The WNBA tipped off in 1997 with eight teams and a season designed to fit into a single summer. Since then, it’s given us towering dynasties and iconic players who keep reimagining the game — one unbelievable play at a time.
Now, on the league’s 30th anniversary, we’re celebrating three decades of professional women’s basketball by counting down the 30 players who made it all happen.
These are the 30 greatest players in WNBA history.
30) Katie Smith (1999-2013)
Career WNBA Stats: 13.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.6 APG, 40.4% FG, 36.7% 3PT
Before analytics removed the stigma from the 3-point shot, Katie Smith was letting it fly from beyond the arc without a second thought.
Smith was the league’s original sniper. She had a flawless form all the way from the base to the follow through, and to make matters significantly worse for defenses, Smith had no problem finding ways to get that shot off. She could curl around a screen, dribble through traffic, or drift to an open spot without the ball.
29) Chamique Holdsclaw (1999-2010)
Career WNBA Stats: 16.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 44.3% FG, 26.2% 3PT
The it factor is one of the most often discussed and poorly communicated concepts in sports, but in the case of women’s basketball, Chamique Holdsclaw defined it.
After bursting onto the scene as a high school phenom, Holdsclaw went on to become a national sensation at Tennessee before quickly entrenching herself as one of the most electric players the WNBA has ever seen. Some players have better stats, but few gave more to the game than Chamique Holdsclaw.
28) Teresa Weatherspoon (1997-2004)
Career WNBA Stats: 5.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 5.3 APG, 41.1% FG, 28.1% 3PT
There’s no shortage of infamous shots throughout the storied history of the WNBA. But to this day, nothing tops Teresa Weatherspoon’s half-court buzzer beater in game two of the 1999 WNBA Finals.
The absurd difficulty of the shot is the obvious headline, but everything about it was perfect. The confetti falling prematurely, the shocked expression on the face of everyone in the building, Comets included. We’ll never get tired of watching that play.
27) Swin Cash (2002-2016)
Career WNBA Stats: 10.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, 40.7% FG, 27.6% 3PT
In Swin Cash’s rookie season, the Detroit Shock were the worst team in the WNBA. By her second, they were world champions.
That would be a shocking fact for most players, but in this case it’s almost unsurprising. She won two national titles at UConn, two gold medals at the Olympics, and by the end of her time in the league she’d have three WNBA championships to her name. All Swin Cash ever did was win championships.
26) Becky Hammon (1999-2014)
Career WNBA Stats: 13.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 43.8% FG, 37.8% 3PT
History tells us it’s not easy for great players to become great coaches. But thanks to current Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon, we know it’s possible.
Coming out of Colorado State, professional scouts had seemingly legitimate concerns around Hammon’s size and speed, and to their credit, they were somewhat correct. Hammon wasn’t an elite athlete at the next level. But she was an elite basketball player, and it turns out that matters a whole lot more than how fast a player can run.
25) Alyssa Thomas (2014-present)
Career WNBA Stats: 12.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 5.2 APG, 49.1% FG, 65.4% FT
Alyssa Thomas has torn labrums in both of her shoulders that have never been repaired. She can’t lift her arms straight up without feeling an intense pain. In spite of that, Thomas is first in WNBA history with 25 career triple-doubles. No one else has more than four.
Her career stands as a potent reminder that there’s always another way to attack things, as long as you have the vision to find it.
24) Chelsea Gray (2014-present)
Career WNBA Stats: 12.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 5.2 APG, 45.8% FG, 38.1% 3PT
If a basketball purist could design a point guard in a lab, they’d end up building Chelsea Gray.
All Chelsea Gray has done since entering the WNBA is make opponents look utterly ridiculous. Somehow she always knows where the defense is going before they do, and by the time they’ve caught up to her vision, Gray’s already fired a pinpoint pass to an open teammate. Like a living oracle running a WNBA offense.
23) Angel McCoughtry (2009-2022)
Career WNBA Stats: 18.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.9 APG, 42.9% FG, 29.3% 3PT
In the regular season, Angel McCoughtry and a couple supporting pieces were enough to fuel a top tier offense. But in the playoffs, all it took was McCoughtry.
From day one the wing scorer was virtually unstoppable. McCoughtry had a first step sudden enough to blow by any defender who got too close, but if they didn’t press up she’d step into a jumpshot so pretty you knew it was going in. Defenses knew what was coming — they just couldn’t stop it.
22) Lindsay Whalen (2004-2018)
Career WNBA Stats: 11.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.9 APG, 46.1% FG, 29.0% 3PT
One of the shared dreams of every athlete is to be a hometown hero, and no one’s ever lived that dream quite like Lindsay Whalen.
After making Minnesota a nationally relevant program, Whalen started her professional career with Connecticut before her home state came calling again. The Lynx acquired her in a trade, she went on to win four titles as the team’s iron-willed floor general, and the rest is history. The name Lindsay Whalen will turn heads in Minnesota forever.
21) Cappie Pondexter (2006-2018)
Career WNBA Stats: 16.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.8 APG, 42.2% FG, 35.0% 3PT
It’s an open debate, but in our eyes, Cappie Pondexter had the best handle in WNBA history.
