Seattle Storm Star Earns Third MVP Honor of Career

NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2010 – Seattle Storm forward-center Lauren Jackson was named the 2010 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Kia Motors, the league announced today.  Jackson, who received 323 points (22 first place votes) from a national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters, previously earned MVP honors in 2003 and 2007.  Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings ranked second with 262 points (10 first place votes) and New York Liberty guard Cappie Pondexter finished third with 207 points (five).  Phoenix Mercury guard-forward Diana Taurasi, the 2009 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Kia Motors, finished fourth with 73 points.  

Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.

In honor of being named the WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by Kia Motors, Jackson will receive $15,000 and a specially-designed trophy from Tiffany & Co.

Rounding out the top eight vote getters were Washington Mystics forward-center Crystal Langhorne with 54 points, Atlanta Dream forward Angel McCoughtry with 41 points, Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles with 19 points, and Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird with 14 points.  

En route to her third MVP award, Jackson helped propel the Storm to the best record in the WNBA at 28-6, which equaled the most wins in league history (by the 28-4 Los Angeles Sparks in both 2000 and 2001).  Seattle also posted the first 17-0 home record in WNBA history.

The Australian native captured the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month presented by Kia Motors honors in May, June and July of this year.  She also set a single-season record (later equaled by New York’s Cappie Pondexter) for most Conference Player of the Week presented by Kia Motors awards with five, all coming in the first nine weeks of the season.  In the process, Jackson increased her total haul of weekly honors to 19, the most in WNBA history.  

The 10-year pro started all 32 games in which she played and ranked among the WNBA’s top 10 in numerous categories, including finishing fourth in points (20.5 ppg) and seventh in rebounds (8.3 rpg).  She also ranked fourth in free-throw percentage (.910), fifth in blocks (1.19 bpg) and seventh in double-doubles (nine).

Jackson finished the season with 656 total points (tallying double figures in all but one game), 264 rebounds (including 175 defensive boards), 38 assists, 38 blocks, and 30 steals. She made 220 of her 476 shots from the field, including 54 of 156 from three-point range.

Jackson, whose Seattle team hosts the Mercury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals tonight, led the Storm to a 5-0 mark against Phoenix during the regular season.  It was against the Mercury that Jackson logged her best performances of the year.  She first recorded her top rebounding effort of the season at Phoenix, pulling down 18 boards and contributing 31 points in a 111-107 triple overtime victory on July 14.  In their next meeting she posted a season-high 33 points and added 11 rebounds in a 91-85 home win over the Mercury.
                 

This marks the second season that Kia Motors, an official WNBA marketing partner, has presented four of the league’s most illustrious season-ending awards – the WNBA’s Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, and Sixth Woman of the Year – grouped under the banner of “The WNBA Performance Awards presented by Kia Motors.”

For more information on this year's WNBA Performance Awards presented by Kia Motors, visit www.wnba.com/awards.
                 
Below are the complete results of the 2010 WNBA Most Valuable Player of the Year award presented by Kia Motors votes and a list of past recipients:

2010 WNBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS RESULTS

        Points                Player        Team 
       

        323                Lauren                        Seattle Storm
        262                Tamika Catchings        Indiana Fever
        207                Cappie Pondexter       New York Liberty
        73                  Diana Taurasi              Phoenix Mercury
        54                  Crystal Langhorne      Washington Mystics
        41                  Angel McCoughtry      Atlanta Dream
        19                  Tina Charles                Connecticut Sun
        14                  Sue Bird                      Seattle Storm
        6                    Tina Thompson           Los Angeles Sparks
        3                    Penny Taylor               Phoenix Mercury

ALL-TIME WNBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS WINNERS 
       

         2010        Lauren Jackson        Seattle Storm
        2009         Diana Taurasi          Phoenix Mercury
        2008        Candace Parker        Los Angeles Sparks
        2007        Lauren Jackson        Seattle Storm
        2006        Lisa Leslie                 Los Angeles Sparks        
        2005        Sheryl Swoopes        Houston Comets
        2004        Lisa Leslie                 Los Angeles Sparks
        2003        Lauren Jackson        Seattle Storm
        2002        Sheryl Swoopes        Houston Comets
        2001        Lisa Leslie                  Los Angeles Sparks
        2000        Sheryl Swoopes        Houston Comets 
        1999        Yolanda Griffith        Sacramento Monarchs 
        1998        Cynthia Cooper        Houston Comets 
        1997        Cynthia Cooper        Houston Comets

About Kia Motors America
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 700 dealers throughout the United States. For 2008, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share and more recently achieved its best quarter of sales ever in 2009. Kia Motors subscribes to a philosophy of building high value, high quality, safe and dynamic vehicles. Kia Motors prides itself on producing vehicles that are exciting and enabling and evoke the Kia tagline “The Power to Surprise.”

Kia Motors America is the “Official Automotive Partner of the NBA.” Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its Web site –www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.

About the WNBA
The WNBA is a unique global sports property combining competition, sportsmanship, and entertainment value with its status as an icon for social change, achievement, and diversity.  Now in its 14th season, the WNBA features 12 teams and is the most successful women’s professional team sports league in the world.  Following a 2009 campaign that saw regular season attendance increase for the third consecutive year and increased viewership on ESPN2 for the second straight summer, the 2010 season tipped off with tremendous momentum on May 15.  

Through WNBA Cares, the WNBA is deeply committed to creating programs that improve the quality of life for all people, with a special emphasis on programs that promote a healthy lifestyle and positive body image, increase breast and women’s health awareness, support youth and family development, and focus on education. For more information on the WNBA, log on to www.wnba.com.