The WNBA Tuesday historical analyses continue today with a look at the Covid season of 2020, one of the stranger times in recent cultural and sports memory, of course. The Seattle Storm won its fourth and most recent league championship, as a shortened, 22-game schedule was used. Eight of the 12 teams made the postseason, and it was a very statistically odd year as a result, one we have to view through a special lens.

2020 WNBA MVP: A’ja Wilson, C, Las Vegas (original); Breanna Stewart, F, Seattle (revised)

Finishing second in Win Shares (4.0) and third in Player Efficiency Rating (25.0), Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson won her first MVP vote after winning ROTY honors in 2018. The Aces matched the Storm’s top win total (18), which was three wins better than the next-best team. Are there other candidates here to consider? Storm forward Breanna Stewart posted the second-best PER mark (25.5) and the third-best WS total (3.9).

So, which player had more teammate support in the Top 10 of PER/WS? Wilson did, actually, with the same teammate in the Top 10 for both. Meanwhile, Stewart only had a teammate in the Top 10 for Win Shares—but not in PER. That may seem like a small difference, but it’s enough to separate these two relatively evenly matched candidates for the MVP award. Therefore, we go with Stewart here, which makes up for 2018, too.

It also makes Stewart the newest member of our All-WNBA History team, with award wins in all four major categories (ROTY 2016, DPOY 2016, Finals MVP 2018). We will define all these top stars at the end of this miniseries.

2020 WNBA ROTY: Crystal Dangerfield, G, Minnesota (original, confirmed)

Only two rookies cleared 1.0 WS on the shortened schedule, and Minnesota Lynx guard Crystal Dangerfield (1.9) almost doubled up Dallas Wings F Satou Sabally (1.0). Dangerfield won the vote, too, as the Wings did not make the playoffs while the Lynx finished with the fourth-best record in the league. We therefore confirm the vote result here, without much more need for explanation.

2020 WNBA DPOY: Candace Parker, F/C, Los Angeles (original, confirmed)

Six players exceeded 1.5 DWS on the short season, including the vote winner: Los Angeles Sparks F/C Candace Parker (1.8). That total was third in the WNBA, but in the top six, there were two sets of teammates. And the seventh-best defender (with 1.5 WS) was also a teammate, leaving Parker as the only player in the DWS Top 8 without a teammate, actually. The Sparks posted 15 wins; we confirm the vote.

2020 WNBA FINALS MVP: Stewart (original, confirmed)

The Storm posted a perfect 6-0 record in the playoffs, led by Stewart with 1.9 Win Shares—which is nuts for six games. Only one other player managed even 1.0 WS in the postseason, so Stewart, who won the vote for this hardware, gets the easy confirmation from us. This is her second Finals MVP trophy, obviously.