As you may know, the WNBA celebrated their 25th anniversary in the 2022 season. And in honour of their 25th year, they announced the league's 25 all-time players of best. Building off their 2016 list of the West'south all-time twenty players leading upward to their W25 list.

The WNBA's list of the greatest players in the history of the women's professional person basketball league includes GOATs like Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Maya Moore, Sheryl Swoopes and Candace Parker. Hither's the WNBA'south list sorted by the players' offset name alphabetically.

The W25 (WNBA)
Thespian Titles MVPs Finals MVP All-Star All-W
Angel McCoughtry 0 0 0 five half-dozen
Becky Hammon 0 0 0 half-dozen 4
Breanna Stewart 2 1 2 three iii
Brittany Griner 1 0 0 7 5
Candace Parker ane 2 1 6 9
Cappie Pondexter ii 0 ii 7 4
Cynthia Cooper 4 2 four three 4
Diana Taurasi 3 1 2 10 fourteen
Elena Delle-Donne two ane 0 6 five
Katie Smith 2 0 i 7 2
Lauren Jackson three 2 1 7 8
Lindsey Whalen iv 0 0 5 5
Lisa Leslie 2 3 2 8 12
Maya Moore 4 1 1 6 7
Nneka Ogwumike 1 1 0 6 4
Seimone Augustus four 1 0 8 6
Sheryl Swoopes 4 3 0 6 seven
Sue Bird four 0 0 12 8
Swin Cash 3 0 0 iv 2
Sylvia Fowles 2 i 2 7 half-dozen
Tamika Catchings 1 one i 10 12
Ticha Penichiero 1 0 0 4 3
Tina Charles 0 1 0 eight 5
Tina Thompson 4 0 0 ix 8
Yolanda Griffith 1 ane i eight five

ESPN jumped in on the fun (equally they exercise) and wrote up their ain list but ranking each of their 25 chosen players — leaving Cash and Penichiero off their list — to include Penny Taylor and Rebekkah Brunson. ESPN obviously put some work into their ranking and we certainly call up that Taylor and Brunson deserve to exist in the top 50 players of best. Considering their resumes, permit'southward use the W25 list and ESPN's additions as a start of our Superlative l Listing.

ESPN Edits the W25
Thespian Titles MVPs Finals MVP All-Star All-W
Penny Taylor iii 0 0 3 2
Rebekkah Brunson 5 0 0 five 0

Just then you know, Taylor was an efficient offensive player whose contributions to the teams she played on helped her to iii WNBA titles. Brunson owns the well-nigh WNBA championships in the history of the Due west, ranks third best in rebounds and is a seven-fourth dimension all-defensive selection. She wasn't an offensive powerhouse or at any betoken the outset or even the second best role player on her team, just you still can't argue Brunson'south placement too loudly.

That brings us to 27 players – a fiddling over half where we need to exist.

Permit'south Bring in the W25 Snubs

After these blazon of lists, they hatch several articles that took the Due west's and ESPNs list to chore for snubbing players that they believe should have been included. Most of those manufactures agreed on those snubs, including our own opinion, that there were a scattering of players that deserved to be in the chat for the W25. That shortlist included seven snubs.

The Seven W25 Snubs
Player Titles MVPs Finals MVP All-Star All-West
A'ja Wilson 0 1 0 3 2
Candice Dupree 1 0 0 7 0
Courtney Vandersloot one 0 0 three 5
Deanna Nolan 3 0 1 four 5
DeLisha Milton-Jones ii 0 0 three 0
DeWanna Bonner 2 0 0 4 ii
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 2 0 0 6 two

There's a lot of piece of work that was done to come up up with these snubs. Candice Dupree never quite jumped to superstar level but her consistency and longevity in the league has her sitting solidly as the league's fourth all-time leading scorer.

DeWanna Bonner is a two-time WNBA champion and a 4x WNBA all-star is climbing up the WNBA scoring listing.

Retired, ii-time WNBA champ DeLisha Milton-Jones finished her career with two championships, ranks 17th in scoring all-time with 5571 points, a three-fourth dimension all-star and was ever counted on to bring defensive energy.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin was one of my favorite players and was mentioned in ESPN'south snubs article. Taj just did work; earned vi WNBA all-star nods. A'ja Wlson is one of 2 MVPs non to make the W25 and Wilson doesn't await to be stopping anytime soon, so she'south got to be somewhere in the top 50 despite her career being on the early side.

Courtney Vandersloot is a WNBA champion, had two of the league's dozen or and then triple doubles, and has led the league in assists for five straight seasons and vi total. She's a strong lock for the WNBA's top l.

With the add-on of Wilson, Dupree, DeLisha, Bonner, Taj, Vandersloot and Deanna Nolan to our list of 27 players makes a total of 34 players for our ultimate goal of a top l.

