As the WNBA Finals wrap up the league's 30th season, it's time for one of the hardest countdowns: ranking the top 30 players in WNBA history.
No. 1 shouldn't be a surprise, even if she just missed being on ESPN's top-25 list for the league's 25th anniversary in 2021: A'ja Wilson's past five years have been extraordinary.
We surveyed WNBA experts from across ESPN; 23 voters sent in ballots, with the top 30 vote-getters making the list.
It's always difficult to evaluate careers from different eras, and the talent pool keeps growing with the league. Which players from the WNBA's earlier years perpetually stay in this kind of ranking, and which might be replaced?
In 2021, two players who already won MVP awards still did not make our top 25. Now, though, the Las Vegas Aces' Wilson has jumped to the top spot, and the New York Liberty's Jonquel Jones is No. 27. Both have won WNBA titles since 2021; Wilson, in fact, has since won three championships, and also is now a five-time MVP.
No ranking will satisfy everyone, but these 30 players -- including seven who competed in the 2026 season -- stood out the most for our panel as the best ever.
More:
Snubs and other overlooked players | Voting panel
1. A'ja Wilson
C | Las Vegas Aces (2018-present)
Career stats: 26.2 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.9 BPG
Highlights (17 first-place votes): Three championships (2022, 2023, 2025); five-time MVP (2020, 2022, 2023, 2025, 2026); two-time Finals MVP (2023, 2025); three-time Defensive Player of the Year; five-time All-Defensive first team; three-time scoring champ; career scoring average leader (22.05); five-time All-WNBA first team; Commissioner's Cup champion (2022)
Wilson was the most debated player left off our 2021 list, primarily because she had been in the WNBA for only four seasons then. She has won four of her five MVPs since and overwhelmingly claimed the No. 1 ranking. Aces coach Becky Hammon jokes that she has nearly exhausted her list of compliments for Wilson, but she will have to keep working on it. Wilson, who turned 30 in August, still has more great basketball to come. -- Michael Voepel
2. Diana Taurasi
G | Phoenix Mercury (2004-24)
Career stats: 18.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.2 APG
Highlights (five first-place votes): Three championships (2007, 2009, 2014); MVP (2009); two-time Finals MVP (2009, 2014); all-time leading scorer (only player over 10,000 points); five-time scoring champ; 10-time All-WNBA first team
Think of any basketball superlative and it applies to Taurasi. Tough. A winner. Clutch. Unrelenting. Brilliant as a shooter, passer and playmaker. She won big. She scored big. She played big. She has always been the player no one could take their eyes off of. Don't turn away because something great could happen. To say she was born with the "clutch gene" is to greatly undersell just how good Taurasi was at the end of games. That Taurasi is the WNBA's all-time leading scorer -- and more than 2,000 points ahead of second-place Tina Charles -- is a testament to her sustained brilliance. -- Charlie Creme
3. Maya Moore
F | Minnesota Lynx (2011-18)
Career stats: 18.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.7 SPG, 45.3 FG%
Highlights: Four championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017); MVP (2014); Finals MVP (2013); Rookie of the Year (2011); one-time scoring champion; five-time All-WNBA first team; two-time All-Defensive team
Moore is the one player on this list for whom fans will forever ask, "What if?" Her career was short by superstar standards. But those eight years before she stepped away to help fight for criminal justice reform were just so good. Five times in that span she was the top scorer on a Lynx team that made the Finals six times and won four titles. Moore played with a smooth precision that looked like she was one step ahead of everyone, yet needing half the effort to do it. When Moore decided to step away from basketball after the 2018 season, she was still in her prime, one of the WNBA's best players, averaging 18.0 points and leading the league in steals, while earning All-WNBA second-team honors. -- Creme
4. Cynthia Cooper
G | Houston Comets (1997-2000, 2003)
Career stats: 21.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.9 APG, 45.9 FG%
Highlights (one first-place vote): Four championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000); two-time MVP (1997, 1998); four-time Finals MVP (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000); second in career scoring average (20.98 PPG); three-time scoring champion; four-time All-WNBA first team
Cooper has the shortest tenure -- only four full seasons -- of anyone on this list because she was already 34 when the league started. But her brilliant overseas career, mostly in Italy, helped her be ready to still excel in the WNBA. The new league needed a star to get it off the ground, and Cooper was that player. It seems serendipitous that the team Cooper made famous -- the Houston Comets -- returns next year after the 30th anniversary celebration this season. The Comets folded during the global financial crisis in 2008 but will be revived with the Connecticut Sun's relocation to Houston in 2027. -- Voepel
