Top WNBA MVP prospects of 2021
With the 2021 WNBA season entering the business end of the campaign, now would be a better time than any to take a look at which of the female all-stars competing in the league will have the best chance to obtain the biggest individual prize on offer: the MVP Award.
Of course, basketball is a team sport and one that will require five players on the court at any one time from a squad that can have a maximum of 12 on the roster, but there are times throughout the season where one individual will put up a number of performances that had the ability to make a difference and elevate the franchise to a level that they may not have been able to reach.
Throughout the history of the WNBA MVP Award, the top player has not always been on a team that has the best record, either, thus further highlighting the player’s significance to the team overall. There have been 14 MVPs in the history of the 24 to have been announced so far that have come from a team without the best record, whilst half of those have come from a team with either the second-best record or lower.
The 2021 WNBA MVP Award will not be too far away from the minds of those who are involved, with a number of top bookmakers such as Unibet Indiana already offering a number of odds on who they think will be crowned with the top individual prize in Women’s basketball.
The following list will highlight who are the favorites for the prize, their odds and why they have been identified as potential winners as there is just one more month of action left to be played on the court.
Jonquel Jones
Despite having had to represent her national team (Bosnia & Herzegovina) at the EuroBasket competition back in June and between a key part of the WNBA season, Jonquel Jones still remains a huge favorite with the bookmaker to be named the MVP, as her odds of +130 put her ahead of the competition.
Indeed, the Connecticut Sun center had managed to have an incredibly quick start to the 2021 season as she managed to lead everyone in all of the key stats. Due to her involvement, her rankings have dropped slightly, but Jones is still near the top, despite having missed some matches.
She is second for average points per game with 21.0, but still remains ahead of everyone else when it comes down to rebound averages, as she has 11.1 for the season. Top WNBA MVP prospects of 2021-
Breanna Stewart
Seattle Storm’s Breanna Stewart is predicted to be Jones’ closest rival for the WNBA 2021 MVP Award this season, as the former No. 1 pick continues to show why she was chosen in the position that she was back in 2016. Stewart has odds of +175 available at the time of writing, thus making her a potential winner of the award once again.
The 26-year-old has an average points per game tally of 20.6, whilst she also remains in the top five for average rebounds per game (9.6). Furthermore, the power forward has managed to truly show how much she is worth to the Storm this season defensively, as well, as she has managed to provide an average of 1.7 blocks per game.
She has returned to the Storm as an Olympic Gold medalist after helping Team USA win the Women’s Basketball event in Japan and will be looking to stake her claim to win her second WNBA MVP award after winning her first in 2018.
Tina Charles
The current average points per game leader with 26.3 at the time of writing, Washington Mystic’s Tina Charles is also firmly in the hunt for the MVP Award; an accolade she won back in 2012. She currently has odds of +300, but her performances and stats suggest she could have a great chance of recapturing the title.
Not only are her average points per game tally impressive, Charles – who also represented Team USA at the Olympics this summer – has an average of 10.0 rebounds per game (second), whilst also obtaining the most fantasy points per game played with 45.4, which is slightly ahead of both Jones and Stewart.