Co-ordinate to my quick math, that means we have 16 spots remaining with approximately 50 candidates.

WNBA All-Stars, Defensive Selections, Longevity

Then with 34 spots taken, how should we be breaking down which players deserve the next 16 spots? Based on the to a higher place selections' accomplishments we can establish specific individual thresholds, team success and combinations at that place-of.

This should exist fun. Using our noesis of the W, access to advanced stats from Across the Timeline, cantankerous referencing Basketball Reference, leveraging www.customwritings.com, likewise equally WNBA.com, we came upward with the following factors to help united states of america figure out the remaining spots.

  • Inclusion on the WNBA 10th Ceremony Squad (2006)
  • Inclusion on the WNBA 15th Ceremony Team (2011)
  • Inclusion on the WNBA 20th Ceremony Team (2016)
  • In the Top 25 of the All-Time Leading Scorer Listing
  • # of All-WNBA Teams
  • # of All-Star Game Appearances
  • Led League in Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, Blocks
  • All-Defensive Selections, DPOY

Teresa Weatherspoon never won a championship, merely T-Spoon's bear upon was more on the defensive cease; leading the league in steals twice, was the unquestioned leader of the early New York Liberty teams and virtually-importantly for this list; was named to the league's 15th Anniversary Team and WNBA 20th Anniversary Team.

Seeing that Dawn Staley was apart of the league's 10th Anniversary  Squad and the 15th Anniversary Team – she'southward an easy pick. Though Staley wasn't included in the 20th anniversary team or the W25, her v all-star appearances and those inclusions early on on makes her an easy pick for the top l WNBA players of all-time.

If we're talking almost All-WNBA appearances, Skylar Diggins-Smith has the most selections left among players that haven't been chosen. Let's put an finish to that. Skylar is notwithstanding going strong, along with her five WNBA all-star appearances makes her an like shooting fish in a barrel option at this point.

Right behind Diggins-Smith is Katie Douglas. She's an WNBA champion, a 4x All-WNBA choice and and 5x all-star. A multiple all-defensive team selection. Again another easy call. Now that we've typed all this out, Douglas probably should have been mentioned fashion earlier.

From Basketball Reference's list of the WNBA's Career Leaders for Points, the only thespian not to make our listing yet is Tangela Smith. Non only is Tangela one of the league's top scorers and rebounders of all-time, but she contributed to two WNBA Title runs with the Sacramento Monarchs and the Phoenix Mercury.

As far every bit WNBA All-Star Appearances are concerned, of all the players that accept already earned their place on our prospective list, the only players that have six or more WNBA all-star appearances non on the list are Nykesha Sales (7) and Chamique Holdsclaw (6). By that measure, those two should also be on the list.

Add Ten More
Player Titles MVPs Finals MVP All-Star All-Due west
Alana Bristles 1 0 0 4 1
Chamique Holdsclaw 0 0 0 vi three
Chelsea Gray ii 0 1 iv ii
Dawn Staley 0 0 0 5 iii
Jonquel Jones 0 one 0 5 3
Katie Douglas ane 0 0 5 four
Margo Dydek 0 0 0 2 0
Nykesha Sales 0 0 0 7 i
Skylar Diggins-Smith 0 0 0 5 5
Tangela Smith ii 0 0 one 0
Teresa Weatherspoon 2 0 0 5 4

The late Margo Dydek didn't make an overwhelming amount of all-star games (two) nor was she named to an All-WNBA Team in her career, but the 7-two Polish eye's impact in terms of defensive intimidation tin't exist denied; having led the WNBA in blocks viii times and is the WNBA's all-time leader in that category. We're non sure where the tallest WNBA role player of all-time actually lands on the listing if we were to rank the players but Margo certainly deserves to be in the meridian fifty.

Outside of A'ja Wilson, the 28-yr old Jonquel Jones is the other WNBA MVP not to make the W25. Jones is a three-time All-WNBA option, a three-time all-star, led the league in rebounds three times, in one case in blocks and is a 2-time all-defensive team. She's merely hitting her peak years, and then the sports odds have Jones as an all-fourth dimension nifty when all is said and done. In other words, Jonquel is a lock.

Chelsea Gray entered the conversation when she wrapped upwardly the 2022 WNBA Finals MVP after an astonishing (and efficient) playoff run. This along with two WNBA championships and four all-star appearances makes her an easy option even though she'south all the same an agile thespian in the midst of her career.

Alana Beard makes this list not because of her WNBA title, her four all-star appearances or 1 all-WNBA selections, merely her beingness a two-fourth dimension WNBA Defensive Histrion of the Year, the 9x All-Defensive Team selections, and her being third all-time in steals. Beard is certainly one of the league's greatest on the defensive terminate, and she makes this list with ease in our stance.

