Things look good for the Windy City’s WNBA squad, the Chicago Sky. The team finished first in the East and take on the Indiana Fever in Game 1 of the WNBA Conference semifinals tonight. The Sky’s star forward Elena Delle Donne (who you can read about in SLAM 173) will be named the 2013 Rookie of the Year, and center Sylvia Fowles will be crowned the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year before tip-off. Via the Chicago Tribune:
“The WNBA will announce Friday that the Sky’s Sylvia Fowles has won the league’s defensive player of the year award and teammate Elena Delle Donne is the rookie of the year.
Both were heavily favored for the awards, given their performances this season.
Fowles, a sixth-year center who also won the defensive award in 2011, led the league in rebounding and field-goal percentage and was second to Phoenix rookie Brittney Griner in blocked shots.
Delle Donne, named rookie of the month in all four selections this season, led the league in free-throw percentage and was fourth in scoring (first among rookies). She is the second Sky player chosen rookie of the year, after Armintie Price in 2007. Delle Donne was assumed to be a unanimous choice of the 39 media members who voted.
Delle Donne and Fowles also finished 3-4, respectively, behind winner Candace Parker for the Most Valuable Player award, presented Thursday.”
