Arike Ogunbowale drives for a layup at College Park Center (September 2019)
© 2019 Miss Ari Photography
NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2019 – WNBA Rookie of the Year forward Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx leads the 2019 WNBA All-Rookie Team as one of four unanimous selections, the WNBA announced today.
The 2019 WNBA All-Rookie Team also features Indiana Fever center Teaira McCowan, Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young, and Phoenix Mercury forward Brianna Turner.
Collier, McCowan, Ogunbowale and Young each received the maximum 11 votes from a panel of the WNBA’s 12 head coaches, who each selected five players regardless of position and were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Turner received seven votes.
Napheesa Collier: The 6-1 forward averaged 13.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.91 steals and 0.94 blocked shots while starting all 34 regular-season games and logging a WNBA-high 33.3 minutes per game. Among WNBA rookies, the 2019 All-Star ranked first in steals, second in scoring, rebounding and blocks and third in assists. Collier became the fourth player in WNBA history to record at least 400 points, 200 rebounds, 75 assists, 50 steals, 25 blocks and 25 three-pointers made in a season, joining Maya Moore, Tamika Catchings and Sheryl Swoopes.
Teaira McCowan: McCowan ranked second in the WNBA in rebounding (9.0 rpg), fifth in field goal percentage (51.7) and 10th in blocks (1.29 bpg) – all rookie highs. She was the third-leading rookie scorer with 10.0 points per game, recording at least 12 points in nine of her last 10 games and finishing with a career-high 24 points three times in that span. McCowan set a Fever team record for consecutive double-doubles with five (Aug. 25 – Sept. 6).
Arike Ogunbowale: Ogunbowale ranked third in the WNBA in scoring with 19.1 points per game. The former Notre Dame standout scored 20 or more points in 13 of her last 14 games, including 11 in a row to close the season. Ogunbowale joined Maya Moore as the only players to post four straight games of 30 or more points and became the first rookie to record two 35-point games. She also made a rookie-high 57 three-pointers and finished second among rookies in assists (3.2 apg) and steals (1.06 spg).
Jackie Young: The No. 1 overall pick in WNBA Draft 2019 presented by State Farm averaged a rookie-high 4.5 assists (ninth in the WNBA) to go with 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. She helped the Aces to a 21-13 record and the No. 4 seed in the WNBA Playoffs.
Brianna Turner: Turner averaged 6.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.21 blocks in her final 14 games of the season. She matched a Mercury single-game rookie record with 14 rebounds against the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 8. For the season, Turner ranked third among rookies in rebounding (4.1 rpg).
