The WNBA All-Defensive Team is an annual

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA) honor given since the 2005 WNBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the WNBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team. The All-Defensive Team is composed of two five-woman lineups, a first and a second team, comprising a total of 10 roster spots. The players each receive two points for each first team vote and one point for each second team vote. The top five players with the highest point total make the first team, with the next five making the second team. Respect is given to positions, however. For example, if there is already a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

on the first team, but another center received more points than two of the guards on the first team, that center will still be on the second team. Tamika Catchings has the record for the most total selections with 11. Catchings has 10 first team selections and 1 second team selection. In 2020, Defensive Player of the Year

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...

, was not selected to either of the WNBA All-Defensive Teams. This is the first time in the history of the award that the Defensive Player of the Year was not selected to an All-Defensive Team in the WNBA and in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. It reflects a difference in voters: The WNBA's defensive player of the year is voted on by media, while the all-defensive teams are voted on by the league's coaches.

Winners

2005 to present

References

* {{WNBA Awards established in 2005 All, Wnba Defensive