Curt Miller wins coach and executive of year
Connecticut's Curt Miller is the WNBA's Coach of the Year and the Sun's Jonquel Jones earned the league's most improved player award on Sunday, the league announced.
Miller led the Sun to a fourth-place finish in the standings after the team lost Chiney Ogwumike to an injury before the season. Connecticut lost five of its first six games before winning 17 of the next 21. He received 36 votes from a national panel of 40 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx finished second with two votes, while Brian Agler of the Los Angeles Sparks and Bill Laimbeer of the New York Liberty tied for third with one vote each.
Miller also won the inaugural Executive of the Year award. He received six of 12 first-place votes from a panel composed of one basketball executive from each WNBA team.
Washington Mystics general manager and head coach Mike Thibault finished second with 24 points (three first-place votes), and Dallas Wings president and CEO Greg Bibb was third with 18 points (two first-place votes).
Jones was a big reason why the Sun were successful this year. She broke the single-season rebounding mark in becoming the first WNBA player to top 400 rebounds in a season. She finished the year with 403 boards. Jones received 32 of 40 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Los Angeles Sparks guard Chelsea Gray finished second with three votes. San Antonio Stars center Isabelle Harrison and Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley tied for third with two votes each. Washington Mystics center Krystal Thomas received one vote.
The New York Liberty's Sugar Rodgers was later honored as the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year. The fifth-year guard earned the award as the league's top reserve for the first time.
The 26-year-old Rodgers received 15 votes from a national panel of 40 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Minnesota Lynx guard Renee Montgomery was second with 12 votes and Washington Mystics guard Ivory Latta finished third with four votes.