The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemdedia.net

WITH the season-ending awards shared out, Bahamian Jonquel Jones fell short of winning her first Defensive Player of the Year Award in the Women’s National Basketball Association.

The WNBA released the 2022 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and the award went to Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson.

This is the first WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for Wilson, who becomes the first player in Aces franchise history to earn the honour. No player from the Connecticut Sun has ever won the award since its inception in 1997. Jones, a centre/forward for the Sun, finished with just two votes from a national panel of 56 sportswriters and broadcasters. However, her Connecticut forward team-mate Alyssa Thomas was second with 14 vote behind Wilson, who received 20. Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart was third with 13 votes.

Wilson, the 2020 Kia WNBA MVP, finished with the most fan votes for the 2022 AT&T WNBA All- Star Game and guided Team Wilson to a 134-112 win at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena on July 10.

In honour of being named the 2022 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Wilson will receive $5,150 and a specially designed trophy from Tiffany & Co. While they lost out to Wilson, Jones and Thomas were both named to the WNBA Defensive Second Team. It’s the third honour for Jones, who earned her spot on the First Team twice in 2019 and 2021. Thomas got a First Team honour in 2020 and a pair of Second Team appearances in 2017 and 2019. The 6-foot, 6-inch Jones, a 28-year-old native of Grand Bahama, is considered one of the most prolific post players in the WNBA and has developed a consistent presence in the paint for the Sun, who are aiming to win their first title in their 20th year of existence.

In another productive year, Jones has climbed on top of Connecticut’s list of career blockers with a 270. She finished the regular season with an average of 1.2 per game for seventh place in the individual standings. Jones, now in her 5th year in the WNBA, was also fourth in the league in rebounds per game with an average of 8.5. Those stats enabled her to complete the year at number 12 in the league in defensive rating at 91.6.

Thomas, a defensive minded player, is a two-time WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month in May and June, 2022. She finished fifth in the league in rebounding with 8.2 average and second in the league in steals with 1.7.