Best WNBA Players of All Time and Now

The quality of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has increased greatly since its foundation in April 1996 and is now considered a genuine counterpart of the National Basketball Association (NBA) – the pinnacle of the men’s game.

Like the NBA the WNBA takes place in the United States and involves 12 different teams with the regular season running from May to September annually. The current champions are the Las Vegas Aces with Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm sharing four titles each. In this piece we will examine the best WNBA players of all time and the top female basketball players right now in 2024.

• Best WNBA Players of All Time
• Top Female Basketball Players in the WNBA 2024

Best WNBA Players of All Time

The best WNBA players of all time include some of the top female basketball stars of all-time including prestigious names such as Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Cynthia Cooper, Maya Moore and Lisa Leslie. In this section of our WNBA sports betting guide we will examine these five legends in more detail.

Diana Taurasi

Born in California and drafted by Phoenix Mercury in 2004, Taurasi has enjoyed a stellar career to date with an honors reel to die for. She is a three-time WNBA champion having helped her Arizona-based franchise to glory in 2007, 2009 and 2014. On the international stage she had just the five Olympic gold medals to her name with the United States – who enjoyed a stunning winning run from 2004 to 2020 – as well as three FIBA World Cups. She is a regular WNBA All-Star team selection from her position as point guard slash shooting guard and in 2021 was even chosen by fans of the league as their greatest player of all time.

In 2017 she became the leading WNBA all-time scorer with her composure and prowess in crucial situations earning her the nickname ‘White Mamba’, while she is one of just 11 women to win Olympic Gold, an NCAA Championship (with the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team), FIBA World Cup and WNBA Championship. Raised by an Argentinian mother and father who played professional soccer in Italy, Taurasi was born in the city of Chino in 1982. Away from the States she has played for Russian clubs Dynamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow and Ekaterinburg as well as Turkish outfits Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.

Tamika Catchings

Catchings was born in New Jersey and has played her entire 15-year career in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever, leading them to championship glory in 2012. Her exploits have seen her rack up a staggering five Defensive Player of the Year Awards and along with Taurasi is part of a select few women who have clean swept the game’s top trophies. She won four Olympic gold medals for the US with her last coming at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Away from the WNBA and her loyalty to the Fever, the small forward has also represented club teams in South Korea, Russia, Poland and Turkey. She was drafted in 2001 out of college in Tennessee, having played for schools in Illinois and Texas growing up. Her father was a professional basketball player as well and his stint playing in Italy allowed her to come into contact with NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Catchings also has two World Championships on her honors list and has enjoyed media work, running a tea shop and even appearing on reality TV since stepping off the court.

Cynthia Cooper

Cooper is considered by many to be one of the best WNBA players of all time, topping Taurasi and Catchings by winning four WNBA championships with the Houston Comets. An early star of the league upon its formation, Cooper was named Most Valuable Player during the WNBA Finals in all four of her championship-winning seasons with the Texas-based team. Playing as a point guard her career lasted from 1986 to 2003 and although she has actually spent more years of her life as a coach it was her exploits on the court that will live long in the memory.

Chicago-born Cooper was also exceptional on the international stage for the US winning gold at the Olympics in both 1988 and 1996 as well as gold medals at the FIBA World Championships in 1990 and 1998. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball version nine years later. A pioneer who paved the way for future stars, Cooper remains an inspirational figure to young girls and women all over the world.

Maya Moore

Moore was described by American magazine Sports Illustrated as the “greatest winner in the history of women’s basketball” giving her a strong case to be the best female basketball player ever, so we simply had to include her in our top five favorite players of the WNBA of all-time. Like Cooper she is a four-time WNBA champion with each one of her successes coming with the Minnesota Lynx, who she played for from 2011 to 2018. This year she was selected for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, having also secured two Olympic Games gold medals, two World Championship trophies and a World University Games title.

Born in Missouri and someone who showed a strong talent for the game at an early age, she led her high school side to four consecutive state championships before attending the University of Connecticut where she played for UConn to two national championships landing the award for the Final Four Most Outstanding Player twice. Drafted by the Minnesota Lynx as the first overall pick in 2011, she quickly became one of the WNBA’s best players in her first season and even landed the Rookie of the Year gong.