5. Lisa Leslie
C | Los Angeles Sparks (1997-2009)
Career stats: 17.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.4 APG, 47.0 FG%
Highlights: Two championships (2001, 2002); three-time MVP (2001, 2004, 2006); two-time Finals MVP (2001, 2002); 16th all time in scoring, eighth in rebounds, third in blocks; three-time rebounding champion; two-time Defensive Player of the Year; two-time All-Defensive first team; eight-time All-WNBA first team; first to dunk in a WNBA game
The Sparks just unveiled a statue of Leslie outside Crypto.com Arena in September, but her aura has never left the building. An original WNBA player along with Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo, Leslie is one of the greatest centers in hoops history. At 25 when the WNBA launched, Leslie didn't have a league to play in for the first three years of her post-college prime. She also sat out one year on maternity leave. Still, Leslie finished with 12 exceptional seasons and was an All-WNBA selection her final year, shooting a career-high 51.8% from the field then. -- Voepel
6. Sheryl Swoopes
F/G | Houston Comets (1997-2007); Seattle Storm (2008); Tulsa Shock (2011)
Career stats: 15.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.0 SPG
Highlights: Four championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000); three-time MVP (2000, 2002, 2005); three-time Defensive Player of the Year (2000, 2002, 2003); two-time scoring champion and steals champion; five-time All-WNBA first team; seven-time All-Defensive team
Swoopes was as influential as she was great. In the early 2000s, Swoopes might have been considered the league's best offensive player and the best defensive player. In her first MVP season, she led the WNBA in scoring and steals. That came just as she was finishing up her run with Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson of four WNBA championships in the league's first four years. With Air Swoopes she was the first women's player with a signature shoe, launching just before the WNBA did. -- Creme
7. Tamika Catchings
F | Indiana Fever (2002-16)
Career stats: 16.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.4 SPG
Highlights: One championship (2012); MVP (2011); Finals MVP (2012); only player in WNBA history to rank in career top 10 in steals (first), points (third), rebounds (fourth) and assists (eighth); five-time Defensive Player of the Year; seven-time All-WNBA first team
Never taking anything for granted, Catchings played hard all the time. Effort meant as much to her as her immense talent. Catchings was a consistently aggressive rebounder and was a complete player. She is still the only player in league history to finish in the top 10 in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in the same season -- and she did it twice (2002 and 2006). She was fifth all time in playoff scoring and played even better in the postseason. She averaged 16.8 points in 68 career postseason games, and 19.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in the Fever's 2012 title run. -- Creme
8. Breanna Stewart
F | Seattle Storm (2016-22); New York Liberty (2023-present)
Career stats: 20.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.2 APG
Highlights: Three championships (2018, 2020, 2024); two-time MVP (2018, 2023); two-time Finals MVP (2018, 2020); Rookie of the Year (2016); three-time Commissioner's Cup champion (2021, 2023, 2026); two-time Commissioner's Cup MVP (2021, 2026); six-time All-WNBA first team; eight-time All-Defensive team
With her 6-4 frame and 7-1 wingspan to go along with guard-level ballhandling skills and deep shooting range, Stewart might be the most physically distinctive player the WNBA has ever seen. She runs the floor brilliantly but can also lead a break. There isn't a position on the court she can't guard or an area of the game she can't influence. Her two MVP awards only tell part of the story. Stewart has finished in the top three in MVP voting six times in the 10 seasons she has played (she missed 2019 because of an Achilles injury). -- Creme
9. Candace Parker
F/C | Los Angeles Sparks (2008-20); Chicago Sky (2021-22); Las Vegas Aces(2023)
Career stats: 16.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.5 BPG
Highlights: Three championships (2016, 2021, 2023); two-time MVP (2008, 2013); Finals MVP (2016); Rookie of the Year (2008); Defensive Player of the Year (2020); seven-time All-WNBA first team; fourth in career rebounds and fifth in blocks
Parker was a role model for the modern version of the multiposition player and is often mentioned when younger players are asked about their idols. Her biggest value was as a creative post with great hands and footwork, but Parker also could run the offense and facilitate like a point guard because of her superb court vision. Though the bulk of her career was with the Sparks, she won her last two championships with Chicago (her hometown team) and Las Vegas. -- Voepel
