WNBA's A'ja Wilson from the Aces and Alanna Smith from the Lynx jointly named Defensive Players of the Year in balloting for the first time.
In a historic first for the WNBA, Alanna Smith of the Minnesota Lynx and A'ja Wilson from the Las Vegas Aces were named co-Defensive Players of the Year in the 2025 season. This marks the first time in WNBA history that two players have shared this honour.
Smith, standing at 6-foot-4, showcased her impressive defensive skills throughout the season, taking on bigger matchups, protecting the rim, and being a help defender. Her defensive prowess was evident in her statistics, with an average of 1.3 steals and a career-high 1.9 blocks per game. These numbers placed her third and fourth in the league, respectively.
The Minnesota Lynx's dominance on defense was crucial to their success, even with Napheesa Collier missing 11 games due to injury. Bridget Carleton, a Lynx forward, praised Smith's defensive skills, stating that she is the anchor of their defense. The team's defensive efforts paid off, as they tied the league's single-season wins record with 34 wins and earned the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Minnesota Lynx boasted a league-best defensive rating of 97.5 and finished first in opponent free-throw rate and second in opponent turnover rate. Collier, despite her injury, also contributed to the team's defensive dominance, as indicated by their league-best defensive rating.
On the other side of the court, A'ja Wilson led the league in blocks for the fourth consecutive season, averaging 2.3 blocks per game. Wilson's presence on the court significantly improved the Aces' defense, making them the second-best defense when she played and the 10th-best defense when she did not. The Aces had a much worse defensive rating (105.3) when Wilson was not on the court, highlighting her impact on their defense.
The Aces' defense improved during a 16-game winning streak, but they still had the worst defensive mark among playoff teams. Despite their struggles defensively for much of the season, finishing eighth in defensive rating (101.9), Wilson's impressive defensive statistics stood out. She set the best defensive statistics in the 2025 season, leading the WNBA in blocks per game, total rebounds, defensive rebounds, and combined steals and blocks.
Wilson joins Sheryl Swoopes, Sylvia Fowles, and Tamika Catchings as the only players to earn the top defensive award three-plus times. With this recognition, both Smith and Wilson add another accolade to their impressive resumes, further solidifying their status as elite defenders in the WNBA.
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