For the first time in her 13-year career, Candace Parker is the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Parker won the 2020 award by earning 16 votes from a 47-person panel, as each media member only votes for one player. Seattle Storm wing Alysha Clark was second with 11 votes, and Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas — long heralded as the point-forward successor to Parker — was third with 10 votes. Four other players (Brianna Turner, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, and Natasha Howard) each received votes.