10. Lauren Jackson
F | Seattle Storm (2001-12)
Career stats: 18.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 46.0 FG%
Highlights: Two championships (2004, 2010); three-time MVP (2003, 2007, 2010); Finals MVP (2010); Defensive Player of the Year (2007); seven-time All-WNBA first team; two-time All-Defensive first team; three-time scoring champion
Jackson, the No. 1 pick in 2001 at age 19, wasn't the first Australian in the WNBA, but she remains her nation's best women's player. At 6-5, she could anchor the defense, be the offense's target in the paint and step outside and hit 3-pointers. Guarding Jackson was always a chore, since she was a scoring threat from anywhere. Injuries limited her WNBA career to 12 seasons, playing only 28 games combined (regular season and playoffs) over her last two years. But when healthy, she was as good as any post player in WNBA history. -- Voepel
11. Sue Bird
G | Seattle Storm (2002-22)
Career stats: 11.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 5.6 APG
Highlights: Four championships (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020); Commissioner's Cup champion (2021); career leader in games (580) and assists (3,234); second in career 3-pointers and third in steals; first player in WNBA history to win titles in three different decades; five-time All-WNBA first team
It might seem unfair that Bird isn't in the top 10, but it reflects something in which point guards take pride: making everyone around them better. The player right ahead of Bird on this list, longtime Storm teammate Lauren Jackson, would attest to that. No one played more WNBA games or was more respected as a leader than the Seattle icon, who has a statue outside Climate Pledge Arena. Though Bird is known for her facilitating, she also was a clutch scorer. Only her UConn and Olympic teammate Diana Taurasi made more 3-pointers in the WNBA. -- Voepel
12. Sylvia Fowles
C | Chicago Sky (2008-14); Minnesota Lynx (2015-22)
Career stats: 15.7 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 59.8 FG%
Highlights: Two championships (2015, 2017); MVP (2017); two-time Finals MVP (2015, 2017); second all time in rebounds; all-time leader in field goal percentage, fourth all time in blocks; four-time Defensive Player of the Year; three-time All-WNBA first team; 11-time All-Defensive team
Few players can control a game staying almost exclusively in the paint the way Fowles did. She was the quintessential traditional center. Fowles dominated the glass at both ends, influenced her opponents' shots just with her presence and only took shots she knew she could make. And she made plenty of them. Six times in her career, Fowles shot over 60% from the field. She led the league in rebounding three times and blocks twice. And it was all done quietly. No fanfare. No wild on-court emotions. Fowles was calm, cool and ruthless all at once. -- Creme
13. Elena Delle Donne
F/G | Chicago Sky (2013-16); Washington Mystics (2017-2023)
Career stats: 19.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 93.7 FT%
Highlights: One championship (2019); two-time MVP (2015, 2019); Rookie of the Year (2013); first 50-40-90 season in WNBA history (2019); career leader in free throw percentage; one-time scoring champion; four-time All-WNBA first team
At 6-5, Delle Donne was an unstoppable scoring machine with the combination of her size and elite shooting ability from all over the court. Fouling her wasn't an option, either: Delle Donne is the best free throw shooter in league history, combining textbook form with cool nerves. She led the Mystics to their only WNBA title while playing through severe back pain that was later diagnosed as three herniated discs. Injuries and dealing with the long-term effects of Lyme disease shortened Delle Donne's career, but her impact was enormous. -- Voepel
14. Tina Thompson
F | Houston Comets (1997-2008); Los Angeles Sparks (2009-11); Seattle Storm (2012-13)
Career stats: 15.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG
Highlights: Four championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000); fifth all-time in scoring, seventh in 3-pointers made; three-time All-WNBA first team
Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes are the players most associated with the Comets' four championships, but Thompson might have been the glue. When she retired in 2013, Thompson's 7,488 points were the most in league history. Perhaps nothing exemplifies Thompson's commitment more than her final season, when she was an All-Star while averaging 14.1 points in her 17th season. Forever the answer to a trivia question as the first college player drafted into the WNBA, Thompson was one of its foundational players, and her physicality and toughness set a standard for the league's future. -- Creme
