2025 WNBA awards: Expert picks for MVP and more, plus the best surprises and biggest disappointments of 2025

The 2025 WNBA regular season has come to a close, and before the playoffs get underway on Sunday, it's time to make award picks. As always, there were some obvious calls (Paige Bueckers for Rookie of the Year) and some more difficult decisions (the historic three-way MVP race) that required serious consideration from our panel.

Our panel made calls on every single major honor -- MVP, 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 All-WNBA Teams, All-Defensive Teams and the All-Rookie Team. 

In addition, we discussed the best surprise and biggest disappointment of the season. 

Without further ado, here are CBS Sports' 2025 WNBA awards picks:

MVP

Napheesa Collier, Alyssa Thomas and A'ja Wilson were all deserving of MVP this season, but only one can win. Collier, who became the second player ever to record a 50/40/90 season, and led the Lynx to the No. 1 seed, seemed to have the award locked up until an ankle injury in early August sidelined her for multiple weeks. 

Collier's absence -- she ended up missing 11 games, or 25% of the season -- cracked open the door for Wilson and Thomas. Wilson kicked it down with an incredible final six weeks as she led the Aces on a 16-game winning streak to earn the No. 2 seed and earn her second consecutive scoring title. Thomas, for her part, had a record eight triple-doubles and nearly became the first player to average a triple-double for a season as she helped the Mercury earn the No. 4 seed.

All three players will likely earn first-place votes, but our panel leaned heavily toward Wilson, who could become the first four-time MVP in league history.  

Defensive Player of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year is another award likely to split opinion. Three of our panel members went with Alanna Smith, who set a new career-high with 1.9 blocks per game and was the stabilizing presence all season long for the Lynx's league-leading defense. 

Wilson, who already has two Defensive Player of the Year honors in her trophy case, will receive votes as well. She led the league in blocks at 2.3 per game, and had a tremendous burden as the back line of an Aces defense that finished eighth in defensive rating. 

Collier would have been in the mix for this honor too if not for her injury issues. 

Rookie of the Year

There should be no surprise here. Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, authored one of the best rookie seasons in league history, and should be the unanimous Rookie of the Year. She finished fifth in the league in scoring, ninth in assists and sixth in steals, and tied the rookie single-game scoring record with 44 points -- the highest-scoring game by any player this season. 

Most Improved Player

There are many different interpretations of "Most Improved Player," which often leads to real dispute for this honor. That was not the case this season, as Veronica Burton made an overwhelming case as the driving force of the expansion Golden State Valkyries' historic playoff push. Burton averaged career-highs across the board with 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, six assists and 1.1 steals per game, and has a chance to earn both All-WNBA and All-Defensive honors as well. 

Sixth Player of the Year

Naz Hillmon was so good off the bench early in the season for the Dream that she was eventually moved into the starting lineup late in the season. She only started 17 games, though, so she is still eligible for Sixth Player of the Year and received three of the four votes from our panel after averaging 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists to help the Dream earn the No. 2 seed. 

Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman, one half of the StudBudz, is another leading contender for Sixth Player of the Year. Her scoring punch off the bench was a big reason why the Lynx earned the No. 1 seed and tied the single-season wins record with 34. She averaged 9.1 points and 2.8 assists and shot 37.1% from 3-point range. 

Coach of the Year

You could have easily made a strong case for about half of the league's coaches to win Coach of the Year. 

In the end, the majority of our panel went with Natalie Nakase, who helped the Valkyries become the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs in their inaugural season. The first-year coach guided the Valkyries to a 23-21 record and built an elite defense despite the lack of a true star and a parade of injuries. 

Another leading candidate for the honor is Karl Smesko. Another first-year coach, Smesko made the jump from the collegiate ranks, where he had spent the past two decades turning Florida Gulf Coast into a mid-major powerhouse. He immediately transformed the Dream's offense and led Atlanta to a franchise-record 30 wins and the No. 3 seed. 

All-WNBA First Team

All four of our panel members had the same five players for All-WNBA First Team. 

Collier, Thomas and Wilson are all obvious as the leading MVP candidates. 

Allisha Gray was the best player for the No. 3 seed Dream, and put up 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 38.4% from 3-point range. 

Kelsey Mitchell was the primary reason the Indiana Fever's season didn't fall apart with all of their injury issues and averaged 20.2 points -- good for third in the league -- and 3.4 assists on 39.4% from behind the arc. 

All-WNBA Second Team

While First Team All-WNBA was unanimous, there was far more debate about Second Team. 

In fact, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu was the only player to receive a vote from all four panel members. Nneka Ogwumike, the Seattle Storm's best player, and Jackie Young, the second-best player on the Aces, were on three of the four ballots. 

Seven other players received at least one nod: Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, Veronica Burton, Brionna Jones, Kelsey Plum, Breanna Stewart and Courtney Williams. You can make a strong case for any of that group, and our panel's wide-ranging responses highlight how close the race was for one of the final Second Team spots. 

