Noon today was the deadline for submitting ballots for most of the WNBA's postseason awards.
I submitted mine about 2:30 a.m. this morning -- wanted to beat the rush.
Seriously, this should be a good year for the league award-wise. It already has been record-wise. They have the best overall record -- by far -- at 27-7. Only five teams in the first 14 years of the WNBA have won 27 or 28 games (although in fairness, the WNBA played two fewer games in the early years).
Rookie Maya Moore should be a lot for Rookie of the Year. Danielle Adams of San Antonio would have given her a lot of competition, but she got hurt and missed a lot of time in the middle of the season with a sprained foot. So Moore wins this.
Coach of the Year? Hard to see anyone besides Cheryl Reeve winning this. Sure, she had a lot of talent to work with. But she blended the talent together. Players seemed to get along. Team improved by 14 wins, more than doubling 13 win total last year. And Lynx tied WNBA record with 13 road wins. Next most was nine.
MVP? The favorite here is probably center Tina Charles of Connecticut with her 23 double-doubles. wnba.com lists her No. 1 in their Race to the MVP feature.
But the best player on the best team is Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen. She has had a career year and should finish in the top three. Watching her a lot, you see what she means to the team. The Lynx committed the second fewest turnovers in the league, were one of the best fastbreak teams, and she is amazing in transition.
She also can score a lot of points when her scoring is needed. Oh, she led the league in assists, too, with just under 6.0 assists per game. Her and Moore especially click well on the fastbreak.
