Who I’m voting for the WNBA’s Most Improved Player award and why

For me, the WNBA’s Most Improved Player race came down to three players: Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin, Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard, and Portland Fire guard Carla Leite. All players have been crucial to their squads, and all three are far more impactful than they were last year. All three players could easily win the award, and all three wholeheartedly deserve it.

But, as an awards voter, I had to make a difficult choice — and select one player for the award. Ultimately, after a ton of back-and-forth, I picked Carla Leite.

Let’s take a look at all three players’ cases:

Jessica Shepard went from being a backup big on the Minnesota Lynx last year to being named an All-Star on the Dallas Wings. Her statistical jump is undeniable; she went from averaging 8 points to 14.3 points per game (+6.3), 7.3 rebounds to 10.9 rebounds per game (+3.6), and 2.6 assists to 5.1 assists per game (+2.5).

Her field goal percentage, meanwhile, slightly declined — she’s averaged 57.9% shooting in 2026, down from 63.8% shooting in 2025 (-5.9%).

Shepard was not an elite defender last year, and she still isn’t. This is a part of her game that can certainly grow more in the years to come. But, there’s no way to talk about the Wings’ 2026 turnaround without heavily centering Shepard’s free agency signing in the conversation.

Shakira Austin was the starting center of the Washington Mystics, both last year and this year — though she played 6.5 more minutes per game this season (29.5 minutes, up from 23).

Austin has seen substantial increases in her scoring (12.7 points to 17 points), rebounds (6.4 rebounds to 9.4 rebounds), and assists (1.8 to 2.6). But, unlike Shepard, Austin’s efficiency has actually improved — she’s increased her field goal percentage from 46.5% to 49.1% (+2.6%), and her three-point percentage from 13.3% to 32.7% (+19.4%).

Austin has also impressed defensively — she anchors the Mystics elite defense, which ranks as the third-best in the league, and her 49.7% opponent field goal percentage is the best in the NBA.

Carla Leite came off the bench for the Golden State Valkyries last year, averaging n 17.2 minutes per game. Leite was a spark plug, but she couldn’t shoot the three-ball and was not a primary offensive option on a deep Valkyries squad.

This year, she’s established herself as the Fire’s franchise player. Her scoring has skyrocketed from 7.2 points to 16 points per game, and her assists have increased from 2 to 6.3 per game. But most impressive is her efficiency jump — Leite shot 38.7% from the field last year and 17.3% from three. This year, she’s shot 46.3% from the field and 40% from three, truly incomparable numbers.

Leite also has been super effective in the clutch, carrying the Fire to multiple crunch-time victories (including Tuesday night against her former Valkyries squad).

For more visual learners, here’s how the three players’ improvements measure up.

(For reference, PER, or Player Efficiency Rating, is an all-in-one metric created by sports analyst John Hollinger to measure a basketball player’s per-minute productivity).

So, all three players had major statistical jumps. But Leite actually improved her scoring, assists, and efficiency more than any other player on the list.

The one knock on Leite’s Most Improved Player campaign is that she’s not on a winning squad; Austin and Shepard both help anchor playoff teams. Normally, it’s really hard for me to overlook that. But there are a few awards — namely Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player — for which I value winning less.

Austin has the edge because she’s in the same role she was in last year, but she’s excelling in it more than before. Shepard and Leite are on new teams with more expansive roles. But Veronica Burton won the award almost unanimously last year, and she also benefited from moving to a new organization and getting a starter spot for the first time. So, it feels unfair to overvalue staying on the same team.