15. Seimone Augustus
G/F | Minnesota Lynx (2006-19); Los Angeles Sparks (2020)
Career stats: 15.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG; 2.3 APG
Highlights: Four championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017); Finals MVP (2011); Rookie of the Year (2006); one-time All-WNBA first team
The No. 1 pick in 2006, Augustus was the foundation of the Lynx dynasty that was built around her. A huge part of Minnesota's success was how Augustus welcomed Maya Moore, the top pick in 2011, and never worried about being overshadowed. The team's results mattered most to Augustus, who was on the All-WNBA second team five times. A Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native who put LSU on the map in women's hoops, Augustus was known for having one of the WNBA's smoothest jump shots. -- Voepel
16. Nneka Ogwumike
F | Los Angeles Sparks (2012-23, 2026); Seattle Storm (2024-25)
Career stats: 16.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 53.7 FG%
Highlights: One championship (2016); MVP (2016); Rookie of the Year (2012); 11-time WNBA All-Star; third all-time leading rebounder; one-time All-WNBA first team (2016); four-time All-Defensive first team
Steadiness, both in play and personality, might be the simplest way to define a multifaceted professional basketball life. In a 15-year WNBA career that ended last month, Ogwumike never scored fewer than 12.6 points per game in a season. She was the sport's best player in 2016 with a historically efficient season (19.7 PPG on 66.5 FG%) and led the Sparks to a championship. She's undoubtedly an all-time great player, but Ogwumike's legacy will be tied just as much to the respect and admiration she earned throughout basketball. As president of the Women's National Basketball Players Association for 10 years, Ogwumike twice negotiated landmark collective bargaining agreements that helped change the league. -- Creme
17. Brittney Griner
C | Phoenix Mercury (2013-24); Atlanta Dream (2025); Connecticut Sun (2026-present)
Career stats: 16.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.4 BPG
Highlights: One championship (2014); all-time leader in blocks; two-time scoring champion (2017, 2019); eight-time blocks champion; career dunks leader; two-time Defensive Player of the Year (2014, 2015); three-time All-WNBA first team; six-time All-Defensive team; co-comeback player of the year (2023)
Defense will always be the first thing that comes to mind when reflecting on Griner's career. She has been the league's fiercest rim protector for nearly all her 14 years in the WNBA. But as Griner's offensive game developed, she became nearly as dominant at that end of the court. Her short turnaround jumper was impossible to stop when the 6-9 Griner was at her peak. Coming off one her best seasons in 2021, Griner's career, and the willingness of some players to continue playing overseas, was greatly impacted by her arrest and detainment in a Russian prison and penal colony for nearly 10 months in 2022. After missing one season, Griner remarkably recovered and came back to average 17.5 points in 2023 for the Mercury. -- Creme
18. Yolanda Griffith
C/F | Sacramento Monarchs (1999-2007), Seattle Storm (2008); Indiana Fever (2009)
Career stats: 13.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 50.1 FG%
Highlights: One championship (2005); MVP (1999); Finals MVP (2005); Defensive Player of the Year (1999); two-time rebounding champion; two-time All-WNBA first team
Griffith wasn't well-known when she entered the WNBA at age 29 in 1999, having not played at the Division I level in college for personal reasons. But after several years playing overseas and then in the short-lived ABL, Griffith took the WNBA by storm in her first season, winning MVP and DPOY honors. The 6-4 center averaged a double-double in each of her first three WNBA seasons. She would be much higher on career lists had she been able to spend her entire pro career in the WNBA, but she made the most of her time in the league. -- Voepel
19. Tina Charles
C | Connecticut Sun (2010-13, 2025); New York Liberty (2014-19); Washington Mystics (2020-2021); Seattle Storm (2022); Phoenix Mercury (2022); Atlanta Dream (2024)
Career stats: 17.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.2 APG
Highlights: MVP (2012); Rookie of the Year (2010); WNBA all-time leading rebounder, second all time in scoring; two-time scoring champion; four-time rebounding champion; five-time All-WNBA first team; four-time All-Defensive team
A dominant force from the day she stepped onto a WNBA court, Charles was the epitome of reliability and productivity until her retirement in May. In her first season she led the Sun in scoring. In her final season, 16 years later, Charles led the Sun in scoring. Plenty happened in between, like grabbing more rebounds than anyone in league history or leading the WNBA in scoring in her 11th season (23.4 PPG for the Mystics in 2021). A title might have eluded Charles, but not much else did. -- Creme
