Los Angeles- Nneka Ogwumike wins the 2020 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award for her leadership on and off the court with the Sparks.
Ogwumike is the type of player that you want on your team, because she brings it out every night and will always be there to give her team an encouraging word even when they are going through obstacles as a team. When the Sparks was trying to figure out ways to stop teams in the first half of the season, Ogwumike stepped up big and helped out her team. With her and Candace Parker guiding the team, the Sparks responded according and had a good run until the playoffs. Despite the shortened season, the Sparks had a 15-7 record and grabbed the third seed in the Western Conference.
Ogwumike has served as President of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association since 2016 and has been a voice that used her platform to talk about social injustice issues. This is the second consecutive Sportsmanship Award for Ogwumike, who joins Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird (2017, 2018) as the only players to earn the honor in consecutive years.