25) Teresa Weatherspoon, 1997-2004

Professional women’s basketball in the U.S. was just a dream when Weatherspoon graduated from Louisiana Tech in 1988. A decade later, after stints in Italy, Russia, and France, that dream became a reality, as she joined the New York Liberty for the inaugural WNBA season. Battle tested and sharp at age 31, she was immediately one of the league’s best point guards and perimeter defenders. Weatherspoon won the first two Defensive Player of the Year awards, led the league in assists in 1997, and was 2nd-Team All-WNBA four times. Her Liberty teams reached the Finals four times and lost them all, with the most heartbreaking coming in 1999, when Weatherspoon nailed a half court buzzer beater to win game two and force a decisive game three, which New York then lost to Houston.

24) Brittney Griner, 2013-current

One of the most hyped recruits in prep basketball history, Griner was then an All-American and Final Four hero at Baylor and has unsurprisingly carried that success over to the WNBA, after the Mercury drafted her first overall in 2013. She’s been All-WNBA in five of her eight seasons, won Defensive Player of the Year twice, and won two scoring titles. She’s quickly established herself as arguably the greatest interior defensive presence in women’s basketball history, totaling so many blocks that she’s already third in the category for her career. Thanks to Griner and Diana Taurasi teaming up as an inside-outside duo, the 2014 Mercury were one of the all-time dominant teams, winning 85.3% of their games en route to the title.

23) Ticha Penicheiro, 1998-2012

Though she was never a big scorer, Penicheiro was one of the great play makers in WNBA history. Her 2,599 career assists was the league record for many years and she’s still second in the category behind only Sue Bird. She led the league in assists per game seven times, most notably in 2002, when she became one of just two players to ever average eight-plus assists in a season (Courtney Vandersloot is the other). In addition to her passing and play making, Penicheiro was also a vicious defender and holds the WNBA records for steals in one game with 10. She spent her entire career with the now defunct Sacramento Monarchs, helping them win their only title in franchise history in 2005. Born and raised in Portugal, she came to the U.S. to play at Old Dominion, where she’s also second all-time in career assists, behind only the legend Nancy Lieberman.

22) Becky Hammon, 1999-2014

Before making sports history as a coach with the Spurs in 2014 as the first full-time female assistant in NBA history, Hammon had already secured her reputation as a WNBA legend as a player. Her playing career vivisects neatly in two parts, starting off as a backup point guard to Teresea Weatherspoon on the Liberty teams that reached the WNBA Finals in 1999, 2000, and 2002. In the second half of her career, Hammon was a scoring leader for the San Antonio Silver Stars, named to six All-Star Games and All-WNBA four times (and lost in the Finals a fourth and final time in 2008). Compiled over a 15-year career, her 5,841 career points are 12th in WNBA history and her 1,708 assists are fifth.

21) Katie Douglas, 2001-2014

One of the premier two-way players of the ’00s, Douglas was All-Defensive five times while averaging 15+ points per game in seven different seasons and regularly finishing amongst the league leaders in three-point field goals. A star at Purdue, where she led the team to its only NCAA title in school history in 1999, she was the 10th pick of the Orlando Miracle in 2001 and remained with the team for his first seven seasons including their move to Connecticut to become the Sun. Her best stats mostly came in those days with the Sun but Douglas’ greatest WNBA moment was winning a championship with her hometown Indiana Fever in 2012.

20) Katie Smith, 1999-2013

With 6,452 points compiled over 14 seasons, Smith is the fourth all-time leading scorer in WNBA history, but she’s #1 in career points in all of women’s pro basketball if you include her time in the American Basketball League (ABL), a WNBA precursor. Smith came to the WNBA in 1999 after the ABL folded and was an instant star for the Minnesota Lynx, getting named to the All-WNBA team four straight years starting in 2000. Traded to the Detroit Shock during the 2005 season, she earned Finals MVP honors a year later while leading them to the championship. Smith is also a three-time Olympic gold medalist as part of the U.S. national team and in 2001 became the first female athlete in any sport to ever have her jersey retired by Ohio State.

19) Cappie Pondexter, 2006-2018

Drafted second overall in 2006 by a Phoenix Mercury team ready to immediately turn things around, Pondexter was the second leading scorer behind Diana Taurasi on the 2007 and 2009 championship teams. She was in fact named Finals MVP in 2007 after averaging 22.0 points and 5.6 assists per game in the series win over Detroit. Though Pondexter would never reach the WNBA Finals again, she was named All-WNBA four times, an All-Star seven times, and finished in the top 10 in the league in both points and assists for six consecutive seasons starting in 2008.

