WNBA sets stage for 2026 All-WNBA First Team announcements with 12 contenders profiled

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

The WNBA has released an end-of-season awards lookahead that focuses on the contenders for All-WNBA First Team honors, an award the league describes as recognizing the five best players in the WNBA during the regular season, regardless of position. In the same update, the league said that as the WNBA Playoffs continue, the remaining end-of-season awards will be announced in the coming days and weeks, following the announcement of five award winners over the past week.

In its lookahead, the WNBA presented a field of 12 players for consideration, stating that the candidates are listed alphabetically and that the supporting information uses stats and rankings from the complete 2026 season. The league’s profiles connect each player’s regular-season production and impact to the type of season that typically figures into All-WNBA voting, emphasizing scoring, playmaking, defense and overall two-way value.

Shakira Austin of the Washington Mystics is highlighted after a season that included a runner-up finish for Most Improved Player by four votes, along with a fourth-place finish for Defensive Player of the Year. The league’s profile says Austin nearly averaged a double-double, posting 17 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game while serving as a defensive anchor on a young Washington roster, and notes that only three players averaged at least 17 points and nine rebounds in 2026.

Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings is featured as a key reason the Wings made a large jump in wins and returned to the postseason. The WNBA’s lookahead reports that Bueckers finished in the top 10 in points (20.9 per game, 5th), assists (5.9 per game, 8th) and 3-point percentage (41.0%, 9th), and references career-number production after her Rookie of the Year campaign the previous year.

Veronica Burton of the Golden State Valkyries is profiled as an impact player whose statistical footprint centers on efficiency and two-way defense. The league reports that only reigning MVP A’ja Wilson had more win shares than Burton (7.55) in 2026, and lists Burton’s rankings in steals and assists as well as a league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio (3.94) among the candidates in the WNBA’s discussion.

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever is presented as the league’s most prominent offensive force in the WNBA’s lookahead. The WNBA says Clark averaged 22.3 points per game (3rd in the league) and 8.3 assists per game (2nd), and it attributes to her the “highest-scoring offense in WNBA history,” noting the Fever scored 96.0 points per game in 2026 and that the prior mark cited by the league belonged to the 2010 Mercury (93.9 points per game).

Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream is included after the league describes her as leading the WNBA in steals and placing second in 3-pointers. The WNBA also reports that Howard averaged 3.1 threes and 2.3 steals per game over the full season, marking the first time in league history a player averaged at least three 3-pointers and two steals across an entire season, according to the league’s profile.

Olivia Miles of the Minnesota Lynx is highlighted as both the unanimous Rookie of the Year and a contender for MVP-level recognition. The league says Miles ranked eighth in scoring and seventh in assists across the entire WNBA as a rookie, and it links her performance to the Lynx’s 33-11 record and No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The WNBA also notes that Miles joined a small group of players, saying she averaged at least 19 points, four rebounds and six assists in 2026.

Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever is described by the WNBA as having set multiple league scoring records in 2026. The league says Mitchell set marks for most points in a season (1,086), three-pointers in a season (135), 10+ point games (44) and 20+ point games (35), and it adds that she scored at least 20 points for 27 straight games from June 22 to Sept. 22, breaking the previous record of 16 consecutive games.

Angel Reese of the Atlanta Dream appears in the lookahead after a strong start to her Atlanta season that produced multiple end-of-season honors already. The WNBA reports that Reese won Defensive Player of the Year in her first season with the Dream and received her third consecutive Peak Performer Award as the league’s top rebounder, while also citing 500+ rebounds in 2026 and a single-season record for double-doubles (32).

Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty is included after the WNBA’s profile points to an early award win during the season. The league says Stewart was named MVP of the Commissioner’s Cup after leading the Liberty past the Aces in the championship game, and it reports she finished in the top 10 in points (20.8 per game, 7th), rebounds (8.3 per game, 10th), blocks (1.3 per game, 9th) and win shares (7.04, 5th), while also averaging 33.0 minutes per game.

Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries is listed as an All-WNBA candidate based on a combination of defensive and offensive contributions. The WNBA reports that Williams earned All-Star honors as a starter in 2026 and finished as runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year voting to Reese, adding that she ranked fourth in steals and 10th in defensive win shares, while also leading Golden State in scoring at 14.4 points per game.

A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces rounds out the group with the WNBA emphasizing a year that the league frames as historic at both ends. The WNBA says Wilson led the league in points (26.2 points per game), blocks (1.9 blocks per game) and win shares (9.43) for the third consecutive season, and notes that her scoring average ranked as the second-highest in league history, with the only mark higher being her own 26.9 points per game in 2024.

Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces is the final player profiled by the WNBA in its All-WNBA First Team lookahead. The league reports Young ranked in the top 10 for both points (career-high 18.9 points per game, 10th) and assists (career-high 6.8 assists per game, 4th) and highlights that, among the group of 12 candidates presented, Young led in true shooting percentage (61.4%), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.89) and win shares (6.82), alongside the group’s lowest usage rate (23.9%).

The WNBA update ends by indicating that other end-of-season awards not yet announced will be released during the remainder of the playoffs window and in the coming days and weeks, setting expectations for when the league will publish the results, including All-WNBA First Team selections.

The league’s profile also includes a “continue reading” prompt, but the provided source does not include additional official list details beyond the 12 players and the information attributed to the WNBA in this lookahead. Further research would be needed to confirm whether the WNBA will publish parallel lookahead content for the other All-WNBA teams and additional awards once specific announcements are made.