DeLisha Milton-Jones of the Atlanta Dream is the recipient of the 2015 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award, the WNBA announced today. Milton-Jones becomes the first Dream player to receive the honor.
The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is presented each season to a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, including ethical behavior, fair play, and integrity. The award is named for the late Kim Perrot, who helped guide the Houston Comets to their first two WNBA Championships before passing away in August 1999 after a seven-month battle with cancer.
Milton-Jones, who just completed her 17th WNBA season, received 11 votes from a national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters. Courtney Vandersloot of the Chicago Sky finished second with six votes. Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx and Jeanette Pohlen of the Indiana Fever received five votes each, followed by Karima Christmas of the Tulsa Shock with three votes. The Los Angeles Sparks’ Alana Beard, the Seattle Storm’s Alysha Clark, and the New York Liberty’s Carolyn Swords received two votes each. Jayne Appel of the San Antonio Stars, Armintie Herrington of the Washington Mystics, and Jasmine Thomas of the Connecticut Sun received one vote apiece.
A 41-year-old Georgia native, Milton-Jones started her WNBA career with the Sparks as the No. 4 overall pick out of Florida in the 1999 draft. The two-time WNBA All-Star spent 11 of her 17 seasons with Los Angeles, where she won back-to-back WNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002. Milton-Jones, the WNBA’s career leader in games played (499), is one of six players in league history with more than 5,000 points and 2,400 rebounds. She ranks fifth all time in steals (619), sixth in rebounds (2,574), ninth in points (5,571), and 13th in blocks (339). In July 2011, during the league’s 15th season, Milton-Jones was one of 30 finalists for the WNBA’s Top 15 Players, which recognized the most influential players since the league’s inception in 1997.
In honor of being named the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award winner, Milton-Jones will receive $5,000 and a specially designed trophy from Tiffany & Co. The Dream will donate an additional $5,000 to the charity of her choice.
Below are the voting results of the 2015 WNBA Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award and a list of past recipients.
2015 KIM PERROT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD RESULTS
11 DeLisha Milton-Jones Atlanta Dream
6 Courtney Vandersloot Chicago Sky
5 Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx
5 Jeanette Pohlen Indiana Fever
3 Karima Christmas Tulsa Shock
2 Alana Beard Los Angeles Sparks
2 Alysha Clark Seattle Storm
2 Carolyn Swords New York Liberty
1 Jayne Appel San Antonio Stars
1 Armintie Herrington Washington Mystics
1 Jasmine Thomas Connecticut Sun
ALL-TIME KIM PERROT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
2015 DeLisha Milton-Jones Atlanta Dream
2014 Becky Hammon San Antonio Stars
2013 Swin Cash Chicago Sky
Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever
2012 Kara Lawson Connecticut Sun
2011 Sue Bird Seattle Storm
Ruth Riley San Antonio Stars
2010 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever
2009 Kara Lawson Sacramento Monarchs
2008 Vickie Johnson San Antonio Stars
2007 Tully Bevilaqua Indiana Fever
2006 Dawn Staley Houston Comets
2005 Taj McWilliams-Franklin Connecticut Sun
2004 Teresa Edwards Minnesota Lynx
2003 Edna Campbell Sacramento Monarchs
2002 Jennifer Gillom Phoenix Mercury
2001 Sue Wicks New York Liberty
2000 Suzie McConnell Serio Cleveland Rockers
1999 Dawn Staley Charlotte Sting
1998 Suzie McConnell Serio Cleveland Rockers
1997 Haixia Zheng Los Angeles Sparks
About the WNBA
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