Best WNBA Players of All Time Ranked

Time will tell if Clark and other recent former top draft picks like Aliyah Boston and Rhyne Howard will make a list of the best WNBA players of all time. Current college players Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins may also be considered among the best players in WNBA down the road. When looking at the percentage of college basketball players that go to the NBA, the odds are not in the favor of even the elite players. The WNBA will add three teams in the coming years, but going from being a college basketball star to a WNBA mainstay will be harder.

In the meantime, let’s look at the players we consider the best in WNBA of all time.

Who Are The Best WNBA Players of All Time?

1. Taurasi Stands Above the Rest

Nobody has scored more points in the regular season than Taurasi, with the next closest player being nearly 3000 points behind the Phoenix Mercury guard.

Taurasi also has the most career 3-pointers and is fourth in career assists. The story is the same in the playoffs, as Taurasi has nearly twice as many 3-pointers as any other player and scored the most points in WNBA playoff history.

Taurasi was Phoenix’s first pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft after leading UConn to three national titles. The 11-time WNBA All-Star was the 2009 WNBA regular-season MVP, a two-time WNBA Finals MVP, and a major reason why the Mercury won WNBA titles in 2007, 2009, and 2014. When it is asked, “Who is the WNBA GOAT?” Taurasi’s name is mentioned quickly.

2. Cynthia Cooper In Contention For The Best Ever Moniker

One can only wonder what the final numbers would look like if the WNBA debuted when Cooper was 24 rather than when she was 34.

She played four full seasons in the WNBA, and the Houston Comets won the title each time. Cooper scored more than 22 points in each of her first three games and finished her career averaging 21 points per game during the regular season.

Cooper’s playoff numbers are even more impressive, as she scored 23.3 points per game in 19 playoff games.

Cooper was named the WNBA Finals MVP in each of the first four years of the league’s existence. She held the record for the best scoring average in WNBA history until A’ja Wilson came around.

3. Tamika Catchings Could Fill Up A Stat Sheet

Good luck finding a player who made more winning plays on both ends of the court than the former Indiana Fever star.

Catchings is the WNBA’s career leader with 1074 steals and is also in the top five in rebounds and points. She came to the WNBA after a tremendous career at Tennessee and has to be considered among the best women’s basketball players of all time.

If Catchings and the Fever had more than one WNBA title, she could be a spot higher on this list.

4. Lisa Leslie: A Key Piece in the Early Years of the WNBA

Lisa Leslie was a three-time MVP and a three-time WNBA All-Star Game MVP. With a star-studded Houston Comets in the way, Los Angeles kept coming up short in the playoffs until Leslie led the Sparks to the titles in 2001 and 2002. She was named the WNBA Finals MVP in both of those years.

Leslie is still in the top 10 in the WNBA in rebounds and blocked shots. Even years after her last game, the glamorous Leslie is among the most famous WNBA players.

The battles between Los Angeles and Houston were pivotal for the league’s growth, and Leslie was a major part of that.

5. Maya Moore Led the Way For Minnesota’s Rise to the Top

Maya Moore could have made a run at Taurasi’s scoring numbers if she had played a little bit longer. Ironically, they share the same birthday; both went to UConn and only played for one team in their WNBA careers.

Moore is one of the most gifted offensive players ever to lace them up, but also a fierce competitor on the other end of the court.

She was a key member of the four Minnesota Lynx championship teams after winning a pair of titles in college at UConn.

She was part of one of the best starting units in WNBA history; otherwise, she would have put up even bigger numbers.

6. Swoopes’ Time With the Houston Comets Hard To Ignore

Sheryl Swoopes teamed with Cooper and Tina Thompson for the original “Big 3” in the WNBA.

The three-time MVP didn’t have to score a ton for Houston to win, so she averaged 15 points per game rather than having a number close to 20.

Swoopes became the first player to win an NCAA and WNBA title and an Olympic gold medal.

Look back at her run in the 1993 NCAA tournament at Texas Tech and try to find a player who had to do more for her team to be cutting down the nets.

The fans who just arrived on the WNBA scene hold Swoopes in contempt for her clear anti-Caitlin Clark stance, but she was something to behold when it comes to Swoopes as a basketball player.

7. Seattle’s Dynamic Duo Makes the List

Sorry, we can’t think of Lauren Jackson without thinking of Sue Bird. They were the inside-outside duo for some great Seattle Storm teams. The former No. 1 picks led Seattle to the 2004 and 2010 WNBA titles. Jackson is a three-time WNBA MVP who struggled to stay healthy after that 2010 title run.

Bird kept playing at a high level after Jackson’s retirement and won another title, with Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd as the big scorers. Bird is the WNBA’s career leader in assists. She also ranks in the top 10 in points, steals, and 3-pointers. She won titles at every level and is considered one of the greatest winners in basketball history. She belongs on any list of the greatest WNBA players of all time.

8. The Sky Is The Limit For A’ja Wilson

A’ja Wilson may go down as the best player in WNBA history. Her average of 21.1 points per game is the best in WNBA history.

Still in her 20s, Wilson has led Las Vegas to two WNBA titles. She is the only WNBA player to average at least 19 points and nine rebounds in the playoffs.

Wilson has led the WNBA in blocks four times and is a three-time MVP and two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Looking at the best WNBA props without seeing plenty of options for Wilson is impossible.

9. Candace Parker Did It All For the Sparks

Parker beat Sylvia Fowles as the first player chosen in the 2008 WNBA Draft and edges out her former rival to land on this list.

Parker had more points, assists, and steals than Fowles. While Fowles was often not the No. 1 offensive option on the title-winning Minnesota Lynx teams, the same could not be said about Parker’s role with the Los Angeles Sparks.