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Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve was named AP Coach of the Year on Sunday. Reeve helped Minnesota finish second in the regular season with a team that was picked ninth in the preseason. The Lynx won the Commissioner's Cup and finished the regular season with 13 wins in their final 15 games.

, putting up stats the WNBA had never seen before.

Wilson became the first player in league history to score more than 1,000 points in a season, and she averaged a record 26.9 points. Clark broke the league's single-season assist mark and scored the most points ever for a rookie.

So it's no surprise the two were honored Sunday as the unanimous choices for the AP Player and Rookie of the Year awards, respectively, by a 15-member media panel.

“It means a lot," Wilson said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “The preparation you put in, the approach I set myself up for this season.”

 earlier Sunday, also unanimously. The WNBA will announce the rest of its awards over the course of the postseason, which begins Sunday.

Wilson and Clark headlined the AP All-WNBA first team. They were joined by Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas. Sabrina Ionescu, Kahleah Copper, Nneka Ogwumike, Kayla McBride and Arike Ogunbowale were on the second team.

Wilson finished the regular season with 1,021 points and 451 rebounds and led the league with 98 blocks. She finished third in the WNBA MVP voting last season, receiving one fourth-place vote that she said fueled her in the offseason to get better.

“It propelled me a little bit as I started my offseason workouts, but around February I was over it," Wilson said. "I didn’t want to give that person that energy, that’s when I started to lock in.”

Clark came into the league with quite possibly more hype than any rookie ever and she delivered, leading the Indiana Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. She broke the WNBA single-season record with 337 assists, including a league-record 19 in one game. She also broke the single-season rookie scoring mark as she averaged 19.2 points.

“This is a tremendous honor to be named The Associated Press Rookie of the Year,” she said. “This recognition wouldn't be possible without an incredible group of teammates and coaches, and we are looking forward to continuing an exciting regular season in the postseason.”

Off the court she helped lift the WNBA to record ratings and attendance.

Clark headlined the all-rookie team along with Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky, who broke the rebounds-per-game record by averaging 13.1. She would have had the overall rebounding record as well had she not gotten hurt at the end of the season. Other rookies on the team were New York's Leonie Fiebich, Los Angeles' Rickea Jackson and Chicago's Kamilla Cardoso.

Wilson's teammate Tiffany Hayes earned AP Sixth Woman of the Year honors.

“She’s our difference-maker in a lot of ways, what she brings on the court and in the locker room,” Wilson said. “Tiff doesn’t have to be the vocal leader, but everyone listens when she speaks — shows the great player she is.”

Minnesota finished atop the power poll, with New York second. Las Vegas and Connecticut were the next two teams. They were followed by Seattle, Indiana, Atlanta and Phoenix. Washington, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles finished off the poll.

The Associated Press

Author

A'ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark headlined the AP All-WNBA first team. They were joined by Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas. 

Lynx coach Reeve named Coach of the Year, Napheesa Collier picked as Defensive Player of the Year

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