Gray, Thomas Headline WNBA Accolades

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Former Duke University women's basketball standouts headlined All-WNBA voting in 2019 as Chelsea Gray of the Los Angeles Sparks and Jasmine Thomas of the Connecticut Sun received All-WNBA First Team and All-WNBA Defensive Team accolades, respectively.

Joining Gray on the 2019 All-WNBA First Team were Elena Delle Donne (Washington), Courtney Vandersloot (Chicago), Brittney Griner (Phoenix) and Natasha Howard (Seattle). Gray, a 2014 Duke graduate, earned first team honors for the first time in her career.

The 2019 All-WNBA Second Team consisted of Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones, Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, Las Vegas Aces center Liz Cambage, Sky guard Diamond DeShields and Minnesota Lynx guard Odyssey Sims.

Gray averaged 14.5 points, which was tied for 13^th in the WNBA, and a career-high 5.9 assists this season. Her 5.9 assists a game ranked second in the league. She was named a WNBA All-Star Game starter for the first time in her third consecutive All-Star appearance. Gray was an All-WNBA Second Team selection in 2017.

Voting for the All-WNBA First and Second Teams was conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. Players were selected by position and received five points for each first team vote and three points for each second team vote. If a player received votes at multiple positions, she was slotted at the position where she received the most votes.

In honor of their accomplishments, each member of the All-WNBA First Team will receive $10,000 and each member of the Second Team will receive $5,000.

Thomas, a 2011 Duke graduate, received 2019 WNBA All-Defensive First Team honors for the third straight year.

Joining Thomas on the first team was Natasha Howard (Seattle), Jonquel Jones (Connecticut), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles) and Jordin Canada (Seattle).
The WNBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins, Storm forward Alysha Clark, Sun forward Alyssa Thomas and Mystics guard Natasha Cloud.

Connecticut's Thomas is one of the top on-ball defenders in the league, who tied for eighth in steals with a 1.41 per game average. She was also a second team selection in 2016.

The WNBA's 12 head coaches selected the All-Defensive First and Second Teams by position and were not permitted to vote for players from their own teams. Players earned five points for each First Team vote and three points for each Second Team vote. If a player received votes at multiple positions, she was slotted at the position where she received the most votes.

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Below are the voting results for the 2019 All-WNBA Teams.

2019 ALL-WNBA FIRST TEAM

Position          Player, Team                                     1st Team     2nd Team                   Total
Forward           Elena Delle Donne, Washington              43                  --                       215
Guard              Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago               37                  4                        197
Center             Brittney Griner, Phoenix                          34                  7                        191
Guard              Chelsea Gray, Los Angeles                      26                  15                        175
Forward           Natasha Howard, Seattle                          22                  16                        158


2019 ALL-WNBA SECOND TEAM

Position         Player, Team                                     1st Team     2nd Team                   Total
Forward           Jonquel Jones, Connecticut                      18                  20                        150
Forward           Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles               16                  22                        146
Center             Liz Cambage, Las Vegas                          1                    20                        65
Guard              Diamond DeShields, Chicago                  3                    13                        54
Guard              Odyssey Sims, Minnesota                        3                    11                        48

2019 WNBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM

Position              Player, Team                                  1st Team     2nd Team      Points
Forward             Natasha Howard, Seattle             11                 0                 55
Center               Jonquel Jones, Connecticut            6                  4                    42
Forward             Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles      6                  2                    36
Guard                 Jasmine Thomas, Connecticut       6                  2                    36
Guard                 Jordin Canada, Seattle               5                  3                      34

2019 WNBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM

Position              Player, Team                                  1st Team     2nd Team      Points
Center               Brittney Griner, Phoenix                            5                  3                          34
Guard                 Ariel Atkins, Washington                3                  4                   27
Forward             Alysha Clark, Seattle                   1                  7                     26
Forward             Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut           2                  5                    25
Guard                 Natasha Cloud, Washington           5                  0                    25

Gray, Thomas Headline WNBA Accolades

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