As the 2025 regular season comes to a close, The Athletic is sharing its votes for end-of-season awards. Both Ben Pickman and Sabreena Merchant are among the WNBA\u2019s voters for Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, as well as the all-WNBA teams, all-defense teams, and all-rookie teams.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll be revealing half of those choices, as well as the thought process that went into those decisions.<\/p>\n
Rookie of the YearPaige Bueckers, Dallas Wings<\/p>\n
Also considered: Sonia Citron, Washington Mystics<\/p>\n
No rookie has had more thrust on her shoulders than Bueckers<\/a>, whose 15 shots per game are not only the most among any first-year player but the seventh-most in the league. The Wings star is efficient in her chances, shooting 47.4 percent from the field \u2014 the highest mark of any guard who attempts more than 10 shots per game \u2014 and she\u2019s shown she can be a high-level facilitator too.<\/p>\n Bueckers\u2019 season peaked on Aug. 20 when she became the league\u2019s first player to score at least 40 points this season, and she broke the WNBA single-game rookie scoring record with 44 points against the Sparks. But her body of work has been impressive throughout the season. We agree that Bueckers deserves this award.<\/p>\n Paige Bueckers in August:<\/p>\n \ud83e\udebd 20.3 PPG | 3.7 RPG | 5.0 APG \u2014 WNBA (@WNBA) September 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Before the Mystics traded Brittney Sykes and ended their season in a free fall, Citron was on a team competing for a playoff berth and rising to that challenge. The Washington guard is third in the league in 3-point shooting percentage and bested Bueckers in true shooting percentage thanks to her long-range prowess. Citron also had a heavy defensive responsibility for the Mystics; more than half of the scoring chances (50.1 percent) that Citron directly defended came against All-Stars. With one game to play in the regular season, Citron is ahead of Bueckers in win shares (4.1 to 4.0). However, the totality of what Bueckers achieved on a team with less supporting talent gives her the nod.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s All-Rookie teams<\/p>\n Sabreena Merchant’s rookie team<\/p>\n PlayerTeam<\/p>\n Monique Akoa Makani<\/p>\n Paige Buckers<\/p>\n Sonia Citron<\/p>\n Kiki Iriafen<\/p>\n Te-Hina Paopao<\/p>\n This is the first season where a second all-rookie team would have been warranted. Dominique Malonga, Janelle Sala\u00fcn, Kathryn Westbeld and Le\u00efla Lacan were all tough omissions. (As an aside, the French national team is going to be a beast in the years to come.) Bueckers, Citron and Iriafen \u2014 all All-Stars \u2014 were easy picks. Beyond them, I went with the rookies who were the most positive-impact contributors throughout the season, as a couple players missed long stretches or took a while to get going. Even if I don\u2019t necessarily expect these to be the best five rookies five years from now, they had the best overall performances in 2025.<\/p>\n Ben Pickman’s rookie team<\/p>\n PlayerTeam<\/p>\n Paige Bueckers<\/p>\n Sonia Citron<\/p>\n Kiki Iriafen<\/p>\n Dominique Malonga<\/p>\n Janelle Sala\u00fcn<\/p>\n As Sabreena said, several deserving players could have filled the final two spots of my All-Rookie team \u2014 add Sun guard Saniya Rivers and Sun forward Aneesah Morrow, and Dallas Wings center Luisa Geiselsoder as other potential candidates not listed above. Malonga\u2019s role was limited in the first half of the season, but she has emerged so strongly after the All-Star break that her offensive efficiency and activity on the glass are hard to overlook. Sala\u00fcn also makes the All-Rookie team as a consistent Valkyries\u2019 contributor. The 6-foot-2 forward has started 31 of 34 games, averaging more than 11 points and nearly five rebounds per game. Golden State often plays through her on offense, and though she can be a more efficient scorer, she\u2019s remained aggressive throughout. Lacan was the toughest name out for me, as her talent is apparent in every game, however, she\u2019s hurt by playing in only half of the season.<\/p>\n Coach of the YearNatalie Nakase, Golden State Valkyries<\/p>\n No coach had a higher degree of difficulty this season than Natalie Nakase, who had to establish a culture for an expansion team with a group of career role players. Only Tiffany Hayes had ever been an All-Star, and that came back in 2017. Nakase blew past expectations, coaching the Valkyries to become the fourth-best defense and earning the league\u2019s first postseason berth for an expansion team. Golden State\u2019s identity of toughness and hard work comes from Nakase, whom we both consider a deserving winner of this award in her first season as a WNBA head coach.<\/p>\n Sixth Player of the YearNaz Hillmon, Atlanta Dream<\/p>\n Also considered: Natisha Hiedeman, Minnesota Lynx; and DeWanna Bonner, Phoenix Mercury<\/p>\n Hillmon, another pick we agree upon, spent the first two-thirds of the season coming off Atlanta\u2019s bench before her consistent production made it difficult for coach Karl Smesko to keep her off the court for extended stretches. Hillmon is averaging career-highs in points (8.5), rebounds (6.2), assists (2.4) and 3-pointers (1.2) per game. She leads the Dream in on-off net rating, with Atlanta\u2019s offense scoring more than 10 points per possession with her on the floor. Hillmon has helped Atlanta\u2019s spacing, and her efficiency as a player capable of producing without needing many touches has been invaluable.<\/p>\n Hiedeman and Bonner are more classic sixth-player contenders because they\u2019re scorers who can quickly pour in points off the bench. But Hillmon was so good that she earned a promotion into the starting lineup. She makes the Dream better whenever she is on the court, no matter who she is playing with.<\/p>\n Always knows how to make an impact pic.twitter.com\/3aEKhFQL4H<\/a><\/p>\n
\ud83e\udebd 44-point performance: highest by any W player this season
\ud83e\udebd @Kia<\/a> Rookie of the Month#KiaROTM<\/a> | #WelcometotheW<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Cx09czcFhi<\/a><\/p>\n