18) Seimone Augustus, 2006-current

Rookie of the Year and already 2nd-Team All-WNBA in 2006 for the Minnesota Lynx, Augustus spent the first 14 years of her career with the franchise, which they started as flailing bottom feeders and eventually becoming an unstoppable force. She was Finals MVP in 2011 as the Lynx won their first title in franchise history and then a key part of the 2013, 2015, and 2017 championship teams. In addition to her WNBA accolades, Augustus is also a legend for the U.S. national team, with three Olympic gold medals and one world championship. She signed with the Los Angeles Sparks for the 2020 season and then retired earlier this year to become a coach.

17) Breanna Stewart, 2016-current

An absolute monster at every level she’s played, Stewart has been a high school All-American, a four-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player for Connecticut, an Olympic gold medalist, and already one of the greatest players in WNBA history despite playing just four seasons. Drafted first overall by the Seattle Storm in 2016, she instantly transformed them into contenders, going from a last place team in 2015 to WNBA champs in 2018 and 2020. Stewart was both league MVP and Finals MVP in that 2018 season, becoming just the fourth player to ever win both in the same year, and was also named Rookie of the Year and All-Defensive in 2016. She missed the 2019 season with an Achilles’ injury but came back strong in the bubble in 2020, leading Seattle to another title and earning a second Finals MVP trophy.

16) Yolanda Griffith, 1999-2009

A graduate of Florida Atlantic in 1993, Griffith spent several years playing in Germany and the ABL before finally joining the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs at age 29. All she did in her first season was earn league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, lead the league in rebounding, and carry the Monarchs to their first playoff appearance. She was eventually the second leading scorer on the 2005 Monarchs championship team, and earned Finals MVP honors. Griffith was also an All-Star seven times, All-WNBA five times, and All-Defensive twice and lasted in the league until age 39, when her career was finally ended by an Achilles’ tear.

15) Tina Charles, 2010-current

After winning the Wooden Award and Final Four Most Outstanding Player at UConn, Charles was a consensus #1 choice in the 2010 WNBA Draft and stayed in Connecticut, getting selected by the Sun. She has not failed to live up to expectations, getting named All-WNBA in each of her first eight seasons and winning league MVP in 2012. Despite her success, the Sun failed to break through and reach the WNBA Finals, so Charles was traded to the New York Liberty in 2014. Perhaps out of spite, she put together her best season in 2016, almost winning a second MVP award for averaging 21.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. She was forced to sit out the 2020 season due to a pre-existing condition but has returned strong in 2021 with her new team, the Washington Mystics.

14) Deanna Nolan, 2001-2009

Selected by her hometown Detroit Shock in the 2001 WNBA Draft, Nolan became arguably the second biggest star in franchise history after Swin Cash. She was a starting guard on three title teams in Detroit, and earned Finals MVP honors in 2006. Nolan was considered one of the best perimeter defenders of her era, and was named All-Defensive five times in addition to being All-WNBA on five occasions. Though her WNBA career ended in 2009 when the Shock relocated to Tulsa, she continued playing professionally in Russia, earning a FIBA SuperCup title in 2013 with UMMC Ekaterinburg.

13) Lindsay Whalen, 2004-2018

Her career started and blossomed with the Connecticut Sun, but Whalen eventually returned to her home state of Minnesota to star for the Lynx. Starting at point guard, she was part of the Lynx teams that won titles in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, and reached the Finals in 2012 and 2016. She also racked up individual accolades over that time, including five All-WNBA appearances and three times leading the league in assists. Whalen finished her career third in league history in total assists and had her jersey retired by both the Sun and Lynx. She is now the head coach at her alma mater, Minnesota.

“Though she was already 26 years old at the time and about to give birth to her first child, [Sheryl] Swoopes was the first player signed in WNBA history and for good reason.”