20. Katie Smith
G | Minnesota Lynx (1999-2005); Detroit Shock (2005-09); Washington Mystics (2010); Seattle Storm (2011-12); New York Liberty (2013)
Career stats: 13.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.6 APG
Highlights: Two championships (2006, 2008); Finals MVP (2008); third in career 3-pointers; one-time scoring champion; two-time All-WNBA first team
After winning two ABL titles in Columbus, where she previously starred at Ohio State, Smith was allocated to the new Minnesota WNBA franchise in 1999. With the Lynx, she was best known as a scorer. Traded during the 2005 season to Detroit, Smith took over at point guard and helped lead the Shock to three consecutive trips to the WNBA Finals, winning two. She is the only one in the top 15 scorers in WNBA history who played in the ABL first. She also had the physicality to be a strong defender. -- Voepel
21. Lindsay Whalen
G | Connecticut Sun (2004-09); Minnesota Lynx (2010-18)
Career stats: 11.5 PPG; 4.9 APG, 3.8 RPG; 46.1 FG%
Highlights: Four championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017); fifth all time in assists; three-time assists champion; three-time All-WNBA first team
When Whalen decided to return home to Minnesota after six seasons in Connecticut, it changed the trajectory of her career, the fortunes of the Lynx franchise and the course of WNBA history. Whalen's ability to lead, distribute the basketball and make winning plays at key moments helped bring four championships in seven years to Minnesota. No player in league history was part of more playoff wins (54) than Whalen, whose 377 victories rank second to DeWanna Bonner. That both the Sun and Lynx have retired Whalen's No. 13 jersey is a testament to how much she meant to two franchises. -- Creme
22. Cappie Pondexter
G | Phoenix Mercury (2006-09); New York Liberty (2010-14), Chicago Sky (2015-17), Los Angeles Sparks (2018), Indiana Fever (2018)
Career stats: 16.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.8 APG
Highlights: Two championships (2007, 2009); Finals MVP (2007), three-time All-WNBA first team, ninth in career scoring
The No. 2 draft pick in 2006, Pondexter formed a strong backcourt with Diana Taurasi for four seasons in Phoenix, resulting in two WNBA titles. Pondexter was one of the league's most dynamic scorers, especially over the first 10 seasons of her career. Her best statistical season was her first in New York in 2010, when she averaged 21.4 points and shot 43% from 3-point range, both career bests. -- Voepel
23. Chelsea Gray
G | Connecticut Sun (2015); Los Angeles Sparks (2016-20); Las Vegas Aces (2019-present)
Career stats: 12.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.2 APG
Highlights: Four championships (2016, 2022, 2023, 2025); one finals MVP (2022); one all-WNBA first team (2019); seventh all time in assists
From role player on the Sparks' title team in 2016 to catalyst of three championships in Las Vegas, Gray is now one of the WNBA's all-time winners. Her leadership has been instrumental in the Aces' dynasty, but her fearlessness defines Gray's game, whether it's a thread-the-needle pass or willingness to take a big shot. Her 2022 Finals MVP was built on clock-beating jumpers, and she became the first player in WNBA history this season to hit a tying buzzer-beater to force overtime and then a winner in overtime in the same game to beat the Fever. -- Creme
24. Angel McCoughtry
F/G | Atlanta Dream (2009-19); Las Vegas Aces (2020-21), Minnesota Lynx (2022)
Career stats: 18.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.0 SPG
Highlights: Rookie of the Year (2009); 10th in career steals; two-time scoring leader and steals leader; two-time All-WNBA first team, six-time All-Defensive first team
The No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft, McCoughtry was a franchise-changing player for the Dream, who joined the WNBA in 2008. She led Atlanta to the WNBA Finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013, then also played in the Finals with Las Vegas in 2020. Few players in the league have combined elite scoring and defense as consistently as McCoughtry did. -- Voepel
25. Deanna Nolan
G | Detroit Shock (2001-09)
Career stats: 13.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.2 APG
Highlights: Three championships (2003, 2006, 2008); Finals MVP (2006); two-time All-WNBA first team; one-time All-Defensive first team
The No. 6 draft pick in 2001, Nolan was from Flint, Michigan, and got to play for the WNBA team close to her home. She was incredibly quick and able to get to the rim no matter what the defense did to try to stop her. One of her biggest shots was a corner 3-pointer with 53 seconds left that sealed the clinching game of the 2003 WNBA Finals. When the Shock moved to Tulsa after the 2009 season, Nolan didn't go with them and never returned to the WNBA. But she continued to play overseas for several years. -- Voepel
26. Alyssa Thomas
