Top 6 Best Womens Basketball Players Of All Time

Since the league was founded in 1996, the WNBA has hosted thousands of amazing female athletes. In those three decades, a select few have risen far above the rest, winning countless accolades and setting records during their professional careers. Listed below are the best women’s basketball players of all time.

Who Are the Best Women’s Basketball Players?

1. Cynthia Cooper
2. Tamika Catchings
3. Lisa Leslie
4. Lauren Jackson
5. Diana Taurasi
6. Yolanda Griffith

1. Cynthia Cooper

• Won Four Consecutive WNBA Championships
• Won Four WNBA Finals MVPs
• Named WNBA MVP Twice

Cynthia Cooper is arguably the best women’s basketball player of all time. Though she was already in her 30s by the time she entered the WNBA, Cooper still won the first-ever MVP, finals MVP, and championship during her time in the league. Cooper also participated in the first WNBA All-Star Game (ASG), solidifying her place among the top WNBA players of all time. All of her “firsts” warrant the comparison of Cooper to the likes of NBA legend and 11-time champion Bill Russell for also being the first to set record after record in their respective leagues.

Cynthia Cooper was the first player in WNBA history to score 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 2,500 points in a career. In an interview where current WNBA players said who the league’s best player of all time is, it was common for the players to claim it was Cooper because she had “changed the game.” Cooper was voted to be one of the top 15 WNBA players of all time at the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game as part of the league celebrating its 15-year anniversary.

2. Tamika Catchings

• Won Five Defensive Player of the Year Awards
• Won WNBA Finals and Finals MVP
• Regular Season MVP
• 2002 Rookie of the Year
• Seven-Time All-WNBA First Team

Tamika Catchings won Defensive Player of the Year a whopping five times, something that has never been done in either professional American basketball league. For the 2002 season, she was named Rookie of the Year. After many years of great defensive play, she won her first regular-season MVP Award in 2011 and then was named MVP at the WNBA Finals a year later when her team finally won.

During her career, Catching was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2012, and was a 10-time All-Star. She was a seven-time All-WNBA First-Team selection and a 10-time WNBA All-Defensive First-Team player. Catching is the WNBA all-time steals leader, as well as leading the WNBA playoffs in all-time scoring, rebounds, and steals.

3. Lisa Leslie

• Three-Time Regular Season MVP
• Two-Time WNBA Champion and Finals MVP
• Won Defensive Player of the Year Awards
• Eight-time All-WNBA First Team

There are only two players in WNBA history that have recorded three MVP awards, and Lisa Leslie is one of them. Demonstrating dominance is something Leslie did consistently during her 12-year career from 1997 to 2009. As a consistent powerhouse, she grinded to be the MVP of her league’s regular season three times (2001, 2004, 2006) and was selected eight times for the All-WNBA First-Team. Leslie was also great on defense, winning two Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 2004 and 2008. Tiffany Hayes and Stefanie Dolson, both current elite WNBA players, consider Leslie the greatest women’s basketball player of all time.

In addition to her regular season domination, Leslie excelled when faced with playoff pressure. She helped her team win two WNBA Championships and won Finals MVP both times. Leslie was also the first person to ever dunk in a WNBA game, which widely popularized her and established her as one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time.

4. Lauren Jackson

• Three-Time Regular Season MVP
• Two-Time WNBA Champion and Finals MVP
• Seven-time All-WNBA First Team
• 2007 Defensive Player of the Year

Lauren Jackson is the only other player in WNBA history to have earned three Most Valuable Player Awards.  Like Lisa Leslie, another legendary WNBA center, she was dominant in the league as a big, but something else that made her stand out was her shooting ability. This was unusual in the time period in which she played, from 2001 to 2012, before the wave of bigs learning how to shoot. Her ability to stretch the floor was unique, establishing her status as a franchise player on the Seattle Storm.

Packing on the accolades, Jackson made her mark in the regular season, recording three WNBA scoring titles (2003, 2004, 2007). She showed offensive prowess as well as defensive skill, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. Jackson was dominant in the playoffs as well. She won two WNBA Finals titles, earning Finals MVP along with the second, in 2010, winning regular-season MVP the same year. Consistency is something that Lauren Jackson clearly took very seriously, as well. She was selected for the All-WNBA First Team for seven years, asserting her status as a top-five player in the league for many years.

5. Diana Taurasi

• 2009 Regular Season MVP Winner
• Three-Time WNBA Champion
• Two-Time WNBA Finals MVP
• 2004 Rookie of the Year
• WNBA All-Time Scoring Leader

Diana Taurasi is the only active player on this list, and she’s here for a reason. She kicked off her career, setting a precedent for greatness early, by winning Rookie of the Year in 2004.  Not too long after that she won the WNBA Finals in 2007. Then in 2009, she won the regular-season MVP, the scoring title, the WNBA Finals, and the Finals MVP in one season. Cynthia Cooper is the only other person to ever do this.

Lacking no consistency, Taurasi was also selected for the All-WNBA First team ten times (2004, 2006 to 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018). For the years in which she did not make the First team, she was just shy of achieving All-WNBA Second Team (2005, 2016, 2017). Not only is Taurasi the all-time scoring leader of the WNBA, but she is also fourth in all-time assists, showing individual dominance but also prioritizing being unselfish on the court.

6. Yolanda Griffith

• 1999 Regular Season MVP Winner
• 1999 Defensive Player of the Year
• 2005 WNBA Champion and Finals MVP

Unfortunately, the greatness of Yolanda Griffith was cut slightly short as she, like Cynthia Cooper, did not have time on her side when the WNBA was established. Although she started playing in 1993, it was not until 1999 that Griffith got drafted into the WNBA. Right out of the gate, Griffith put her greatness on display, winning both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year for her first season with the league.Griffin displayed individual dominance as well as the ability to play in a system, even helping her team win the 2005 WNBA Finals and being named Finals MVP. Griffith showed excellence as a center, as she was the WNBA rebounding champion in 1999 and 2001.

Honorable Mentions

Maya Moore

• Four-Time WNBA Champion
• 2011 Rookie of the Year
• 2013 WNBA Finals MVP Winner
• 2014 Regular Season MVP Winner
• Five-Time All-WNBA First Team
• Two-Time All-Defensive Team

Maya Moore has been named by Sports Illustrated as the greatest winner in women’s basketball. After taking UConn to back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins in 2009 and 2010, Moore was selected as the first overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She immediately made her mark on the league, taking the Lynx to a WNBA championship win in her rookie season alongside fellow greats Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, and Rebekkah Brunson.

Moore repeated this feat in 2013, 2015, and 2017, taking home WNBA Finals MVP for her performance in the 2013 series. In addition to her success in the NCAA and WNBA, Moore is also an Olympic champion; she led the US National Team to consecutive gold medals in 2012 and 2016. After a long and wildly successful career, Moore retired in January 2023.

Sheryl Swoopes

• Four-Time WNBA Champion
• Three-Time MVP
• Three-Time Defensive Player of the Year
• Five-Time All-WNBA First Team

For nearly 15 years, Sheryl Swoopes was one of the best forwards the WNBA had ever seen. Her professional career started in 1997 when she joined the Houston Comets, and she led her team to WNBA Championship wins for the first four years of her tenure with the team (1997 to 2000).

In addition to these stats, Swoopes was also named MVP three times (2000, 2002, 2005), named Defensive Player of the Year thrice (2000, 2002, 2003), led the league twice in scoring, and was named to the All-WNBA first team five times. After a decade of success with the Comets, Swoopes played for a season with the Seattle Storm (2008) and a season with the Tulsa Shock (2011) before retiring as one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time.

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