12) Tina Thompson, 1997-2013

Graduating USC in 1997 just as the WNBA was getting started, Thompson came along as just the right time and her list of WNBA superlative firsts is a vast one. She was the first #1 overall WNBA Draft pick, named to the first All-WNBA team, and played in the first WNBA All-Star Game. Most crucially, she was part of the first WNBA champions, as the leading rebounder and second leading scorer on the 1997 Houston Comets. This would turn out to be the first of four consecutive titles for the Comets, with Thompson as a crucial rebounder and third scoring option behind Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes. Over a career spanning 16 seasons, Thompson was All-WNBA eight times and an All-Star nine times. Her 7,488 career points was the all-time record for four years before Diana Taurasi broke it. In 2018, she was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

11) Elena Delle Donne, 2013-current

The youngest player on our list, Delle Donne has dominated the WNBA from the outset, starting with earning Rookie of the Year and an All-WNBA honor in 2013 for the Chicago Sky. She has since added four 1st-Team All-WNBA nods, a scoring title in 2015, and is one of just six players in WNBA history to be named MVP multiple times, doing so in 2015 and 2019. Her 2019 campaign was especially impressive, becoming the first ever female member of the 50-40-90 club (only eight NBA players have ever done it) while leading the Washington Mystics to their first title in franchise history. Delle Donne’s 20.3 points per game career average is second all time behind Cynthia Cooper and her 93.8% free throw shooting would stand as the league career record.

10) Sue Bird, 2002-current

After a while, you run out of superlatives about Bird. Upon taking the court in 2021 for the Seattle Storm, she became the first WNBA player with a career spanning 18 seasons. Her career marks for games played, assists, and All-Star appearances (11) were already the league’s all-time records. With a fourth title earned with the Storm in the IMG Academy bubble in 2020, Bird also became the first WNBA player to win championships in four separate decades. Success just followed her at every level, from All-American status during her prep days in New York, to leading the ’01-’02 undefeated UConn team that many consider the greatest in NCAA history, to multiple championships playing in the Russian Premier League, to earning four Olympic gold medals and four World Cup gold medals for Team U.S.A.

9) Sylvia Fowles, 2008-current

Arguably the greatest defensive center in WNBA history (at least until Brittney Griner surpasses her), Fowles has been named Defensive Player of the Year three times, All-Defensive seven times and her 632 career blocks are already fourth in league history. She’s also a force on offense and has averaged 16+ points and 10+ rebounds per game in five different seasons, and was one of the first WNBA players to land a dunk. Her early years with the Chicago Sky didn’t yield much team success but in her final season with the franchise, 2014, they did reach the WNBA Finals. After a trade to an already stacked Minnesota Lynx team in 2015, Fowles played in three consecutive Finals, winning titles and earning Finals MVP honors in 2015 and 2017. She was also league MVP in 2017 while leading the league in PER. In the bubble in 2020, she surpassed Rebekkah Brunson’s mark for most career WNBA rebounds.

8) Candace Parker, 2008-current

Few players have entered the WNBA with more hype than Parker, who won every major high school player of the year award, two Wooden Awards while leading Tennessee to back-to-back titles, and became the first female athlete to ever dunk in an NCAA Tournament game. Her pro career got off to an equally incredible start, pulling a Wilt Chamberlain by earning both Rookie of the Year and MVP in 2008, and joining her Los Angeles Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie as the second WNBA player to dunk. Due to pregnancy and injuries she struggled over the next few seasons but eventually came back strong, earning another MVP in 2013, getting named to eight All-WNBA teams, and getting named Finals MVP in 2016 while leading the Sparks to the title. After 13 seasons becoming synonymous with Los Angeles basketball, she signed with the Chicago Sky for the 2021 season.

7) Maya Moore, 2011-2018

Playing on champions is just what Moore does. Her Collins High team lost just three games in four years, then she led UConn to the longest winning streak in NCAA history, men’s or women’s, and back-to-back tournament titles in 2009 and 2010. Drafted first overall by the Minnesota Lynx in 2011, she was a WNBA champion in her rookie season while also earning Rookie of the Year. This would be the first of four WNBA titles in Moore’s first seven seasons. She was named Finals MVP in 2013, league MVP in 2014 (when she also won the scoring title), and All-Star Game MVP three times. There’s also been success for Moore at the Olympics, where she has won two gold medals, and in pro leagues in Europe, where she’s also compiled multiple league championships. After the 2018 season, she took an indefinite leave of absence from the WNBA to focus on her criminal justice activism.

