Did Storm’s Dominique Malonga Get Robbed of MIP Award?

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Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga surveys the court during the team’s 98-77 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, Sept. 20, at Michelob Ultra Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm [/caption]

Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard won the 2026 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player award, the league announced on Wednesday. Seattle Storm forward Dominique Malonga was also in the running for the award, finishing fifth out of six players in the voting.

Malonga made a massive jump from her rookie to second season, and she was one of just two second-year players in the voting (Portland Fire’s Carla Leite). The former 2025 No. 2 overall pick led the Storm in nearly every statistical category and drastically improved as a defender.

Was Malonga robbed of the MIP award? Did playing for the worst team in the WNBA swing the voting out of her favor? Let’s take a look at how the voting shook out.

2026 Kia Most Improved Player award voting

1. Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings (29 votes)
2. Shakira Austin, Washington Mystics (25)
3. Carla Leite, Portland Fire (11)
4. Marina Mabrey, Toronto Tempo (4)
5. Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm (3)
6. Rae Burrell, Los Angeles Sparks (2)

There was a big drop-off from Shepard and Austin to the rest of the field. In the big picture, Malonga wasn’t even remotely close to earning her first annual award.

Some context is needed, however, even before diving into stats. Shepard was a role player on the Minnesota Lynx in 2025 before joining the Wings this season. She was the third-leading scorer (14.5 points per game) on the team and top rebounder (11.1 rebounds per game), helping the Wings go 27-17 in 2026 after winning 10 games last season.

Austin was the best player on a Mystics squad that finished 28-16 this season and earned the No. 5 seed in the postseason. She didn’t make as big of a statistical jump as Shepard, but she was still a leader for a title contender.

The success of the team does influence these awards, and the top-2 vote-getters are a prime example of that. The bottom-3 vote-getters all missed the postseason.

The statistical jump should arguably be the biggest factor in this award. So, how do these six players compare from the 2025 to 2026 seasons?

Player statistics from 2025 to 2026 (in order of votes)

Jessica Shepard (29)

2025: 8.0 ppg, 7.3 reb, 2.6 ast, 0.5 stl, 0.1 blk (63.8% FG, 0% 3FG, 54.4% FT)

2026: 14.5 ppg, 11.1 reb, 5.3 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.1 blk (57.5% FG, 9.1% 3FG, 67.7% FT)

Shakira Austin (25)

2025: 12.7 ppg, 6.4 reb, 1.8 ast, 1.1 stl, 1.1 blk (46.5% FG, 13.3% 3FG, 66.4% FT)

2026: 17.0 ppg, 9.5 reb, 2.6 ast, 0.8 stl, 1.2 blk (48.3% FG, 31.5% 3FG, 72.5% FT)

Carla Leite (11)

2025: 7.2 ppg, 1.3 reb, 2.0 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.1 blk (38.7% FG, 17.3% 3FG, 83.8% FT)

2026: 16.1 ppg, 2.2 reb, 6.3 ast, 0.6 stl, 0.1 blk (45.9% FG, 40.2% 3FG, 86% FT)

Marina Mabrey (4)

2025: 14.4 ppg, 4.2 reb, 4.0 ast, 0.7 stl, 0.3 blk (36.7% FG, 27% 3FG, 87% FT)

2026: 20.8 ppg, 3.3 reb, 3.7 ast, 0.9 stl, 0.4 blk (44.1% FG, 38.5% 3FG, 88.1% FT)

Dominique Malonga (3)

2025: 7.7 ppg, 4.6 reb, 0.9 ast, 0.4 stl, 0.7 blk (55.1% FG, 22.2% 3FG, 56.9% FT)

2026: 17.1 ppg, 8.8 reb, 1.7 ast, 1.0 stl, 1.4 blk (48.8% FG, 27.8% 3FG, 73.8% FT)

Rae Burrell (2)

2025: 7.5 ppg, 2.3 reb, 1.2 ast, 0.6 stl, 0.2 blk (43.3% FG, 32.8% 3FG, 74.5% FT)

2026: 14.6 ppg, 2.3 reb, 2.5 ast, 0.8 stl, 0.6 blk (45.5% FG, 38.3% 3FG, 81.4% FT)

Should Malonga have won the award?

From a team perspective, no. The Storm showed little improvement throughout the season and finished with the most losses in a season in WNBA history. It wasn’t a campaign to be remembered, but Malonga was excellent individually.

Malonga had some of the biggest statistical jumps of any player who received votes, particularly in points per game, rebounds and on the defensive end. She also had by far the biggest increase in free throw percentage.

From a purely statistical perspective, Malonga appears the most deserving. Leite rivals her for that title, but Malonga’s numbers are a hair better overall. MIP should be more about the individual than the team, which differs from an award like MVP. If overall “value” is considered, like it should be in MVP, that changes the discussion massively.

MIP is about player improvement from one season to the next. Even if Malonga didn’t get first, she should have received more than three votes. That’s the real disservice here, more so than Shepard winning.