After five seasons with the Minnesota Lynx, unrestricted free agent Jessica Shepard signed with the Dallas Wings in April.
The move paid immediate dividends for the Wings and Shepard, who was named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player on Wednesday after leading the league with six triple-doubles.
Shepard, 30, edged Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin for the award, receiving 29 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Austin earned 25 votes while Portland Fire guard Carla Leite was a distant third with 11 votes.
Toronto’s Marina Mabrey (4), Seattle’s Dominique Malonga (3) and Los Angeles’ Rae Burrell (2) also received votes.
Shepard, who never averaged more than 8.1 points, 5.4 rebounds or 3.5 assists per game in any season with Minnesota, produced 14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Wings while helping the franchise post its highest winning percentage (.614) since the Detroit Shock won the 2008 championship.
Shepard and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (16.4 ppg, 12.1 rpg) were the only players to average a double-double this season.
Shepard started 42 games and ranked second in the league in rebounds, fifth in field-goal accuracy (57.5%) and 11th in assists per contest.
The Notre Dame product’s six triple-doubles tied for the second-most in a season in WNBA history. She added 25 double-doubles, the fourth-most in a WNBA season.
Reese set a single-season WNBA record with 521 rebounds in 2026 and Shepard amassed the second-most at 467.
A first-time WNBA All-Star, Shepard was voted a starter for the game.
In her fifth season with Washington, the 26-year-old Austin posted career bests in scoring (17.0 ppg), rebounding (9.5 rpg), assists (2.6 per game), blocks (1.2 per game) and 3-point percentage (.315).
Both Shepard and Austin led their respective teams to playoff berths after two-year absences.
–Field Level Media
