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Cynthia Cooper-Dyke
The league's first superstar was a 34-year-old guard who had spent a decade playing in Europe. Cynthia Cooper won the first two MVP awards and the first four championships with the Houston Comets, from 1997 to 2000, as Finals MVP each time. Start here to understand how the WNBA found its feet: a late-blooming scorer who made the new league must-watch.
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Sheryl Swoopes
Born
Swoopes was the first player signed by the WNBA in 1996, won three MVP awards and three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and was the third member of Houston's four-title core. She was also the first basketball player, man or woman, to have a Nike signature shoe named after her, the Air Swoopes. Her two-way game makes her the template for the complete wing.
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Lisa Leslie
Born
Leslie threw down the WNBA's first dunk in 2002, but her real legacy is the post game she brought to the Los Angeles Sparks: three MVP awards, two titles and four Olympic golds. A graceful 6ft 5in centre who could face up or score on the block, she was the league's first true star big. Footage of her is the best introduction to how post play looked before the three-point era.
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Lauren Jackson
Born
The Australian forward won three WNBA MVP awards and two titles with Seattle, a 6ft 5in player who could shoot from outside, block shots and run the floor. She was also a national icon at home, where she came out of retirement to play in her fifth Olympics in 2024. If you are curious about the international side of the league, Jackson is the obvious starting point.
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Sue Bird
Born
Bird played 19 seasons for the Seattle Storm, won four titles across three different decades and retired in 2022 as the league's career assist leader. She is the WNBA's model point guard: calm, clever with her eyes and able to adapt to very different team-mates. Her five Olympic golds also make her a guide to the US national team's long dominance.
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Tamika Catchings
Born
Catchings spent her whole 15-season career with the Indiana Fever and won five Defensive Player of the Year awards, an MVP and the 2012 title. She played with hearing loss from childhood and became known for relentless effort on every possession. She is the player to watch if you want to understand how a forward can dominate through defence and hustle as much as scoring.
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Diana Taurasi
Born
The league's all-time leading scorer retired in 2025 after 20 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, three titles and six Olympic golds. Taurasi brought swagger and trash talk as well as deep shooting, and she is the player older fans quote when they talk about clutch moments. Watch her late-game shot-making to see why defences feared the final two minutes against Phoenix.
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Candace Parker
Born
Parker won MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season, 2008, and later won titles with three different franchises: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. A 6ft 4in forward who could dunk, handle and pass, she was the prototype for today's positionless bigs. Many new fans also know her from television, where she is one of the sharpest analysts of the game.
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Maya Moore
Born
Moore won four titles in seven seasons with the Minnesota Lynx dynasty, plus an MVP, then stepped away at her peak in 2019 to work on overturning the wrongful conviction of Jonathan Irons, who was freed in 2020. Few athletes have made a choice like it. Her playing years show a smooth, two-way wing; her later years show why she is admired well beyond basketball.
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Sylvia Fowles
Born
Fowles retired in 2022 as the WNBA's career rebounding leader, with four Defensive Player of the Year awards, an MVP and two titles as Finals MVP with Minnesota. A powerful centre with soft hands, she is the reference point for interior defence and rebounding. She has since studied to become a funeral director, a reminder that players' lives extend well beyond the court.
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Nneka Ogwumike
Born
Ogwumike was the 2016 MVP and won that year's title with Los Angeles on a last-second putback, but new fans should also know her as the long-time president of the players' union. She led the negotiations behind the 2020 labour agreement that brought big pay and benefit gains, the foundation for the league's current growth. Her mid-range game is efficient and fundamentally sound.
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A'ja Wilson
Born
If you watch one current player to understand the league's level, make it A'ja Wilson. The Las Vegas Aces forward won a record fifth MVP award in 2026, has won titles and Defensive Player of the Year awards, and scores with a soft mid-range touch and patient footwork. Her combination of efficient scoring and rim protection is the standard every other star is measured against.
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Breanna Stewart
Born
Stewart has won titles with Seattle and New York and MVP awards with both, as a 6ft 4in forward who shoots threes, handles in transition and blocks shots. She came back from a torn Achilles in 2019 to win again. Off the court she helped found Unrivaled, the three-on-three league that gives WNBA players a well-paid off-season at home, which changed how they spend their winters.
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Napheesa Collier
Born
Collier is the Minnesota Lynx's all-round forward, a Defensive Player of the Year who scores from everywhere, and the co-founder of Unrivaled with Breanna Stewart. In 2025 she publicly criticised the league's leadership over officiating and player treatment, one of the sharpest statements a star has made. Watch her for the two-way game; follow her for where the league is heading.
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Alyssa Thomas
Born
Alyssa Thomas holds the WNBA record for career triple-doubles, which is remarkable for a forward who rarely shoots from outside. She runs the offence as a point forward, bulldozes through defences and guards several positions. Her unconventional style, including playing through shoulder injuries that limit her shooting motion, makes her one of the most distinctive players in the league.
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Sabrina Ionescu
Born
Ionescu was college basketball's triple-double queen at Oregon and is now the New York Liberty's deep-shooting guard, a 2024 champion who hit a late winner in that Finals. Her three-point contest record and duel with Stephen Curry at the 2024 All-Star weekend introduced her to NBA fans. She is the guard to watch for pull-up range and playmaking in one package.
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Caitlin Clark
Born
Clark is the reason many people reading this started watching. College basketball's all-time leading scorer joined the Indiana Fever in 2024, set rookie records for assists and drove record attendance and television audiences. Her logo-range threes and full-court passes are the highlights; the debates about her coverage are part of the story too. Injuries cut short her second season.
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Angel Reese
Born
Reese arrived from LSU's 2023 national title team with a huge following and set WNBA rebounding records with the Chicago Sky, especially on the offensive glass. Her rivalry with Caitlin Clark, dating back to college, has been one of the league's biggest storylines. Her finishing around the rim is still developing, but her rebounding and energy are elite.
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Paige Bueckers
Born
Bueckers won the 2025 national title with UConn, went first in the draft to the Dallas Wings and was named Rookie of the Year. She is a smooth, unhurried guard with a mid-range game and excellent vision, closer in style to classic point guards than to modern volume shooters. She is one of the faces of the league's next decade, so this is a good time to start watching.
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Gabby Williams
Born
Gabby Williams was the 2026 Finals MVP, scoring 30 points, 28 of them in the last 20 minutes, as the Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 to win the title in only their second season. A French international wing known first for defence, she shows how a role player can become a closer. Her rise is the best entry point to the league's newest champions.
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