Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike repeats as WNBA sportsmanship award winner
For the second consecutive season, Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike was awarded the 2020 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award, an honor presented each season to a player exemplifying the ideals of sportsmanship, such as ethical behavior, fair play and integrity. The WNBA announced the news Tuesday.
A nine-season WNBA veteran, Ogwumike has served the Women’s National Basketball Players Association president since 2016. In the past year, she’s worked to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement and she was integral in arranging for the season to go forward safely during the pandemic, in a bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. She’s also was a leading figure and supporter of WNBA players’ social justice messaging.
When the league’s players joined their NBA counterparts by choosing not to play their slate of games following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in August, Ogwumike explained the motivation for the decision on ESPN, citing it as a response to police violence against members of the Black community: “The players of the WNBA use today to reflect,” she said. “It is important to note that this is not a strike, this is not a boycott. This is affirmatively a day of reflection. A day of informed action and mobilization.”
Ogwumike – who averaged 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18 games this shortened season – received 21 votes for the sportsmanship distinction from a national panel of 46 sportswriters and broadcasters. New York Liberty guard Layshia Clarendon, a San Bernardino native and first vice president of the WNBPA, was second with 11 votes.
The @LASparks’ @Nnemkadi30 delivered a clear statement on behalf of her WNBA colleagues today on ESPN. The message: “Do something today.” pic.twitter.com/gOogsNcl0o
— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) August 27, 2020
Ogwumike joins Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird, who earned the honor in 2017 and 2018, as the only other player to receive the award in consecutive seasons. Last season, she became the first member of the Sparks to receive the honor since the league’s inaugural season in 1997, when it was awarded to center Zheng Haixia.
Ogwumike adds the honor to a long list of them: A six-time WNBA All-Star, she was the league’s MVP in 2016, when she led L.A. to the championship. She also was the 2012 Rookie of the Year, after being the No. 1 overall pick in that season’s draft.
The sportsmanship award is named for the late Kim Perrot, who helped guide the Houston Comets to their first two WNBA championships before dying in August 1999 after a seven-month battle with cancer.
Congratulations to @Nnemkadi30 on earning the #WNBA Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award! #BossWoman pic.twitter.com/ituKEOkdde
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 29, 2020