship Award.

2026 WNBA awards ballot: Revealing picks for All-WNBA, All-Defensive, Most Improved and more

Jack Maloney

Rookie of the Year: Olivia Miles, Lynx

Miles, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, was named the unanimous Rookie of the Year as expected. She is the sixth player to win that honor unanimously, joining Aliyah Boston, A'ja Wilson, Elena Delle Donne, Tina Charles and Candace Parker.

Miles, who averaged 19.8 points and six assists per game, led all rookies in scoring and assists, and finished eighth and seventh in the league, respectively, in those categories. She also broke Caitlin Clark's rookie points record (790) and led the Lynx to a 33-11 record and the No. 1 seed.

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Jack Maloney

Most Improved Player: Jessica Shepard, Wings

Shepard joined the Wings in free agency on a two-year, $2 million deal that she immediately justified. As a full-time starter for the first time in her career, Shepard averaged 14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, up from eight points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season. She finished second in the league in rebounding and 11th in assists, was one of two players (along with Angel Reese) to average a double-double, led the league with six triple-doubles and recorded just the second 20-20-10 game in WNBA history.

Shepard beat out Shakira Austin and Carla Leite in a close race. Marina Mabrey, Dominique Malonga and Rae Burrell also received votes.

PlayerTeamVotes

Jessica Shepard

Wings

29

Shakira Austin

Mystics

25

Carla Leite

Fire

11

Coach of the Year: Cheryl Reeve, Lynx

The Lynx lost six rotation players from last season's team that went 34-10, and star forward Napheesa Collier was sidelined until late July after undergoing surgery on both ankles in the offseason, yet the Lynx once again finished with the best record in the league. That was thanks in large part to a tremendous coaching performance from Reeve, who helped turn Miles into one of the league's best players and got her new-look group to gel -- at least until the playoffs.

Reeve has now won Coach of the Year five times, extending her record and becoming the first coach in major American professional sports to receive the honor five times.

Reeve beat out Natalie Nakase and Sydney Johnson.

CoachTeamVotes

Cheryl Reeve

Lynx

40

Natalie Nakase

Valkyries

20

Sydney Johnson

Mystics

14

Defensive Player of the Year: Angel Reese, Dream

Reese's versatility, rebounding, and impact on one of the league's best defensive teams were impossible for voters to ignore as she earned DPOY honors for the first time. The Dream finished third in the league in defensive rating (103.5) in large part thanks to Reese.

Reese was third in steals per game (1.8), seventh in stocks (steals plus blocks) per game (2.5), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (7.3) and first in defensive win shares (3.4). The Dream's defense was also 13 points per 100 possessions worse with Reese off the floor, and opponents' true shooting percentage was 6.4% worse with Reese on the floor.

PlayerTeamVotes

Angel Reese

Dream

46

Gabby Williams

Valkyries

20

A'ja Wilson

Aces

4

Shakira Austin

Mystics

1

Veronica Burton

Valkyries

1

Rhyne Howard

Dream

1

Sonia Citron

Mystics

1

Sixth Player of the Year: Janelle Salaün, Golden State Valkyries

As expected, Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün was named Sixth Player of the Year. She is first player in WNBA history to win the honor unanimously. The Frenchwoman led all bench scorers with 12.7 points per game, and shot 39.2% from 3-point range to help the Valkyries win a franchise record 32 games and earn the No. 2 seed. Thanks in part to the extended 44-game regular season, Salaün set WNBA single-season records for points (509), 3s (93) and double-digit scoring games (27) by a reserve.

MVP

To be announced

All-WNBA Teams

To be announced

All-Defensive Teams

To be announced

All-Rookie Team

To be announced

Executive of the Year

To be announced

Sportsmanship award