WBBL head coaches and captains have voted for their top defensive stoppers in the 2022-23 campaign, including a pair from London Lions – one of whom breaks a record – as they were the best defensive team in the league, with all five having proven defensive pedigree.
Shanice Beckford-Norton – London Lions
Great Britain international guard Shanice Beckford-Norton breaks a record for the most Molten WBBL Defensive Team of the Year appearances with this being her third in a row. A tone setter for her team and her country, she averaged 1.4 steals and 3.0 defensive rebounds in under 19 minutes per game off the bench as captain of the Lions this season, including four steals in the WBBL Trophy Final success over Leicester Riders at the Emirates Arena and live on Sky Sports, which led directly to nine points as they scored a huge and decisive 31 points from turnovers in that hard-fought 81-70 win.
Araion Bradshaw – Sevenoaks Suns
Sevenoaks Suns have long held a reputation for defence, finishing fifth in the WBBL Championship this year with rookie guard Araion Bradshaw proving to be one of the top two-way players in the league. She joined Suns straight from the University of Dayton Flyers where she was named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, and three-time A-10 All-Defensive Team, now earning another such accolade as she is elected to the Molten WBBL Defensive Team of the Year. Setting the tone for her team, Bradshaw was second in the league in steals with 3.2 per game and had two games with seven steals in October; while at just 5’6″ she also demonstrated her doggedness by grabbing 5.8 defensive rebounds per contest and being the most fouled player in the league.
Taylor Murray – London Lions
Lions were by far the best defence in the WBBL, holding teams to an average of just 55 points per game, and the signing of American guard Taylor Murray in the summer – a graduate of the formidable University of Kentucky with professional experience in Hungary and Sweden – was a key component in that. At Kentucky she was twice SEC All-Defensive Team and was a semi-finalist for the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year award, adding to those credentials with this achievement in her first WBBL season. Murray led the league in steals with a stifling 3.6 per game and ten games of five or more steals, including an amazing 11 points, 18 assists and six steals in an April victory over Durham Palatinates, while she also had 12 points, five assists and three steals in London’s WBBL Cup Final success in January.
Sune Swart – Essex Rebels
South African centre Sune Swart joined Rebels in the summer after a standout college career at Bucknell and two seasons in Spain with Baxi Ferrol including one in the top flight after a promotion, and at 6’4″ she was the lynchpin for the defence that powered Rebels to sixth in the WBBL Championship. As a paint protector for her team she was second in the WBBL for blocked shots with 1.8 per game and seventh in rebounding at 9.7 per contest, also nabbing a team high 1.9 steals per game. That included a season high five blocks in a dramatic 73-71 March defeat of third-placed Leicester Riders, and a game of 15 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and four steals in a 69-65 defeat of Newcastle Eagles – who finished just one win below them – in October.
Jess Wayne – Durham Palatinates
In her second season in Durham, Jess Wayne once more demonstrated her defensive prowess as Palatinates came agonisingly close to the WBBL Play-offs, just missing out in a three-way head-to-head. The do-it-all guard – formerly MIAA Defensive Player of the Year when at Emporia State University – was third in the league in steals with 3.1 per game, even higher than last year’s 2.5 as she upped her averages across the board in her second campaign, also grabbing 8.4 rebounds per game and scoring 15.1 points. She had three double-doubles on the season including a remarkable 12 steals in a March victory over Manchester Met Mystics, breaking the WBBL record for most steals in a single game.
A full record of votes can be found below:
| Caledonia Coach Vote | McKenzie Johnston | Taylor Murray | Abby Lowe | Shequila Joseph | Kirsty Brown |
| Caledonia Captain Vote | Sune Swart | Grace George | Taylor Murray | Araion Bradshaw | Jessica Wayne |
| Cardiff Coach Vote | Taylor Murray | Jessica Wayne | Ty Battle | Grace George | Sune Swart |
| Cardiff Captain Vote | Robyn Lewis | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Oliana Squires | Taylor Murray | Sune Swart |
| Durham Coach Vote | Taylor Murray | Araion Bradshaw | Hannah Robb | Samantha Keltos | Kiki Herbert-Harrigan |
| Durham Captain Vote | Araion Bradshaw | Taylor Murray | Tea Adams | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Lauren Saiki |
| Essex Coach Vote | Araion Bradshaw | Taylor Murray | Jessica Wayne | Elle Hendershot | Grace George |
| Essex Captain Vote | Taylor Murray | Lauren Saiki | Jessica Wayne | Kennedy Nicholas | Karly Murphy |
| Leicester Coach Vote | Taylor Murray | Renee Busch | Araion Bradshaw | Jamila Thompson | Sune Swart |
| Leicester Captain Vote | Kennedy Nicholas | Taylor Murray | Sune Swart | Jessica Wayne | Araion Bradshaw |
| London Coach Vote | Robyn Lewis | Araion Bradshaw | Hannah Robb | Erin McGarrachan | Sune Swart |
| London Captain Vote | Issy Bunyan | Tea Adams | Ashley Arlen | Jessica Wayne | Kennedy Nicholas |
| Manchester Coach Vote | Holly Winterburn | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Oliana Squires | Sune Swart | Erin McGarrachan |
| Manchester Captain Vote | Jessica Wayne | Holly Winterburn | Taylor Murray | Erin McGarrachan | Sune Swart |
| Newcastle Coach Vote | Taylor Murray | Araion Bradshaw | Kiki Herbert-Harrigan | Kirsty Brown | Sune Swart |
| Newcastle Captain Vote | Taylor Murray | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Hannah Robb | Kiki Herbert-Harrigan | Kirsty Brown |
| Nottingham Coach Vote | Taylor Murray | Sune Swart | Araion Bradshaw | Ty Battle | Kirsty Brown |
| Nottingham Captain Vote | Kirsty Brown | Karly Murphy | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Ty Battle | Holly Winterburn |
| Oaklands Coach Vote | Taylor Murray | Araion Bradshaw | Jessica Wayne | Antoinette Lewis | Sune Swart |
| Oaklands Captain Vote | Jessica Wayne | Karly Murphy | Taylor Murray | Araion Bradshaw | Elle Hendershot |
| Sevenoaks Coach Vote | Kiki Herbert-Harrigan | Robyn Lewis | Taylor Murray | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Karly Murphy |
| Sevenoaks Captain Vote | Taylor Murray | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Ty Battle | Kiki Herbert-Harrigan | Kirsty Brown |
| Sheffield Coach Vote | Taylor Murray | Hannah Robb | Robyn Lewis | Araion Bradshaw | Ashley Arlen |
| Sheffield Captain Vote | Taylor Murray | Araion Bradshaw | Hannah Robb | Shannon Hatch | Sune Swart |