Full List: Meridian 50 WNBA Players in WNBA History

Okay if you're counting you know nosotros've listed 45 of the all-time (and THE BEST) WNBA players in the entire 25 years of the league. Nosotros know we promised you a list of the fifty acme players at the kickoff of this article and we thought we'd go closer, simply the adjacent five players won't be easy so take a look at the current list and roll down to see how nosotros plan on filling out the remaining six players.

The Top fifty WNBA Players of All-Time
Player Titles MVPs Finals MVP All-Star All-Due west
A'ja Wilson 0 1 0 iii 2
Alana Beard 1 0 0 four 1
Angel McCoughtry 0 0 0 5 6
Becky Hammon 0 0 0 half dozen 4
Breanna Stewart two 1 two three 3
Brittany Griner 1 0 0 7 five
Candace Parker 1 two i 6 nine
Candice Dupree 1 0 0 seven 0
Cappie Pondexter 2 0 2 7 iv
Chamique Holdsclaw 0 0 0 6 3
Chelsea Grey ii 0 1 4 2
Courtney Vandersloot ane 0 0 three 5
Cynthia Cooper 4 2 four 3 iv
Dawn Staley 0 0 0 v 3
Deanna Nolan iii 0 1 iv 5
DeLisha Milton-Jones ii 0 0 3 0
DeWanna Bonner 2 0 0 4 2
Diana Taurasi three i 2 10 xiv
Elena Delle-Donne two 1 0 half-dozen five
Jonquel Jones 0 one 0 5 3
Katie Douglas 1 0 0 5 four
Katie Smith 2 0 i vii ii
Lauren Jackson 3 2 1 7 8
Lindsey Whalen four 0 0 five 5
Lisa Leslie 2 three 2 8 12
Margo Dydek 0 0 0 2 0
Maya Moore iv 1 1 6 7
Nneka Ogwumike i i 0 6 4
Nykesha Sales 0 0 0 7 ane
Penny Taylor 3 0 0 three 2
Rebekkah Brunson five 0 0 five 0
Seimone Augustus iv ane 0 viii 6
Sheryl Swoopes iv three 0 six 7
Skylar Diggins-Smith 0 0 0 v 5
Sue Bird 4 0 0 12 8
Swin Cash three 0 0 4 two
Sylvia Fowles two ane 2 vii half-dozen
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 2 0 0 half dozen two
Tamika Catchings 1 1 ane ten 12
Tangela Smith ii 0 0 1 0
Teresa Weatherspoon 2 0 0 v 4
Ticha Penichiero 1 0 0 4 iii
Tina Charles 0 one 0 eight 5
Tina Thompson 4 0 0 9 8
Yolanda Griffith 1 1 1 8 5

Based on the data, bear on and accomplishments, the first forty plus WNBA players were pretty straightforward, but the remaining five spots will exist a bloody fight. So we'll have to consider players similar Sophia Young-Malcolm who scored 4300 points in her career, earned 3 All-WNBA and iii all-star appearances. Paired with Becky Hammon, she was a three time all-star, averaged betwixt 12 and 19 points for her unabridged nine-yr WNBA career.

What most Shannon Johnson orNikki Teasley or Nikki McCray? Strong frontcourt players like Sancho Lyttle, Cheryl Ford and Natalie Williams? Here'due south a list of the remaining candidates.

Top l WNBA Candidates
Player Player Thespian
Allie Quigley Janeth Arcain   Nikki McCray
Alyssa Thomas Jewell Loyd Nikki Teasley
Andrea Stinson Kayla McBride Rebecca Lobo
Arike Ogunbowale Kelsey Mitchell Ruth Riley
Betty Lennox Kelsey Plum Ruthie Bolton
Brandi Reed Kristi Tolliver Sancho Lyttle
Cheryl Ford Liz Cambage Sabrina Ionescu
Courtney Paris Merlaika Jones Shannon Johnson
Danielle Robinson Michelle Snowfall Sophia Immature-Malcolm
Debbie Black Mwadi Mabika Tamecka Dixon
Érika de Souza   Natalie Williams Tari Phillips
Eva Nemcova Jennifer Gillom Vickie Johnson

What about active players like Alyssa Thomas, Liz Cambage or Arike Ogunbowale or Jewell Loyd?  Equally of this post, we're deciding between Cheryl Ford, Jennifer Gillom, Jewell Loyd, Liz Cambage, Sancho Lyttle, Shannon Johnson, and Sophia Immature-Malcolm

No but really, we're actually asking and open to feedback. We need your aid. Let united states of america know who you call back should be on the list, who we left off, who nosotros shouldn't have included, and whatsoever other opinions (and why) you take in the comments below.