Lisa Leslie

Number five on our list of the best WNBA players of all time, Californian Leslie started playing the game at a young age and led her school team to two state championships. After high school she attended the University of Southern California (USC) where she represented the Trojans women’s basketball team, helping them reach the Final Four twice and named a two-time All-American. Drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks as the seventh pick in 1997, she took to the WNBA like a duck to water and landed championship titles in 2001 and 2002 as well as being named the league’s MVP twice and racking up seven All-WNBA selections.

Internationally Leslie was hugely successful too, representing the US at four Olympic Games every time landing gold for her country, as well as triumphing twice at both the FIBA World Championships and FIBA Americas Championships. She retired from basketball in 2009 and has since worked as an analyst for ESPN and Fox Sports, being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. Overall one of the most decorated players of all time, her impact on the sport is undeniable and inspiring.

WNBA Best Players in 2024: Top Female Basketball Players Right Now

In this section we have put five of the top female basketball players in the WNBA for 2024 under the microscope.

A’Ja Wilson

Wilson plays for the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA where she has quickly earned a strong reputation as a points-scoring forward. Born in South Carolina she quickly showed a talent for the game leading her high school side to three state championships and being named a McDonald’s All-American. After graduating she went to university in South Carolina, playing for the Gamecocks women’s basketball team and won the NCAA championship in 2017, being awarded the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in the meantime.

Drafted by the Aces in 2018, Wilson landed Rookie of the Year honors in her first season and two years later led the Vegas outfit to their very first WNBA championship, in the process being handed the Finals MVP accolade and getting selected in the All-WNBA team. The next season she averaged 19.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and was again picked for the All-WNBA team. Internationally she won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as well as two FIBA World Cups.

Breanna Stewart

Widely considered as one of the WNBA best players at the moment, Stewart was born in New York and led her high school side to four consecutive state championships before attending the University of Connecticut where she represented the UConn team. Her exploits helped them rack up four national championships with the power forward grabbing two Final Four Most Outstanding Player awards. Drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2016, she landed the Rookie of the Year gong in her first full season.

Stewart’s dominance of the WNBA extended over the next six campaigns as she helped the Storm to two WNBA championships, being named Finals MVP twice and six times selected to the All-Star team. Her international success counts two Olympic gold medals, two World Championship golds and a World University Games gold. Aged just 29, the 6ft 4in star has used her platform to fight for social justice.

Alyssa Thomas

Thomas plays for the Connecticut Sun and is a five-time WNBA All-Star but who is yet to win that all-important first championship title. Born in Pennsylvania, the 32-year-old attended the University of Maryland where she played for the Terrapins women’s team, helping them reach the Final Four twice and being named a two-time All-American. Drafted by the New York Liberty in 2014 she was traded to Connecticut a year later, going on to make a name for herself as one of the most versatile players in the league.

Thomas can play multiple positions and is known for her ability to score, rebound and defend, being a key contributor to the success of the Sun in recent seasons. In 2019 she helped them make the WNBA Finals where they lost to the Washington Mystics, and for Team US she has a World Cup title from 2022 and a World Championship from 2012.

Elena Delle Donne

Delle Donne is easily one of the WNBA best players having achieved a remarkable level of success on and off the court. Born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1989 she played for Ursuline Academy at high school and then the University of Delaware before being selected as the second pick by the Chicago Sky in 2013 and quickly became one of the league’s highest earners. Two years later she was traded to the Washington Mystics, where she led them to their and her first WNBA Championship in 2019.

For the US she has an Olympic gold medal from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games as well as gold at World Cup and Universiade level, making her one of the most decorated women’s basketball players of all time. She is already a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame aged 34 and has helped popularize the sport for young girls all across the world.

Napheesa Collier

Collier is a two-time WNBA All-Star, two-time All-WNBA selection and former Rookie of the Year but so far that elusive WNBA championship has eluded the 27-year-old from Missouri. Born in Jefferson City her talent was evident from a young age as she excelled at high school and attended the University of Connecticut, representing the UConn Huskies and helping them win two national championships. Drafted by the Minnesota Lynx as the sixth pick in 2019, she helped her team reach the WNBA Finals in 2020 but lost out to Seattle Storm.

The following season she was prolific with an average of 16.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, named again in the All-WNBA Second Team and narrowly missing out on the WNBA MVP award. For the United States she won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and already has two golds in the FIBA World Cup and FIBA AmeriCup. Collier has been tipped to become one of the greatest players of all time.