NEW YORK – Atlanta Dream forward-guard Betnijah Laney has been named the 2020 WNBA Most Improved Player, the WNBA announced today.  A five-year WNBA veteran, Laney has won the Most Improved Player Award for the first time and joins Elizabeth Williams (2016) as players to earn the honor with the Dream.

Laney received 25 of 47 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.  Washington Mystics forward Myisha Hines-Allen finished in second place with 21 votes.  Las Vegas Aces forward-guard Angel McCoughtry received one vote.

Signed by Atlanta as a free agent in June, Laney averaged career highs of 17.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 33.3 minutes while starting all 22 games for the Dream this season.  Her previous career highs in each category were all set in 2019, when she averaged 5.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 25.8 minutes in 34 games for the Indiana Fever.

In 2020, Laney shot career highs of 48.1 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from three-point range this season.  Last season, she shot 36.2 percent from the field and a then career-high 30.3 percent from three-point range.

The 6-foot Laney scored at least 20 points seven times this season after not having a 20-point game in her first four WNBA seasons.  She reached the 30-point mark twice, including a career-high 35 points against Washington on Aug. 19.  Laney also recorded a career-high 11 assists against the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 21.

In honor of being named the WNBA Most Improved Player, Laney will receive $5,150 and a specially designed trophy from Tiffany & Co.

Below are the voting results for the 2020 WNBA Most Improved Player Award and a list of past recipients.