Top Six Active WNBA Stars
Top Six Active WNBA Stars
Women’s basketball has become a sensation in the past few decades and the WNBA is a major reason why. Since the league’s first season in 1997, it has seen its list of teams grow along with its talent pool. The players coming out of college and the international game have only gotten better, as each new season’s stars threaten to burn up the record books.
1. Diana Taurasi (2004-Present)
In terms of pure numbers, it’s mighty hard to argue with Diana Taurasi. Arguably the best guard in WNBA history, she’s a three-time champion who has averaged 19.6 points per game in a career that has lasted 15 seasons so far. No player in the league has scored more points than her and it’s not even close, with Taurasi outpacing second place by more than 1,000 points. The 13-time All-WNBA selection has an offensive style that simply can’t be stopped, giving her by far the best scoring average of any player that’s played anywhere near her number of games, which stands above 430 at this point.
Due to her historic NCAA run at UConn, she’s also arguably the most famous women’s basketball player of this millennium.
2. Maya Moore (2011-Present)
Sports Illustrated has called Maya Moore the greatest winner in women’s basketball history — and it’s very hard to argue against that claim. With championships at the NCAA, Olympic and international level, Moore already had enough trophies to fill a couple of rooms, but with her WNBA hardware it’s getting ridiculous. From 2011-2017, she led the Minnesota Lynx to four championships and was named league MVP in 2014. They made the playoffs in all eight seasons she’s played so far and Moore was named to the All-WNBA squad in seven of them.
Then, in 2018, she stunned the league by walking away in her prime and taking an indefinite sabbatical to focus on issues like criminal justice reform. WNBA fans are no doubt hoping they’ll get to see this brilliant player take the court again and continue to carve her on-court legacy.
3. Candace Parker (2008-Present)
The heir apparent to Lisa Leslie’s style of dominant WNBA ball, Candace Parker was drafted first overall by the L.A. Sparks in 2008 and they’ve never let her go. The 6-feet-4-inch center joins Leslie as the only two players in WNBA history to record a triple-double, a slam dunk and a 20-point, 20-rebound night in a career. Parker led the Sparks to a championship in 2016, where she was also named WNBA Finals MVP. She has also twice been named league MVP. In 12 seasons so far, she’s been named an All-WNBA pick eight times and her teams have only missed the playoffs twice.
4. Elena Delle Donne (2013-Present)
Another current star who could easily climb this list even more in the future is Elena Delle Donne. The forward has proven herself to be one of the best shooters in WNBA history, no matter where she’s pulling up from. In 2019, Delle Donne became the first WNBA player to ever join the vaunted 50/40/90 club, which means she shot at least 50% from the floor, 40% from three-point range and 90% from the free throw line for an entire season. Her career free throw shooting percentage of 93.8% is the best in league history and it’s not even close.
In seven seasons so far, Delle Donne has been a six-time All-Star and two-time league MVP, and she led the Washington Mystics to their first championship in 2019.
5. Brittney Griner (2013-Present)
There have been 22 slam dunks recorded in WNBA history and Brittney Griner has been responsible for 14 of them. There may have never been a more fearsome physical presence in women’s basketball than the star center, who stands at 6 feet 8 inches and will not hesitate to posterize you. In seven seasons so far, Griner has been named an All-Star and All-Defensive pick six times and an All-WNBA pick five times. The Phoenix Mercury have never missed the playoffs since they drafted her first overall in 2013 and Griner helped them win a title in 2014.
Her averages of 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and an all-time best 3.0 blocks per game make her one of the great centers in history.
6. Sue Bird (2002-Present)
Sue Bird is one of the most decorated players in basketball history — regardless of gender — and one of the WNBA’s greatest icons. No player in league history has played in more games or spent more minutes on the court than she did in her 16-season career. Those years included 11 All-Star selections, eight All-WNBA selections and three championships, all with the Seattle Storm. Her averages of 12.1 points and 5.6 assists per game may not be as eye-popping as others on this list but she’s been playing the long game and is the league’s all-time assists leader, while also ranking among the top 10 for points and steals.
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