Pondexter was lightning in a bottle, and it all started with her hang dribble. She’d walk the ball up the floor, set her defender up with an exaggerated hesitation, and then she’d hit three moves in the blink of an eye. Asking players to stay in front of her should have qualified as cruel and unusual punishment.
20) Seimone Augustus (2006-2020)
Career WNBA Stats: 15.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 48.0% FG, 36.4% 3PT
Poetry in motion is an overused phrase and that’s a shame, because we can’t think of a better way to describe Seimone Augustus.
Everything from the handle to the footwork was flawless. She was creative, deliberate, and effortlessly smooth in every movement she made. A mid-range assassin who could shift a defender and rise into a picturesque pull-up before they stopped sliding. Her game felt like a soulful beat on a warm Sunday evening.
19) Jonquel Jones (2016-present)
Career WNBA Stats: 13.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, 51.3% FG, 38.6% 3PT
Jonquel Jones started her career as the first player off the bench. Two years later, she was an MVP. It was an unprecedented jump, but then again everything about her is unprecedented, all the way down to her skillset.
Jones has the frame of a traditional big, but when she spots up for three, you’d swear you’re looking at a sweet shooting wing. Our collective imagination has always been a step too slow for Jonquel Jones.
18) Brittney Griner (2013-present)
Career WNBA Stats: 16.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.4 BPG, 55.8% FG, 79.3% FT
There had been great rim protectors before Brittney Griner. But no one ever struck fear into their opponents quite like she does.
As soon as she stepped foot in the WNBA, Griner forced teams to recalibrate their approach to scoring inside. Coaches couldn’t tell their players to drive hard and invite contact. Regular teaching points like those didn’t apply with Griner. Either they get extremely inventive with their sets, or BG will turn a layup into a souvenir.
17) Nneka Ogwumike (2012-present)
Career WNBA Stats: 16.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, 53.8% FG, 36.9% 3PT
There are only three players with 11 or more WNBA All-Star selections in their career, and only one of them is still playing: the president herself, Nneka Ogwumike.
Since her days at Stanford, Ogwumike has been a fine tuned force of nature. She’s a 6’2” forward with footwork that would be overqualified as teach tape and a basketball IQ that allows her to predict her opponent’s next move with frightening accuracy. Elite efficiency is the natural result of those traits.
16) Yolanda Griffith (1999-2009)
Career WNBA Stats: 13.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 50.6% FG, 71.3% FT
By the time Yolanda Griffith arrived in the WNBA, the league had a growing cabinet of stars. No one knew exactly what to expect from a 29-year-old center who’d been playing in Germany and the short-lived ABL before being drafted by the Monarchs.
But in her first season Griffith dominated the interior of every game she played in while leading the league in steals en route to an MVP and a DPOY. Everyone caught up after that.
15) Tina Thompson (1997-2013)
Career WNBA Stats: 15.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, 41.8% FG, 37.1% 3PT
As the very first pick in the history of the WNBA, Tina Thompson immediately went to work setting a standard for everyone who came after her.
She started by winning four titles right out of the gate with the Comets, and by the time she retired her name was all over the record books. That’s no longer the case, but no matter how many of her numbers are surpassed, Tina Thompson will live on forever.
14) Tina Charles (2010-2025)
Career WNBA Stats: 17.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 45.0% FG, 31.6% 3PT
No matter where she was, Tina Charles was going to do two things. Score the ball at will and grab every rebound within her vicinity.
Down low, Charles paired impeccable footwork with a feathery soft touch to rack up the second-most points in WNBA history. And when someone else was shooting she was attacking the glass with enough ferocity to become the most prolific rebounder the league has ever seen. There was no setup necessary. All Tina Charles needed was a jersey.
13) Elena Delle Donne (2013-2023)
Career WNBA Stats: 19.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.9 APG, 47.5% FG, 39.2% 3PT
Every skill in basketball has a gold standard. And when it comes to efficiency, that standard is Elena Delle Donne.
That was something you could tell just by watching her pristine offensive fundamentals. But in case anyone needed additional proof, Elena Delle Donne became the first player in WNBA history to enter the 50/40/90 club in 2019. For her whole career the story was the same: As long as the ball left her hands, it was probably going in.
12) Sylvia Fowles (2008-2022)
Career WNBA Stats: 15.7 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 59.9% FG, 72.8% FT
On the floor, Sylvia Fowles was the quintessential two-way anchor. She was the kind of center who did all the traditional center things without deviating. Fowles controlled the glass every night, protected the rim with an intimidating presence, and lived inside the key offensively. And she did all of that with a mild-mannered demeanor and a kind disposition.
There was always something special about watching a gentle giant control the game from beginning to end.
11) Lauren Jackson (2001-2012)
Career WNBA Stats: 18.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.8 BPG, 46.0% FG, 35.1% 3PT
Before international prospects were everywhere, Lauren Jackson blazed a trail for women across the world.
The Australian superstar played the game with a potent blend of confidence and competitive desperation, and it showed up in everything she did. Her classic turnaround jumper was as quick as it was refined, and every shot she blocked was a product of pristine timing and constant effort. Hair-related incidents aside, the game couldn’t have asked for a better ambassador.
