Sky’s Fowles snares WNBA defensive honors

Tamika Catchings may be the reigning MVP in the WNBA, but the Chicago Sky’s Sylvia Fowles put a stop to her streak of Defensive Player of the Year titles.

Fowles grabbed the top defensive honor Thursday by the slimmest of margins as the 6-foot-6 Sky center received 19 out of 40 votes — one more than Catchings, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner.

In her fourth year in the WNBA, Fowles became only the second player in WNBA history to finish the season averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. Chamique Holdsclaw (20.5 ppg and 10.9 rpg) did it for Washington in 2003.

Fowles tied a WNBA record with 22 double-doubles in a season, while leading the WNBA in blocked shots for the second straight year (2.00 bpg), field goal percentage (.591), and minutes played (34.6 mpg). She ranked second overall in rebounds (10.2 rpg) and third in scoring (20.0 ppg).

Fowles, an all-American at LSU, finished third this season in MVP voting, which went to Catchings, a former star at Stevenson High School and the University of Tennessee.

In honor of being named the Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles will receive $5,000 and a trophy designed by Tiffany & Co.

Defensive POY results

Here are the final results for the Defensive Player of the Year in the WNBA:

Sylvia Fowles, Sky: 19

Tamika Catchings, Fever: 18

Tina Charles, Sun: 2

Epiphanny Prince, Sky: 1

Past winners

These are the all-time Defensive Player of the Year winners in the WNBA:

2011: Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Sky

2010: Tamika Catchings, Fever

2009: Tamika Catchings, Fever

2008: Lisa Leslie, L.A. Sparks

2007: Lauren Jackson, Storm

2006: Tamika Catchings, Fever

2005: Tamika Catchings, Fever

2004: Lisa Leslie, L.A. Sparks

2003: Sheryl Swoopes, Comets

2002: Sheryl Swoopes, Comets

2001: Debbie Black, Miami Sol

2000: Sheryl Swoopes, Comets

1999: Yolanda Griffith, Monarchs

1998: Teresa Weatherspoon, Liberty

1997: Teresa Weatherspoon, Liberty