Who are the best WNBA players right now? Is Indiana Fever record-breaking rookie Caitlin Clark among the top-20?
How many players on the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces find themselves on this list? With the WNBA growing to new bounds and women’s basketball becoming as popular as ever, the 2024 season is going to be a blast. With that as a backdrop, let’s look at the best WNBA players right now.
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20. Brittney Sykes, Washington Mystics
Defense. Defense. More defense. The No. 7 overall pick of the Atlanta Dream back in 2017, Sykes is coming off a 2023 season in which she finished as an All-WNBA Defensive Team performer. She was also third in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year and finished four in the Most Improved category. She averaged a career best 15.9 points per game while shooting 35% from distance.
19. Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
There is a good chance that Clark will top our list of the best WNBA players within the matter of a couple years. The press attention aside, her utter domination on the court for Iowa can’t go unnoticed. We’re talking about someone who broke the college basketball record (both men’s and women’s) in career points and single-season points. In her final season with the Hawkeyes, Clark averaged 31.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists. That’s just otherworldly stuff right there.
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18. Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
Howard has flashed swag since her days at Kentucky. She’s confident in her game, and backs it up big time on the cout. In just two WNBA seasons after being the No. 1 pick back in 2022, the guard is averaging 16.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 35% shooting from distance. That seems pretty darn good.
17. Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings
Pure buckets. All Ogunbowale has done since she entered the league as a top-five pick of Dallas back in 2019 is dominate from a scoring standpoint. The Notre Dame product is averaging 20.2 points per game. She put up 21.2 on 36% shooting from distance this past season. Look for Ogunbowale to ascend our list of the best WNBA players moving forward.
16. Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever
The No. 1 pick of Indiana in 2023, Boston did what she could to keep the team afloat as a rookie. She averaged 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds on 58% shooting from the field. This earned the former South Carolina standout WNBA Rookie of the Year honors. She’ll now have more help in the form of former college rival Caitlin Clark. It should be fun in 2024.
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15. Satou Sabally, Dallas Wings
Still only 26, Sabally is coming off a breakout 2023 season with the Wings. Over the course of her first three years, she averaged 12.5 points per game. A lot of that had to do with multiple injuries and the COVID-19 pademic during her rookie campaign. Boy, did the former No. 2 pick from Oregon change the dynamics in 2023. She averaged 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists en route to winning the WNBA Most Improved Player award.
14. Courtney Vandersloot, New York Liberty
The wife of former Sixth Woman of the Year winner Allie Quigley, Vandersloot has certainly made a name for herself on the court. She’s a five-time All-Star and helped lead the Chicago Sky to the WNBA title back in 2021. Perhaps the best passer in the game, she’s averaging 6.8 assists throughout her already brilliant 13-year WNBA career.
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13. Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
Ogwumike has missed extensive time throughout her career due to injury (2015, 2018 and 2021). When the Stanford product has been on the court, her production speaks for itself. Over the course of the past two seasons, the forward is averaging 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds. Not bad for someone entering her Age-34 season. Yes, Ogwumike is still one of the best WNBA players today.
12. Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm
After starring at Notre Dame Loyd found herself as the No. 1 pick of the Seattle Storm in the 2015 WNBA Draft. What she has done since (all with the Storm) has been extraordinary. The “Gold Mamba” is averaging 16.6 points throughout her career. The five-time All-Star is also coming off a 2023 season in which she led the league at 24.7 points per game. That’s insane stuff for the WNBA.
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11. Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty
After transferring from Clemson to George Washington in college, no one really thought Jones was going to be where she is today. Since being selected No. 6 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks back in 2016, she has morphed into one of the best WNBA players today. Jones, 30, won the MVP back in 2021 with the Connecticut Sun. She averaged 19.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, Jones’ first season with the New York Liberty in 2023 didn’t go as swimmingly (11.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG).
10. Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics
No doubt a future Hall of Famer, Elena Delle Donne is also still one of the best WNBA players today. The two-time league MVP is averaging 19.5 points and 6.7 rebounds throughout her 11-year career. Back in 2015 with the Chicago Sky, she averaged 23.4 points in one of the best single-season performances in the history of the league.
9. Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces
A spark both on and off the court, Plum is also the heart-and-soul of the defending champion Aces. It doesn’t hurt that the former No. 1 pick is also one of the best WNBA players today. She shot 48% from the field while hitting on 39% of her three-point shots last season. Plum added 18.7 points per game.
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8. Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces
Gray spent one season with the Connecticut Sun before she was dealt to the Los Angeles Sparks. She’s now spent the past three seasons with the Aces, playing a major role in their domination. For the guard’s part, it’s on both ends of the court. She’s a elite-level defender. Gray also averaged career highs in points (15.3), rebounds (4.0) and assists (7.3) while shooting a remarkable 42% from distance this past season.
7. Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
Collier earned WNBA Rookie of the Year honors after the Lynx made her the No. 6 pick back in 2019. Since then, the UConn product has picked her game up big time. Despite missing all but four games of the 2022 campaign, she returned to average 21.5 points and 8.5 rebounds this past season. It led to Collier finishing fourth in the WNBA MVP voting.
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6. Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
Sabrina Ionescu made her name known during a brilliant college career at Oregon. It led to her being selected No. 1 overall by New York in 2020. After struggling to an extent her first two seasons, the guard has picked it up since. This past year saw Ionescu shoot 45% from distance while averaging 17.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Yeah, she’s not just a three-point shooter. She’s also one of the best WNBA players today.
5. Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
Still only 26 years old, Jackie Young has already won two WNBA titles and made two All-Star teams. The 6-foot guard has been something else on both ends of the court since Vegas made her the No. 1 pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft. She won the league’s Most Improved Player in 2020 before turning a career-best season in 2023 (17.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.3 SPG) on 45% shooting from distance.
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4. Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
Griner made international headlines due to her stay in a Russia prison during the early days of the Ukraine war. It was a whole situation. But people seem to forget about her domination on the court. The 33-year-old center has earned eight All-Star appearances and won the WNBA title with Phoenix back in 2014. For her career, Griner is averaging a whopping 17.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, she’s now sidelined for a while after suffering a toe fracture on her left foot ahead of opening night.
3. Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
It’s hard to look past Thomas when checking in on the best WNBA players of 2024. The No. 4 pick of the New York Liberty in the 2014 draft, the guard has earned four All-Star appearances throughout her career. She finished second to Stewart in the WNBA MVP voting this past season, tallying an average of 15.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game. Those are Luka Doncic-type numbers for the women’s game.
2. Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Stewart, 29, surprised many when she opted to leave the Seattle Storm for the Liberty ahead of last season on a team-friendly contract. All she did in the Big Apple is earn a second career WNBA MVP award. The forward averaged a resounding 23.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks on 36% shooting from three-point range. Talk about an all-around game, and it has her as one of the best WNBA players in 2024.
1. A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
The No. 1 overall pick of the Aces back in 2018 out of South Carolina, all Wilson continues to do is dominate. She has led Vegas to back-to-back WNBA titles, is a two-time league MVP and has made the All-Star team in five of her six seasons. This past season saw the 27-year-old forward average 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds on 56% shooting from the field. She’s about as dominant as they get in the low-post.