Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Aug. 17 through Aug. 23.
Delle Donne earned her league-leading fifth Player of the Week honor of the season and the 10th of her career. The three-time All-Star, who leads the WNBA in scoring (23.9 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (8.8 rpg), helped Chicago score two last-minute wins over the Eastern Conference rival Washington Mystics during a 2-0 week. Delle Donne averaged conference bests of 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, ranked fourth in the East in scoring (20.0 ppg), and was tied for seventh in steals (1.5 spg).
The University of Delaware product, who led Chicago in scoring in both wins, opened the week with 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks in an 87-85 home victory on Aug. 21. She then posted 18 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in a 66-64 road win on Aug. 23.
For Parker, the Player of the Week honor is her first of the season and the 14th of her career. The 2008 and 2013 WNBA Most Valuable Player led Los Angeles to a 2-1 record while pacing the league in scoring (23.7 ppg), rebounding (10.7 rpg), and steals (3.3 spg). She also shared the WNBA lead in assists (6.0 apg, along with Chicago’s Courtney Vandersloot) and ranked sixth among Western Conference players in field goal percentage (.509, 28-of-55).
Now in her eighth WNBA campaign, Parker has helped the Sparks engineer a significant turnaround since rejoining the team at midseason. Los Angeles is 7-4 (.636) since her season debut on July 29 after a 3-13 start (.188).
Parker’s week – which included three straight double-doubles – began with game highs of 25 points, eight steals, six assists, and three blocks, as well as 10 rebounds, in a 79-68 home loss to the league’s hottest team, the Indiana Fever, on Aug. 18. Three days later, she led all scorers with 26 points and added 10 rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a 78-68 victory over the host Phoenix Mercury. Parker closed the week with a near triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists in a 90-59 road win over the San Antonio Stars on Aug. 23.
Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were the Atlanta Dream’s Angel McCoughtry, Chicago’s Allie Quigley, Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, the New York Liberty’s Tina Charles and Epiphanny Prince, Phoenix’s Brittney Griner, and the Tulsa Shock’s Odyssey Sims and Riquna Williams.
For more information on this week’s Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.
2015 WNBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week Ending East Player Team West Player Team
6/14/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago DeWanna Bonner Phoenix
6/21/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Skylar Diggins Tulsa
6/28/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Lindsay Whalen Minnesota
7/5/15 Tamika Catchings Indiana Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles
7/12/15 Cappie Pondexter Chicago Maya Moore Minnesota
7/19/15 Tina Charles New York Maya Moore Minnesota
8/2/15 Tina Charles New York Maya Moore Minnesota
8/9/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Brittney Griner Phoenix
8/16/15 Epiphanny Prince New York Maya Moore Minnesota
8/23/15 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Candace Parker Los Angeles