Bird picked to All-WNBA first team; Stewart, Loyd to second team

Published 6:00 pm Friday, October 14, 2016

Herald news services

NEW YORK — Seattle’s Sue Bird was named to the 2016 All-WNBA First Team, the league announced Friday, and Storm teammates Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd were selected to the second team.

The teams, which were selected by a panel of national and local sportswriters and broadcasters, were headlined by league MVP Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks, who was the only unanimous choice of the 39 panelists.

Bird, a five-time first-team selection, led the WNBA in assists with 5.8 per game, and the 14-year veteran was second in the league in three-point field goal percentage with a career-best 44.4.

Stewart and Loyd, the 2016 and 2015 WNBA Rookies of the Year, respectively, each earned their first All-WNBA nods.

Bird and Ogwumike were joined on the first team by Tina Charles (New York), Maya Moore (Minnesota) and Elena Delle Donne (Chicago).