With the 2026 regular season concluding on Thursday, it is time to dive into the end-of-season award debates. From league MVP to Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, All-WNBA teams, and more, plenty of contenders are up for debate.
Today, we’ll break down five of the top candidates for Most Improved Player – a group that features three players on new teams in 2026, including two on expansion franchises.
Note: Players are listed in alphabetical order, with stats and rankings through games played on Monday, Sept. 21.
Shakira Austin, Washington Mystics
Austin has been on a steady climb since she entered the WNBA as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft. Her scoring has grown every season — from 8.7 ppg as a rookie to 10.0, 11.8, and 12.7 last year — and she made her biggest leap in Season 5, jumping to 17.0 ppg, a mark that ranks 14th in the league. That’s a 37.1% increase from last season.
Her work on the glass has also hit a career peak at 9.4 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the WNBA. She averaged 6.4 rebounds a season ago, representing a 46.9% increase on the boards. Austin’s 19 double-doubles not only rank fourth in the WNBA, but are five more than she totaled in her first four seasons combined (105 total games played.
Her scoring (+37.1%) and rebounding (+46.9%) increases far exceed her minutes increase (+28.3%) this season. But perhaps the most compelling stat for Austin is her usage rate (26.0%), which actually dropped from a season ago (28.3%). That is a true sign of player improvement: using a lower percentage of your team’s possessions while increasing your productivity across the board.
Carla Leite, Portland Fire
After Dallas selected her with the ninth pick in the 2024 Draft, the French-born Leite chose to remain overseas rather than begin her WNBA career immediately. Following the 2024 season, the Wings left Leite unprotected in the expansion draft, where the Valkyries selected her for their inaugural roster.
Leite had a solid rookie campaign in Golden State, averaging 7.2 points and 2.0 assists in 17.2 minutes per game. But once again, she was left unprotected in the 2026 expansion draft for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. Portland selected Leite with the third overall pick in that draft, and has been rewarded with an emerging standout guard.
Leite’s 16 points and 6.3 assists per game this season put her among the elite. Only Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, Skylar Diggins, Candace Parker, and Diana Taurasi recorded a 16-and-6 season before this year. This season, Leite, Olivia Miles and Jackie Young are on pace to join them.
Leite has more than doubled her scoring average (+122.2%) and tripled (+215%) her assist average this season, while her minutes have increased by just 50.6%.
Marina Mabrey, Toronto Tempo
Some leaps come with increased opportunity; others come with the right opportunity.
Unlike the other four candidates on this list, Mabrey did not see an increase in minutes in 2026 compared to 2025. But as she joined the expansion Tempo — her fifth team in eight WNBA seasons — her career reached new heights.
She transformed from a reliable veteran who averaged 13.3 to 15 points per game over the previous five seasons into a top-five scorer in the league at 20.8 points per game. Mabrey not only tied the WNBA single-game scoring record with a 53-point performance against L.A. on June 25, but she also had six 30-point games across 32 contests this season. She had four such games in her first seven seasons (229 games combined).
Mabrey leads the WNBA in 3-pointers made per game (3.3) and posted two of the nine games in WNBA history with nine or more 3-pointers. Only Minnesota’s Kayla McBride has made more threes in a single game, with 10 triples on Aug. 9.
After beginning her career in Los Angeles as a second-round pick in 2019 and making stops in Dallas, Chicago and Connecticut, Mabrey has found her hoops home in Toronto as a cornerstone of this growing franchise.
Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm
Malonga went from showing flashes of her immense potential in limited minutes as a 19-year-old rookie to becoming the youngest WNBA All-Star selection in league history as a 20-year-old sophomore.
Following a first-round playoff exit with a veteran-laden team, the Storm hit the reset button entering 2026, embracing a youth movement and building a new foundation for their future. At the core of that movement was the trio of Malonga, along with rookies Awa Fam and Flau’jae Johnson.
Malonga made the most of the opportunity, rising from seventh on the team in scoring and shots as a rookie to leading the team in both categories. She averaged more field goals made (6.6) this year than she even attempted (6.3) a season ago.
Her progress was rewarded at midseason when the league’s coaches voted her a reserve for the 2026 All-Star Game. As the season winds down, Malonga has left her mark on the league, ranking 15th in scoring, eighth in rebounding, seventh in blocks and fourth in points in the paint. And at just 20 years old, she still has plenty of room to grow.
Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings
Here’s the list of players to average at least 14 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists during a WNBA season: Candace Parker in 2015 and Jessica Shepard in 2026. That’s the entire list.
Shepard’s ability to impact all aspects of the game has flourished since she arrived in Dallas as a free agent in 2026. She entered this season with just one career triple-double over her first five seasons combined (125 games). This season alone — her first as a full-time starter — she has five, a mark that not only leads the league in 2026, but gives her more career triple-doubles than any player in WNBA history outside of Alyssa Thomas (23).
Beyond her triple-double lead, Shepard ranks second in rebounds (11.1) and double-doubles (24), third in efficiency rating (23.9), fifth in field goal percentage (57.0%), and 11th in assists (5.1). All those marks, aside from field goal percentage, represent a career best for the sixth-year pro.
Shepard’s year-to-year growth in points (+78.8%), rebounds (+52.1%), assists (+96.2%), and efficiency (+70%) all surpass her increase in playing time (+51.7%), while she has more than doubled her double-doubles (+140%) and obliterated her mark in triple-doubles (+400%).