Which WNBA players have won the most MVP awards?

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Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie and Cynthia Cooper are the WNBA players to win most MVPs in league history

In WNBA history, 16 different players have been named league MVP. 

Hall of Famers Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson (Class of 2021) are tied for the most regular season MVPs with three apiece. Jackson, an Australian national, is the only international player to have won the MVP. 

Tied for fourth with two regular season MVPs each are the trio of Cynthia Cooper, Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne. 

MORE: Which WNBA franchise has won the most titles?

Of the six, Cooper is the only one to have received the MVP honour in consecutive seasons (1997, 1998).

WNBA MVP award leaders
Player Team No. of awards Years
Sheryl Swoopes Houston Comets 3 2000, 2002, 2005
Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks 3 2001, 2004, 2006
Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm 3 2003, 2007, 2010
Cynthia Cooper Houston Comets 2 1997, 1998
Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks 2 2008, 2013
Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky / Washington Mystics 2 2015, 2019

To date, Parker is the only one to be named MVP in her rookie year. In 2008, she was the first and remains the only player in WNBA history to win Rookie of the Year and league MVP in the same season. 

For the multi-time winners, 6-foot-5 forward Delle Donne is the only one to win the award with multiple franchises, having received the honour in 2015 while with the Chicago Sky and in 2019 with the Washington Mystics.

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