Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike was named as the 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player after she led her team to the second best overall record (26-8) in WNBA.
According to the official press release of the WNBA, Ogwumike scored a total of 362 points in the WNBA MVP voting after receiving 31 of the 39 first-place votes from the national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Tina Charles of the New York Liberty, who was the first overall pick in the 2010 WNBA draft, got the other eight first-place votes to finish second place with 267 points.
Minnesota Lynx's Maya Moore finished third with 197 points, followed by Chicago Sky's Elena Delle Donne with 119 points and Los Angeles Sparks' Candace Parker ended up in fifth place with 30 points.
The point system for the 2016 WNBA MVP award are as follows: 10 points for first-place votes, 7 points for second place votes, 5 points for third-place votes, 3 points for fourth-place votes and 1 point for fifth-place votes.
The former Stanford University standout led the Sparks to a 26-8 season to finish second overall in the WNBA. They won their first 11 games, which is the second-longest winning streak to start the season in WNBA history. The Sparks is scheduled to play Chicago Sky this Wednesday at 10pm ET on ESPN2. This is Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals.
Ogwumike, the 2012 WNBA Rookie of the Year awardee and a three-time WNBA All-Star, posted a career high in points, rebounds, assists and blocks this season as she averages 19.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg (both ranked 3rd in the league), 3.1 apg and 1.2 bpg to go along with 1.3 steals in 33 games.
As the recepient of the 2016 WNBA MVP presented by Samsung, Ogwumike will receive a $15,000 cash and a specially designed trophy by Tiffany and Co.
According to Chron, Ogwumike said in a interview, "My 2016 season is a reflection of years of being a student of the game, hours of grueling practice, memories, favorable and unfavorable; of great teammates and heartbreaking losses on the court. My hindsight is 20/20 and what lays ahead of me may not be visible, but I'm certain is bright. As the WNBA's 2016 MVP, I want to say thank you, I'm humbly honored, and can't wait for what's next."
