A panel of 43 media members voted Seattle Storm forward Natasha Howard the 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.
Here's a breakdown of the voting:
| POS | PLAYER | Team | VOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | Natasha Howard | Storm | 33 |
| F | Nneka Ogwumike | Sparks | 3 |
| C | Jonquel Jones | Sun | 2 |
| C | Sylvia Fowles | Lynx | 2 |
| F | Alysha Clark | Storm | 1 |
| C | Brittney Griner | Mercury | 1 |
| C | Elizabeth Williams | Dream | 1 |
In addition to averaging a team-high 18.1 points, the 28-year-old Howard cemented herself as one of the best defensive presences in the league. While playing 31.4 minutes per game, Howard tallied averages of 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and 1.7 blocks. The all-around effort led to the first All-Star Game appearance of her career.
Overall, the Storm finished the season with the No. 4-ranked defensive rating, conceding 96.4 points per 100 possessions. That rate improved to 92.3 points allowed per 100 possessions with Howard patrolling the paint.
Howard also led all players in All-Defensive Team voting, as determined by head coaches. Each first-team vote was worth five points and each second-team vote was worth three points.
Here's how the All-Defensive teams broke down:
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Natasha Howard | Storm | 11 | 0 | 55 |
| C | Jonquel Jones | Sun | 6 | 4 | 42 |
| F | Nneka Ogwumike | Sparks | 6 | 2 | 36 |
| G | Jasmine Thomas | Sun | 6 | 2 | 36 |
| G | Jordin Canada | Storm | 5 | 3 | 34 |
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Brittney Griner | Mercury | 5 | 3 | 34 |
| G | Ariel Atkins | Mystics | 3 | 4 | 27 |
| F | Alysha Clark | Storm | 1 | 7 | 26 |
| F | Alyssa Thomas | Sun | 2 | 5 | 25 |
| G | Natasha Cloud | Mystics | 5 | 0 | 25 |