NEW YORK – Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky, who posted the fifth-highest scoring average in WNBA history this season, has been named the 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Samsung, the league announced today.  The third-year guard/forward earned 38 of 39 first-place votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Delle Donne won the MVP award for the first time, leading the Sky to a 21-13 record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  The second overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm averaged a league-high 23.4 points in 31 games, scoring at least 40 points twice, 30 points five times, and 20 points 21 times.  She also shot a WNBA-best 95.0 percent (207-for-218) from the free throw line and finished third in the league in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and blocked shots (2.06 bpg).

A three-time All-Star selection and the 2013 WNBA Rookie of the Year presented by Samsung, Delle Donne (385 points from voters) is the first Sky player to capture the MVP award.  Minnesota Lynx forward Maya Moore, the 2014 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Samsung, received one first-place vote and finished second with 246 points.  New York Liberty center Tina Charles, the 2012 MVP, was third with 181 points, followed by Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (70 points) and two-time MVP forward/center Candace Parker (57 points) of the Los Angeles Sparks.  Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, and one for fifth.

Delle Donne began the season in historic fashion by averaging 28.7 points in June, a WNBA record for the first 10 games of a season (Cappie Pondexter, now Delle Donne’s teammate, held the previous mark of 25.7 points with the Mercury in 2008).  Delle Donne’s June highlights included a career-high 45 points against the Atlanta Dream on June 24, the sixth-best scoring performance in league history.  She shot 19-for-19 from the free throw line in the game to set a WNBA record for most free throws made without a miss.  On June 6, Delle Donne hit for 40 points against the Tulsa Shock.  The former University of Delaware star is only the fourth player in league history to notch two 40-point games in a single season.

In addition to being named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month presented by Samsung for June, Delle Donne earned the conference’s Player of the Week honor a league-best five times.  She also recorded 10 double-doubles on the season, two shy of the league high shared by Parker and Jantel Lavender of the Sparks and Charles of the Liberty.

• WNBA.com’s complete coverage of Elena Delle Donne’s MVP season

Delle Donne’s prolific free throw shooting included a Sky-record 54 consecutive makes, and her overall performance at the foul line marks the sixth time in league history that a player has made more than 200 free throws in a season.  Her 95.0 percentage was the seventh-best single-season mark in league history and the highest all time among players with more than 100 free throw attempts in a season.

This year marks the second season that Samsung, an official WNBA marketing partner, is serving as the presenting partner of the WNBA’s highest individual honors.  The WNBA Performance Awards presented by Samsung program includes the WNBA Most Valuable Player, WNBA Most Improved Player, WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, WNBA Rookie of the Year, and the WNBA Players of the Month and Rookie of the Month awards.

In honor of being named the WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Samsung, Delle Donne will receive $15,000 and a specially designed trophy.

Below are the voting results for the 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Samsung and a list of past recipients:

2015 WNBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG VOTING RESULTS

Points             Player                                     Team                               First Place Votes
385                   Elena Delle Donne            Chicago Sky                            38
246                  Maya Moore                           Minnesota Lynx                    1
181                   Tina Charles                           New York Liberty
70                    Brittney Griner                       Phoenix Mercury
57                    Candace Parker                       Los Angeles Sparks
29                    DeWanna Bonner                   Phoenix Mercury
15                    Tamika Catchings                    Indiana Fever
13                    Epiphanny Prince                    New York Liberty
10                    Angel McCoughtry                   Atlanta Dream
7                      Courtney Vandersloot             Chicago Sky
1                      Nneka Ogwumike                     Los Angeles Sparks

ALL-TIME WNBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG WINNERS

Year                Player                                     Team
2015               Elena Delle Donne               Chicago Sky
2014                Maya Moore                           Minnesota Lynx
2013                Candace Parker                     Los Angeles Sparks
2012                Tina Charles                            Connecticut Sun
2011                Tamika Catchings                   Indiana Fever
2010                Lauren Jackson                      Seattle Storm
2009                Diana Taurasi                          Phoenix Mercury
2008                Candace Parker                     Los Angeles Sparks
2007                Lauren Jackson                      Seattle Storm
2006                Lisa Leslie                               Los Angeles Sparks
2005                Sheryl Swoopes                      Houston Comets
2004                Lisa Leslie                               Los Angeles Sparks
2003                Lauren Jackson                      Seattle Storm
2002                Sheryl Swoopes                      Houston Comets
2001                Lisa Leslie                               Los Angeles Sparks
2000                Sheryl Swoopes                      Houston Comets
1999                Yolanda Griffith                       Sacramento Monarchs
1998                Cynthia Cooper                       Houston Comets
1997                Cynthia Cooper                       Houston Comets

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