Hoopsfix awards: Who stood out in the 2023-24 WBBL season?
Another WBBL regular season is in the books, so it’s that time again to look back on the campaign and give out our awards.
The official awards are voted on by the coaches around the league, and usually announced in the lead-up to the playoffs final.
All-First Team
Janika Griffith-Wallace – the record breaker. The Canadian guard scorched Manchester with a WBBL single-game high of 50 points – including 10 made threes – and finished as the league’s leading scorer with 20.9 points per game. Griffith-Wallace also had a 38-point outing earlier in the season and logged heavy minutes in helping lead Durham Palatinates into the playoffs.
20.9 PPG – 4.9 RPG – 2.6 APG – 2.0 SPG – 37.8% 3PT
Taylor O’Brien – a strong rookie season. O’Brien led the Riders to another top-four finish in the league with their best-ever scoring season – putting up 16.4 points along with 6.0 rebounds. The culmination to the regular season saw O’Brien pour in a best of 30 points having previously fired in 29 against Newcastle. O’Brien featured in every game and the lefty was a constant problem for defenders, driving to the basket at will.
16.4 PPG – 6.0 RPG – 2.6 APG
Kat Tudor – one of the purest shooters the WBBL has had. Tudor lit up the league at times with a quick release and had 5+ three-pointers in six league games including seven during a 37-point haul. The former OSU guard also collected a couple of double-doubles with 18.2 points per game amongst the top-five in the league scoring charts.
18.2 PPG – 5.9 RPG – 2.1 APG – 37.5% 3PT
Tierra Hodges – the forward made a huge impact for Newcastle Eagles – averaging a double-double to help them through some early injury troubles. Hodges came in with a 30-point performance on debut and went on to record 10 double-doubles in 16 league appearances to inspire the Eagles to a sixth-placed finish. A strong inside presence, Hodges also matched up well alongside Katie Nolan on the occasions they played together.
20.8 PPG – 10.6 RPG – 1.9 APG
Temi Fagbenle – absolutely huge to have the GB captain play in the WBBL for the first time. The former WNBA champion showed all her class with London Lions this season, helping them to a historic European title and another unbeaten league campaign. The numbers don’t tell the full story, but Fagbenle was dominant when needed.
12.8 PPG – 6.1 RPG – 2.1 APG – 72.1% FG
Last season: Saiki – Winterburn – Herbert-Harrigan – Arlen – Murphy
Official TOTY: Winterburn – Herbert-Harrigan – Hatch – Arlen – Murphy
Could an All-Second Team potentially look like this?
Lauren Saiki – Holly Winterburn – Caterrion Thompson – Mari Stewart – Rayven Peeples
Lauren Saiki is one of the best pure point guards the league has ever seen – already inside the top-10 all-time for regular season assists – and no doubt played a huge role alongside Hodges in inspiring Newcastle’s turnaround.
We all know about Holly Winterburn – who will forever be remember for hitting that three in the EuroCup Finals – and the 23-year-old still averaged 13.5 PPG and 4.4 APG despite not needing to play as big a role this season given the Lions’ dominance and strength in depth.
Caterrion Thompson had a huge month in March for Oaklands Wolves, but they eventually ran out of steam to miss out on a place in the playoffs, while Mari Stewart played a vital role in leading Nottingham Wildcats’ recovery to make the top eight. And, Rayven Peeples established herself as one of the best bigs in the league with a season double-double of 13.2 PPG and 11.0 RPG as a formidable presence inside for Leicester Riders.
It’s testament to the increasing standard across the league that are so many good players that haven’t even been mentioned yet. You can make the case for almost any Lions player (Megan Gustafson doesn’t meet the 50% league games played criteria) and once again it’s difficult leaving out Caledonia Gladiators – back-to-back runners-up finishes, but also says a lot about their team-orientated style of play.
Sheffield Hatters finish third – Emma Eichmeyer probably one of the more underrated players in the league, Georgia Gayle stepped up again as a leader for the team, while Madison Washington was a consistent performer.
Then there’s Haylee Saurette who put up big numbers on a struggling Cardiff side; Essex Rebels’ Dayzsha Rogan an extremely high-skilled guard and teammate Darcy Rees led the league in rebounding before getting injured late on.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see how varied the voting from the coaches is in this regard.
Most Valuable Player
The best player on the best team is an ideal starting point – but this is always highly subjective – and Temi Fagbenle is arguably the best player to ever play in the WBBL. A certified winner, the GB legend returned home to inspire London Lions to domestic and European success and gets our vote as the 2023-24 season MVP.
Yes, Fagbenle *only* averaged 12.8 points per game – the fourth leading scorer on the Lions. And yes, London beat the second-placed team by ~30~ points in her absence and probably could/would have won the league without her. But this was all done in under 20 minutes per game, and the per 40 stats read at 30.2 PPG and 14.5 RPG to better portray the dominance in relation to court time – and this is where stats can be misleading.
When the Lions were missing some players during February, Fagbenle put together a stretch of games that included a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double against Sheffield to dig them out of a hole before a season’s best of 25 points against Newcastle.
Fagbenle would follow on from Kiki Herbert-Harrigan and Jo Leedham-Warner as Lions players to receive the award if the coaches vote accordingly. But this could be a year where it doesn’t go to a player on the league-winning team.
Last season: Kiki Herbert-Harrigan
Official MVP: Kiki Herbert-Harrigan
All-British Team
Holly Winterburn – Georgia Gayle – Sam Ashby – Savannah Wilkinson – Temi Fagbenle
The fact that this selection gets harder every year is only good thing for the league, but it remains to be seen the level of British recruitment next season given the expected exodus of the Lions.
The league champions make up three of our spots here with our MVP Fagbenle joined by Winterburn and Savannah Wilkinson (11.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG), who returned to the league for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Karlie Samuelson averaged 15.2 points per game with ridiculous three-point shooting stats – and the new Washington Mystics guard could easily make the lineup, though did also miss nine league games.
As mentioned above, Gayle took on an extra layer of responsibility with the Hatters this season and finished as their top scorer with 14.5 PPG, while Sam Ashby had a big year for Leicester Riders that included a Player of the Month award and making a debut with the GB senior team – averaging 13.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
There could easily be a place for Durham’s Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby after putting up 15+ points per game to help her side back into the playoffs, while Hannah Robb had another really solid year at Caledonia Gladiators and Abby Lowe had some big games for Newcastle Eagles.
Last season: Winterburn – Gayle – Monakana – McGarrachan – Ottewill-Soulsby
Official British TOTY: Winterburn – Gayle – Handy – McGarrachan – Ottewill-Soulsby
Young Player of the Year
Not as clearcut as it has been in recent years, but Nottingham Wildcats’ teenage guard Valerie Cassidy de Falco handled the responsibility of being a starter in the top flight. The ’06-born prospect averaged 7.7 points along with 3.2 assists (and 4.0 turnovers) in 24.1 minutes across 20 appearances for the Wildcats with a season-high 28 points against Manchester Giants in December.
Meanwhile, last season’s WNBL D1 MVP Faye Endean stepped up with league champions London Lions and didn’t look out of place on a team full of stars with the 20-year-old posting 4.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per game.
Last season: Issy Bunyan
Official YPOY: Issy Bunyan
Stella Kaltsidou should be considered the frontrunner for the Coach of the Year award, but Karen Burton and Lee Davie did impressive jobs in helping their respective sides make the playoffs despite their squad limitations, while Ashley Cookson led Essex Rebels to their first-ever WBBL final in his first season – along with a top-six finish.
The league is also introducing some new awards this season with a Sixth Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year.
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