For a league as progressive as the WNBA, recognizing its talent for what it does away from the court can be just as important as what it does on the court.
This makes the recipient of the Kim Perrot Award for Sportsmanship a very noteworthy honor within the W. And this year’s winner of said award is familiar of having the honors bestowed upon her since it is the second consecutive year she has won the honors.
Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks) has now won the Perrot Award on back-to-back occasions. She joins Sue Bird as the only players in WNBA history to take home the honors.
Congratulations to @Nnemkadi30 for winning the 2020 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award!
Nneka is the second back-to-back recipient in league history 🏆
📰 https://t.co/E5egRE43wN#GoSparks | #LeadTheCharge pic.twitter.com/nmGTuBo5wt
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) September 29, 2020
Ogwumike got 21 of 46 votes. Coming in second with 11 was New York Liberty veteran Layshia Clarendon followed by seven for the Atlanta Dream’s Elizabeth Williams. Ariel Atkins (Washington Mystics) compiled three, Allisha Gray (Dallas Wings) finished with two, Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) and A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) each got one vote.
Before Ogwumike won the award on back-to-back occasions, the last Spark to win the award was Haixia Zheng in 1997 – when the WNBA embarked on its maiden voyage.
In addition to being one of the W’s premier players, she is also President of the WNBPA and has been so since 2016. The Stanford alum also was the recipient of the WNBA’s Community Assist Award in 2018.
