Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, Aces’ A’ja Wilson Headline 2023 All-WNBA Team

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Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson and New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart headlined the All-WNBA first team for the 2023 season.

The Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and Dallas Wings’ Satou Sabally filled out the five-player first team.

All-WNBA Teams

Wilson, Stewart and Thomas were locks for the All-WNBA first team after they combined for one of the tightest Most Valuable Player races in league history. Stewart came out on top by a seven-point margin despite Thomas receiving the most first-place votes. Wilson was the third-place finisher and still trailed Stewie by just 13 points.

Wilson had arguably the single best year of anybody in the W. She averaged 22.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, and she was on a different level in the second half with Candace Parker out injured. After the All-Star break, the 27-year-old averaged 26.2 points on 57.9 percent shooting.

That stretch included Wilson tying the single-game scoring record.

Thomas, meanwhile, was perhaps the WNBA’s most valuable player despite missing out on the award of the same name. The Sun had a 7.5 net rating with her on the court and were minus-22.7 per 100 possessions in the 169 total minutes she was on the bench, per WNBA.com.

The four-time All-Star rewrote the WNBA record book in terms of triple-doubles. Her high-water mark came in an Aug. 1 win over the Minnesota Lynx, when she finished with 21 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists.

Stewart, not to be outdone, had one of her best statistical seasons ever. Her scoring (23.0) and assist (3.8) averages were personal highs, and she tied Thomas for the second-most defensive win shares (3.3), per Basketball Reference.

Especially in the first half, the five-time All-Star was instrumental in guiding a roster that underwent a major overhaul in the offseason.

With the WNBA utilizing the position-less format for its all-league teams, there were a number of worthy candidates for what were effectively two spots on the first team.

Collier missed all but four games in 2022 due to her pregnancy. In her first full year back in action, the Lynx star was better than ever. She averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

Things were looking bleak for Minnesota early on as it dropped its first six games. Thanks to Collier’s production, the Lynx wound up notching 19 wins and finishing sixth in the league.

For Sabally, making the first team symbolizes her long-awaited arrival as a foundational cornerstone for the franchise.

The 2020 No. 2 overall pick not only set career highs per game almost across the board, but she also shot better than ever (43.5 percent overall and 36.1 percent on threes). She was already rewarded for her efforts by winning the Most Improved Player Award.

The Wings have desperately needed another comparable star to Arike Ogunbowale in order to take a leap forward, and now they have just that in Sabally.