Tina Charles of the New York Liberty and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks today were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played July 24-30.
Charles was selected Player of the Week for the 25th time in her eight seasons, extending her record for the most such awards in WNBA history. This marks her fourth Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor this season.
The 2012 WNBA MVP helped New York go 2-1 last week in the first three games of its five-game road trip, improving to 12-10 this season. Charles ranked second among East players in scoring (21.3 ppg), third in rebounding (10.3 rpg), tied for fourth in steals (2.0 spg) and ninth in assists (3.7 apg).
Charles opened her week with team highs of 24 points and 16 rebounds in a 76-75 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on July 25. Three days later, the former University of Connecticut standout scored a game-high 25 points to go with four assists, three rebounds and two steals in an 85-84 win over the Indiana Fever. In New York’s final game of the week, Charles finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals as the Liberty defeated the Chicago Sky 86-82 on July 30.
Parker was named Western Conference Player of the Week for third time this season. She raised her career total to 21 Player of the Week awards in 10 seasons.
Behind Parker, Los Angeles went 3-0 for the week to improve to 17-6, the second-best record in the WNBA. Parker paced the West in rebounding (12.3 rpg) and assists (6.0 apg). The 2016 WNBA Finals MVP also finished third in blocks (1.67 bpg) and seventh in scoring (17.0 ppg) and field goal percentage (.541, 20-of-37).
Parker’s week was highlighted by the sixth triple-double in WNBA history. On July 28, she contributed 11 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists to go with four blocks in an 85-73 victory at the San Antonio Stars. The historic performance followed a 17-point, 10-rebound, four-steal effort in a 68-60 home win over the Seattle Storm on July 25. The former University of Tennessee star closed the week with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists as the Sparks defeated the Dallas Wings 95-74 at Staples Center.
Other candidates for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Chicago’s Allie Quigley, the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, Dallas’ Skylar Diggins-Smith, Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles, Seattle’s Jewell Loyd and the Washington Mystics’ Emma Meesseman.
For more information on the WNBA Players of the Week, visit www.wnba.com/awards.
The 2017 WNBA regular season runs through Sept. 3. For more information on the WNBA and game tickets, fans may visit www.wnba.com.
