WNBA All-Star Game: Every MVP, reaction to tiny trophy

WNBA All-Star Game: Every MVP, reaction to tiny trophy originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

WNBA All-Star Game MVP is a big honor that came with a comically small prize this year.

Kelsey Plum earned the award at the event in Chicago on Sunday. The Las Vegas Aces guard went off in the contest, scoring a game-high 30 points and drilling five 3-pointers for the victorious Team Wilson.

After the game, cheers turned to jeers, but not at Plum. She met WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert at center court to receive her trophy. If you squint hard enough, you can actually see Plum holding it:

Despite receiving a comically small piece of hardware, Plum joined the company of some WNBA icons by earning All-Star MVP honors. Here’s a look at the group she is now a part of, along with more reaction to the actual trophy:

Who has won WNBA All-Star Game MVP the most times?

Two basketball legends share the honor of most WNBA All-Star Game MVPs with three.

Lisa Leslie was named MVP at the WNBA’s first All-Star Game in 1999. The Los Angeles Sparks center then won two more MVP honors for the game in 2001 and 2002.

Maya Moore is the other player with three All-Star Game MVPs to her name. The Minnesota Lynx forward won three straight awards, beginning in 2015 and continuing in 2017 and 2018. While there wasn’t an All-Star Game in 2016, Moore earned an even greater honor that summer: an Olympic gold medal.

Every WNBA All-Star Game MVP

Here is the full list of players to be named Most Valuable Player at the WNBA All-Star Game:

• 1999: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

• 2000: Tina Thompson, Houston Comets

• 2001: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

• 2002: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks

• 2003: Nikki Teasley, Los Angeles Sparks

• 2005: Sheryl Swoopes, Houston Comets

• 2006: Katie Douglas, Connecticut Sun

• 2007: Cheryl Ford, Detroit Shock

• 2009: Swin Cash, Seattle Storm

• 2011: Swin Cash, Seattle Storm

• 2013: Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks

• 2014: Shoni Schimmel, Atlanta Dream

• 2015: Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx

• 2017: Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx

• 2018: Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx

• 2019: Erica Wheeler, Indiana Fever

• 2021: Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings

• 2022: Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces

Why is the WNBA All-Star Game MVP trophy so small?

Alright, back to the puny, cup-sized elephant in the room.

Along with Sylvia Fowles’ fast-break dunk, the trophy presentation was the biggest viral moment to come from this year’s WNBA All-Star Game.

After the fact, Plum’s Aces teammates couldn’t help but make fun of the moment:

And as could be expected, other Twitter users were equally relentless:

It remains unclear why the WNBA had such a little trophy prepared for this year’s All-Star Game, especially considering it wasn’t an issue in previous years.

As for how much the WNBA All-Star MVP trophy cost, it’s fair to guess not much. 

After the response to this year’s trophy, the league most certainly should upgrade the size of the trophy for 2023.