Liberty rookie Michaela Onyenwere was named the 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year on Tuesday.
She received 47 votes from a national panel of 49 sportswriters and broadcasters. Dream guard Aari McDonald and Liberty wing DiDi Richards received one vote each.
Onyenwere, the No. 6 pick in last spring's draft, was the only player in her draft class that averaged at least 20 minutes per game. She led all rookies in points per game, was first in field goals made—both twos and threes—and finished second in total rebounds.
"It would definitely be an honor,” she told me in September about the prospect of winning the award.