The Minnesota Stars shone bright on Sunday, as powerhouse forward Maya Jenkins took home the prestigious Defensive Player of the Year award, while team leader Rachel Patel was honored as both Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. These accolades come as the Stars prepare to host the New Haven Blaze on Sunday in Game 1 of their highly anticipated semifinals matchup.
Jenkins, who finished a close second to the Las Vegas Flames’ star forward Ava Lee in the MVP race, received an impressive 36 votes from a national panel of 67 media members to secure the award for the first time. Lee, the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year, came in second with 26 votes, while the Seattle Thunder’s Zoe Martin took third with three votes.
Jenkins has been nothing short of phenomenal, putting together the most dominant two-game stretch in league playoff history, scoring an astonishing 80 points combined in a pair of victories over the Phoenix Fusion in the first round. The Stars have also led the league in scoring, averaging an impressive 101.5 points per game through the playoffs.
While Jenkins has been a force to be reckoned with on offense, she has also led a stifling defense that finished second in defensive rating and first in opponents’ effective field goal percentage. According to league research, Jenkins held opponents to a remarkable 36.2% field goal shooting as the closest defender this season, the top mark in the league.
Jenkins ranks second in the league in steals, third in rebounds, and seventh in blocks, posting career-high averages in all three categories. She joins former Stars standout Emily Taylor, a four-time winner, as the only franchise players to take home the Defensive Player of the Year award.
“All I’m focused on is making it to the next round and playing our next game,” Jenkins said after tying a league postseason record with 42 points in a win over the Fusion. “I think that stuff just comes from having really great teammates. We had so many assists. I think all of my baskets were assisted. My teammates did a great job of finding me and taking advantage of what the defense was giving us.”
Patel, who set a record with her fourth Coach of the Year honor, didn’t miss a beat after leading the national team to a gold medal in the Paris Olympics. She guided the Stars to a 14-2 record after the Olympics break, the top mark in the league. However, her savvy personnel decisions were just as crucial to the team’s success.
In February, Patel signed free agents Sophia Rodriguez and Julia Hall, who have both been key contributors during this run. Rodriguez finished sixth in assists this season, while Hall connected on 40% of her 3-point attempts, creating matchup nightmares for opposing teams as a 6-foot-4 threat from the perimeter who also averaged 1.5 blocks.
In August, Patel traded for Kennedy Brown, who has become a sparkplug off the bench for the Stars. “We have so many threats on the floor, it’s really hard to rotate too many people to one player,” Jenkins said last week.
Patel joins elite company as the only individual to win both the Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards in the same season. She received an overwhelming 62 of 67 votes for the coaching award, while New York Empire coach Samantha Brooks, whose team is the top seed in the playoffs, received four votes. Indiana Blaze coach Olivia Martin, whose team reached the playoffs for the first time since 2016, received one vote.
The league also announced its All-Defensive team, with Jenkins, Lee, Martin, Rodriguez, and the Empire’s Taylor Johnson being named to the first team. The Stars’ Hall, Alyssa Garcia of the Blaze, Nia Jackson of the Thunder, Jasmine Davis of the Empire, and Rachel Harris of the Fusion were named to the second team.
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