In the midst of their playoff run, two stars of the Las Vegas Aces are adding hardware to their trophy case. A’Ja Wilson has been named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Jackie Young has been dubbed Most Improved Player.
A’Ja Wilson becomes the first player in Aces’ team history to win the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award with this victory. It is also her first time winning the award.
In her fifth WNBA season, Wilson finished second in the league in defensive rebounds per game (a career-high 7.6), second in blocks (1.9 bpg), and 12th in steals (1.4 spg). Nine times, Wilson had at least 10 defensive rebounds in a single game. She also had six games with at least three steals and seven games with at least four blocks.
The Aces were tops in the WNBA in defensive rebounds per game (28.1), defensive rebound percentage (74.5), and steals (5.4), all behind Wilson (7.7 spg). Additionally, the 6-4 Wilson assisted Las Vegas in limiting opponents to 31.8 points per game in the paint, which is the third-lowest mark in the league.
It’s official
@_ajawilson22 is your 2022 #WNBA @Kia Defensive Player of the Year
Wilson wins DPOY for the first time in her career and is the first player in @LVAces history to earn this award
Her 1.9 BPG led the league and she ranked 2nd in defensive RPG
#MoreThan pic.twitter.com/5uyofjA5sd
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 30, 2022
The WNBA announced Jackie Young has been chosen as the 2022 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player. In the history of the Aces franchise, Young is the first player to get the honor.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, Young, increased his averages from 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 2021 to 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals this season. Young’s three-point shooting increased from 25 percent in the previous season to 43.1 percent in 2022. She had the 14th-most assists in the WNBA (3.9 apg).
The 6-0 guard took part in the WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and was chosen to play in her first AT&T WNBA All-Star Game this season. Young assisted the Aces in registering the most victories (26) in the team’s history as they advanced to the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google with the top seed. This season, Las Vegas had the third-highest scoring average in league history and the highest mark since 2010, averaging a WNBA-high 90.4 points per game.
She put in the work & is now being rewarded for it
@JackieYoung3 is your 2022 #WNBA @Kia Most Improved Player
Young went from averaging 12.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG in 2021 to putting up 15.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG for the @LVAces in the 2022 season
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 29, 2022
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