F | Connecticut Sun (2014-24); Phoenix Mercury (2025-present)
Career stats: 12.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 5.4 APG
Highlights: Three-time all-WNBA first team; seven-time All-Defensive team; two-time assists leader (2025, 2026); one-time rebounding leader (2023); one-time steals leader (2020)
Because she has the unfortunate timing of playing much of her career at the same time as A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, Thomas does not have an MVP or a WNBA championship. But she has a statistical profile that is the most distinctive and versatile in league history. She's the only player with 5,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 2,000 assists. No frontcourt player has more career assists, and Thomas is the all-time playoff leader in assists and double-doubles. She has 30 career triple-doubles. The next-highest player has five. -- Creme
27. Jonquel Jones
C | Connecticut Sun (2016-2022); New York Liberty (2023-present)
Career stats: 13.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Highlights: One championship (2014); one Finals MVP (2014); MVP (2021); Most Improved (2017); Sixth Woman of the Year (2018); three-time rebounding leader; four-time All-Defensive team
From her dominant rebounding and shot-blocking talents to her ability to shoot 3-pointers, Jones is one of the most versatile centers in WNBA history. A steady career growth exploded with 2021's MVP award. Three years later, she helped lead the Liberty to their first WNBA title. Jones ranks 13th all time in blocked shots and rebounds, and is a career 38.5% 3-point shooter, a number that jumps to nearly 40% in four seasons in New York. -- Creme
28. Rebekkah Brunson
F | Sacramento Monarchs (2004-09); Minnesota Lynx (2010-18)
Career stats: 9.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 46.6 FG%
Highlights: Five championships (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017); sixth all time in rebounds; seven-time All-Defensive team
With a nose for the ball and a willingness to do the little things, Brunson has more rings than any player in WNBA history. She would set screens, dive for loose balls and take on the toughest defensive assignment. That made her the perfect fit with Moore, Whalen and eventually Fowles for Minnesota's championship run of four titles in seven years. Much of Brunson's scoring came as a result of her hard work on the offensive glass; she remains second all time to Fowles in offensive rebounding. -- Creme
29. Swin Cash
F | Detroit Shock (2002-07); Seattle Storm (2008-11); Chicago Sky (2012-13); Atlanta Dream (2014), New York Liberty (2014-16)
Career stats: 10.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.4 APG
Highlights: Three championships (2003, 2006, 2010); two-time All-Star Game MVP
Cash was the No. 2 pick behind UConn teammate Sue Bird in 2002, and then won a championship the next year. She and the Shock won another title in 2006, and then Cash was traded to Seattle, where she rejoined Bird and won her third championship. Cash was never on the first team for All-WNBA or defense. Yet she is a player who could change games with her effort and energy, along with her talent. -- Voepel
30. Becky Hammon
G | New York Liberty (1999-2006); San Antonio Stars (2007-14)
Career stats: 13.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.8 APG
Highlights: 10th in career assists and fifth in 3-pointers; one-time assists leader; two-time All-WNBA first team
Hammon was famously undrafted in 1999, but with a caveat: That was the season many veteran players were in the draft after the ABL shut down. But that disappointment didn't stop Hammon, who made the Liberty roster that year and had a 16-season WNBA career. She played in the WNBA Finals three times with New York and once with San Antonio. At just 5-6, Hammon was known for her fearless ability to get to the rim despite her size, and she was one of the league's best 3-point shooters. Now as a coach of the Las Vegas Aces, Hammon has won three titles. -- Voepel
How the voting was done
As was the case for our 2021 ranking, we asked a panel to cast their vote for the greatest players in WNBA history "based on the players' overall performance on court, stats, championships, all-league honors and awards they won."
ESPN reporters, on-camera analysts and play-by-play broadcasters who cover the WNBA were invited to vote, as were staff from ESPN Research and the WNBA production, programming and PR teams at ESPN.
Twenty-three voters submitted ballots. The panel consisted of Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, Ryan Ruocco and Brooke Weisbrod; reporters Michael Voepel, Alexa Philippou, Kendra Andrews, Kareem Copeland, Charlie Creme, Katie Barnes, Sean Hurd, Andre Snellings and Shane Laflin; Jennifer LaCroix, Robbie Shamirian, Zack Collura, Jason Joseph and Jarod Hamilton of ESPN Research; Rodney Vaughn and Olivia Powers of ESPN Production; Shay Smith of ESPN Programming; Alex Feuz of ESPN PR; and editor Melanie Jackson.