10) Sue Bird (2002-2022)
Career WNBA Stats: 11.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 5.6 APG, 42.9% FG, 39.2% 3PT
Sue Bird was the very picture of consistency. She was a classically trained point guard with a knockdown jump shot and a basketball IQ that made complex defensive rotations look like two piece jigsaw puzzles. When she entered the league the whole world thought her game was perfectly suited for her era.
But after she won a championship in three different decades with the Seattle Storm, we came to realize it was timeless in every way.
9) Tamika Catchings (2001-2016)
Career WNBA Stats: 16.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 41.5% FG, 35.6% 3PT
Opposing coaches could warn their players about Tamika Catchings. They could run endless ball security drills and fill the rest of their preparation with well crafted cut ups of Catchings’ defensive talents. But it never mattered what they did.
Somehow, someway, Catchings would get her hands on the ball at least three times in a game. The turnovers themselves were inevitable, the only drama was whether or not she’d pick someone’s pocket or jump a passing lane.
8) Breanna Stewart (2016-present)
Career WNBA Stats: 20.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.1 APG, 46.9% FG, 34.3% 3PT
Anytime Breanna Stewart accomplishes something, she feels a compulsive need to do it again. It’s that maniacal trait that fuels her greatness.
Don’t get us wrong — the skillset helps. A towering frame combined with guard-like ball skills is a nightmare to deal with no matter what. But put those tools in the hands of someone who’s never satisfied and you get Breanna Stewart: A Top 10 player of all time who will probably climb further before she’s done.
7) Candace Parker (2008-2023)
Career WNBA Stats: 16.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, 47.9% FG, 33.3% 3PT
Candace Parker’s collegiate career would have been slightly less perfect if it were scripted by Hollywood. She was a national superstar under the legendary Pat Summitt whose accomplishments were too long to list.
Naturally, that created some outlandish expectations. But Parker went on to win MVP and Rookie of the Year in her first season in the WNBA, setting the tone for one of the most impactful careers ever. The hype machine is always dangerous. But sometimes, it’s warranted.
6) Sheryl Swoopes (1997-2011)
Career WNBA Stats: 15.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.2 APG, 43.6% FG, 31.6% 3PT
Watching a Comets game at any point in the 2000s always came with the danger of saying the name Sheryl Swoopes so many times that it stopped sounding like a word.
She was one of the best scorers in the league, one of the best defenders in the league, and when she needed to be, she was one of the game’s elite passers. There wasn’t an aspect of basketball that Swoopes didn’t affect, and eventually, that included footwear.
5) Maya Moore (2011-2018)
Career WNBA Stats: 18.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.3 APG, 45.3% FG, 38.4% 3PT
Every professional league has one hallowed name who immediately defuses all the anger associated with the GOAT debate and sends everyone into a shared nostalgic trance. In the WNBA, that name is Maya Moore.
In her eight-year career she won four championships, one MVP, and made seven All-WNBA teams. And when she retired early, she used her platform to advocate for criminal justice reform. That reputation is one that she’s earned 10 times over.
4) Cynthia Cooper (1997-2003)
Career WNBA Stats: 21.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.9 APG, 45.9% FG, 37.7% 3PT
By the time the WNBA was founded, Cynthia Cooper was 34 years old. What would traditionally be her prime years were spent putting up positively ridiculous numbers in Spain and Italy, and considering her age, no one knew what to expect.
They were right about some things. Cooper would only play four full seasons in the league, but in those four seasons she racked up two MVPs and four titles. To the greats, age really is nothing but a number.
3) Lisa Leslie (1997-2009)
Career WNBA Stats: 17.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.3 BPG, 47.0% FG, 31.6% 3PT
Technically, we can’t call Lisa Leslie a mold-breaker since she played in the league’s inaugural season. But if there ever were archaically rigid ideas about bigs in the WNBA, Leslie ended them.
She was the blueprint for the modern bigs we see today. A dominant anchor who could run the floor or knock down a jump shot, and for good measure she became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. There aren’t many people the league owes more to than Lisa Leslie.
2) Diana Taurasi (2004-2024)
Career WNBA Stats: 18.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, 42.5% FG, 36.0% 3PT
Diana Taurasi became the first player in WNBA history to take over 300 3-pointers in a single season in 2006. No other player would accomplish that until 2023, when the season had been extended by six games.
She played by a different set of rules because her talent necessitated it. Taurasi showed us a level of creativity off the bounce we’d never seen, and she used it to carve out space for a jump shot that should be enshrined separately.
1) A’ja Wilson (2018-present)
Career WNBA Stats: 21.7 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 50.0% FG, 37.8% 3PT
A’ja Wilson has won the MVP award in half of her eight seasons in the WNBA. That fact is so outlandish we’re having to physically hold ourselves back from restating it over and over.
Simply put, Wilson’s a once in a lifetime combination of explosive athleticism, elite size, and painstakingly polished skill that the game has been unconsciously building toward for years. And for those reasons, we have to give her the top spot.