All-Defensive First Team

As was the case with the All-WNBA First Team, our panel was in complete agreement on the All-Defensive First Team. 

Smith and Wilson are obvious as the main Defensive Player of the Year candidates. 

Collier, too, is no surprise after the role she played in the Lynx's elite defense. Injuries were all that kept her from being in the DPOY discussion. Thomas is a perennial All-Defensive honoree and was once again a wrecking ball on that end of the floor. Williams, meanwhile, established herself as the best wing defender in the league this season. 

All-Defensive Second Team

Again, as was the case with All-WNBA, there was more disagreement on the All-Defensive Second Team. 

Notably, not a single player received a vote from all four of our panel members. A number of players did receive three nods, however: Valkyries perimeter stopper Veronica Burton, Dream do-it-all wing Rhyne Howard, Storm rim protector Ezi Magbegor and Liberty leader Breanna Stewart. 

Seven other players got at least one vote: Monique Akoa Makani, Aliyah Boston, Natasha Cloud, Brionna Jones, Natasha Mack, Kayla McBride, Saniya Rivers. The last few spots for the All-Defensive Second Team could go a number of different ways. 

All-Rookie Team

Three players received unanimous approval for the All-Rookie Team from our panel: Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. 

Bueckers, of course, is the leading Rookie of the Year candidate. Citron and Iriafen, meanwhile, were incredible together for the Mystics, and finished second and third, respectively, in scoring among rookies. Citron also led all rookies in 3-point percentage, while Iriafen led all rookies in rebounding. 

In years past, it has often been a stretch to fill out the back-end of the All-Rookie Team. This season, however, there were so many productive rookies that the league easily could have made a second team. That was reflected in the voting from our panel, as five other rookies received at least one vote: Akoa Makani, Leïla Lacan, Dominique Malonga, Janelle Salaün and Rivers. 

Best surprise

A Dream season in Atlanta

Everyone expected the Dream to be better this season after hiring Karl Smesko and signing Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner, but no one expected them to be this good. They set a franchise record with 30 wins -- tied for the fifth-most in a season in league history -- and earned the No. 3 seed despite missing Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard for significant portions of the season. -- Jack Maloney

While the Valkyries and their inaugural-season success might be the obvious pick here, I've been even more surprised by the way the Dream have gelled, on and off the court, in their first season under Karl Smesko. I was skeptical about the hire, and about some of their offseason moves like bringing in both Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner, but I was wrong. This team won the most games in franchise history this season and Smesko set the wins record for a rookie coach. More importantly, the team is an absolute joy to watch and a real threat to every single team in the playoffs. -- Lindsay Gibbs

Aces surge to end regular season

I never doubted A'ja Wilson, but the rest of the team took way too long to find its stride. Once those players did, led by a great year from Jackie Young, they looked like the Aces of old and closed the season on a 16-game winning streak. NaLyssa Smith was a solid, though not splashy, addition. -- Erica Ayala

The Aces were off to an underwhelming start this season and could have dug themselves into a deeper hole after a 53-point loss to the Lynx. Instead, the team used that defeat as motivation to bounce back in incredible fashion. Ending on a 16-game winning streak and setting a 3-point record in the final game of the regular season? Talk about making a statement before the playoffs. -- Isabel Gonzalez

Biggest disappointment

Windy City letdown

The Sky's win-now scheme -- in particular, trading the No. 3 pick (Sonia Citron) and a 2027 first-round swap for Ariel Atkins -- seemed ill-conceived during the offseason and looks even worse now after a disastrous summer. They were beset by injuries, missed the playoffs and appear to have alienated their franchise player, Angel Reese. To make matters worse, they owe the Minnesota Lynx their first-round pick.  -- Jack Maloney

New coaching hires in Chicago and Dallas

Tyler Marsh (Sky) and Chris Koclanes (Wings) struggled in their first seasons with their respective clubs, but the Sky were the bigger disappointment. I was never a fan of the Sky getting rid of Teresa Weatherspoon and that move, combined with how they are handling Angel Reese, has the organization under a much-deserved microscope. They need more changes than just the new practice facility. -- Erica Ayala

Caitlin Clark's lost season

Clark was going through a sophomore slump and only played 13 games before officially wrapping up the season due to a groin injury. That was unfortunate since there was a lot of excitement about how she would build off the momentum from her historic rookie year. That being said, Clark deserves time to get healthy, and the Fever — despite multiple other injuries — still returned to the playoffs while setting a new franchise record for wins in a season. -- Isabel Gonzalez

The injury bug bites hard

Cathy Engelbert might insist that there haven't been more injuries than normal this season, but it doesn't feel that way, mainly because of the profile of the players that have missed time. Both of the former MVPs on the New York Liberty, Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart, missed at least a month. Napheesa Collier missed three weeks with an injury when she was the MVP frontrunner. And most notably, Caitlin Clark was limited to just 13 games in her much-anticipated sophomore season. The WNBA continues to add more games to the schedule, and it looks to be taking a toll. Injuries are always a part of sports, but this year, they were a main character. -- Lindsay Gibbs