6) Diana Taurasi, 2004-current

No one in WNBA history has scored more points than Taurasi, with 8,931 for her career, won more scoring titles than her five, or averaged more scoring in a single season than her 25.3 per game in 2006. Simply put, she’s the most deadly scorer in league history, especially in the clutch, which earned her the nickname “White Mamba” from none other than Kobe Bryant. Even at age 36, she averaged 20.7 points per game in 2018 until injuries basically washed her 2019 campaign. She was both league MVP and Finals MVP for the Phoenix Mercury in 2009 and was Finals MVP again in 2014. She’s also been named All-WNBA a record 14 times and is the career leader in points, free throws, field goals, three-pointers, and is fourth in assists.

5) Tamika Catchings, 2002-2016

A Naismith Hall of Fame inductee in 2020, Catchings is the greatest defensive player in WNBA history, earning Defensive Player of the Year a record five times and All-Defensive honors 12 times. Her name is synonymous with the Indiana Fever franchise, setting essentially every major franchise record over a 14-year career and leading the team to its only WNBA title in 2012, when she was named Finals MVP. Catchings was additionally league MVP in 2011, All-WNBA 12 times, an All-Star 10 times, and holds the postseason records for career points and rebounds. She retired after the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where she earned her fourth gold medal.

4) Sheryl Swoopes, 1997-2011

Though she was already 26 years old at the time and about to give birth to her first child, Swoopes was the first player signed in WNBA history and for good reason. After smashing every record possible at Texas Tech and winning all the major awards, she played professionally some in Italy and was the centerpiece of the legendary 1996 U.S. Olympic team when the WNBA came calling. Joining mid-season after giving birth, Swoopes gave little to the Houston Comets in her rookie season but soon after became one of the league’s biggest stars. She was MVP of the 2000, 2002, and 2005 seasons, becoming the first player to win the award three times (only Lauren Jackson has done it since), a scoring champion twice, and All-WNBA seven times. In her first four seasons, the Comets won four consecutive championships, with Swoopes as the secondary scorer behind Cynthia Cooper. Her “Air Swoopes,” released in 1995, were the first signature shoe ever for a women’s player.

3) Lauren Jackson, 2001-2012

Easily the greatest international player in WNBA history, the Australian born Jackson was also a dominant force in her home country’s WNBL, concurrently with her WNBA career. Drafted first overall by the Seattle Storm in 2001, she immediately became the struggling young franchise’s best player and eventually led them to championships in 2004 and 2010. Jackson was the Finals MVP in the latter, the same year she won her third league MVP award, joining Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie as the only players to win it that many times. She was also All-WNBA eight times, All-Defensive five times, Defensive Player of the Year in 2007, and won three scoring titles. Her career was cut short in 2012 due to various injuries that kept her off the court. In addition to her pro career, Jackson is a legend on the Australian national team and earned three Olympic silver medals, one bronze medal, and one FIBA World Cup title in 2006.

2) Cynthia Cooper, 1997-2003

In a career that lasted only four full seasons, Cooper accomplished an incredible amount. The former USC superstar was already 34 years old in 1997 when the WNBA started and she was essentially the league’s Bill Russell, dominating the early years. In the initial four seasons of her career, Cooper led the Houston Comets to four championships and was named Finals MVP each time. She was also league MVP in 1997 and 1998, a scoring champion three times, and All-WNBA and an All-Star all four years. As the league’s first elite scorer, she was the first player to reach the 500, 1,000, and 2,000 point milestones, and her 21.0 career points per game is still the all-time record. Cooper initially retired in 2000 but did attempt a brief comeback in 2003 at age 40. In 2010, she became the first WNBA player to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

1) Lisa Leslie, 1997-2009

Her name is synonymous in so many ways with women’s basketball and in 2015 Leslie was rightfully inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. She was a couple years removed from her legendary career at USC when the WNBA started play in 1997. Joining her hometown Los Angeles Sparks, Leslie was immediately one of the league’s biggest stars. She eventually earned three league MVP awards, in 2001, 2004, and 2006 and was Finals MVP in 2001 and 2002 as she led the Sparks to back-to-back titles. A monster at center, Leslie was arguably not just the greatest paint scorer and rebounder in WNBA history, she was also maybe the best interior defender. She led the league in rebounding three times and finished in the top five in the category in her first nine seasons, in blocks twice, and during that same stretch also finished in the top 10 every year in scoring. Accomplishments also include being named Defensive Player of the Year twice, All-WNBA 11 times, All-Defensive four times, and the All-Star Game MVP three times. Add it all up and you have the greatest player in WNBA history.