WNBA Players of the Month for June: Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins

Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky and Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock were named the WNBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month for games played in June.

Delle Donne, the Eastern Conference Player of the Week in each of the first three weeks of the season, earned the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for the second time in her career.  She helped the Sky to a 5-5 record in June by averaging a league-leading 28.7 points, a WNBA record for the first 10 games of a season (surpassing Cappie Pondexter’s mark of 25.7 points with the Phoenix Mercury in 2008).  Delle Donne also led the East in rebounding (9.9 rpg) and blocks (2.6 bpg), and was second in free throw shooting percentage (.978, 91-of-93).

The third-year pro and two-time All-Star selection opened the season with 31 points, eight boards, four blocks, and three steals in a 95-72 victory over Indiana, and immediately followed that performance with a then-career-high 40 points and nine rebounds in a 101-93 road loss to Tulsa.

In the season’s third week, Delle Donne grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds in an 83-77 win at the Indiana Fever, and she also set career highs of 45 points and six blocks to go with 11 rebounds in a 100-96 overtime victory over the Atlanta Dream.  Her 19-of-19 effort at the foul line against Atlanta set a league record for most made free throws without a miss in a single game.  The 45-point outing was the sixth best in a game in WNBA history and enabled her to become only the fourth player in league history to notch multiple 40-point games in the same season.

Additional highlights of Delle Donne’s play in June included:

• June 14 at Indiana: 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals in a 98-72 victory
• June 20 at San Antonio: 28 points and 13 boards in a 95-87 victory
• June 28 at Washington: 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals in an 86-71 loss

Diggins, who was selected by Tulsa with the No. 3 overall pick in WNBA Draft 2013 (one spot behind Delle Donne), was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for the first time.

After Tulsa’s season-opening loss at Minnesota, the 2014 All-Star led the Shock to eight straight wins and the top spot in the Western Conference standings through June 28, before sustaining a season-ending knee injury.

During June, Diggins ranked second among West players in scoring (17.8 ppg) and three-point shooting percentage (.448 on 13-of-29 from behind the arc), and fourth in assists (5.0 apg).  She also tied for fifth in the conference in steals (1.56 spg) and was sixth in free throw shooting percentage (.918, 45-of-49).

The Notre Dame product scored 20 or more points four times, including a season-high 31-point effort in a 93-89 victory over visiting Seattle on June 28 in which Tulsa tied its franchise record of eight consecutive wins.  Diggins also poured in 26 points and added eight assists in an 86-78 win at Minnesota on June 21 as the Shock supplanted the Lynx for first place in the West at the time.

Additional highlights of Diggins’ play in June included:

• June 6 vs. Chicago: 20 points, eight assists, three steals, and two rebounds in a 101-93 win
• June 14 at San Antonio: 21 points, four boards, two assists, and two steals in a 73-62 victory