Top WNBA Players from Nos. 25 to 11

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Yesterday saw the start of this year’s Ranking the W, as we released places 50 to 26. Today, the countdown continues.

Last year, we introduced Ranking the W to create a snapshot of the consensus expectations of WNBA player performance in 2024. We invited an international panel of over 100 writers, reporters, analysts and broadcasters from around the world of women’s basketball to lend their expertise to this exercise. Thanks, once again, to all of them for their time and input.

Participants were asked to vote on player vs. player matchups with the question “Who will be the better WNBA player in 2025?”, taking into account both performance and availability. Voting was anonymous among the invitees, so no one had to be worried about expressing their real opinions, or being embarrassed later in the year if a choice turns out to be wildly inaccurate.

Players from every franchise in the WNBA appear in our final list, including everyone from some of the youngest players in the league to the very oldest. We’ll be releasing them from No. 50 to No.1 in several separate articles over the upcoming days, along with their rank and commentary on each player by Her Hoop Stats writers Richard Cohen and Matthew Coller. Let us know your thoughts on what surprised you, who’s been overvalued and who’s been snubbed, or anything else about the project. We’ll be using the hashtag #RankingTheW on social media or you can leave comments on the articles themselves.

Now it’s time for everyone from 25 to 11.

Angel Reese had a remarkable, freak outlier of a rookie season. We’ve genuinely never seen anything quite like it, whether from a rookie or anyone else. She comfortably broke the all-time league record for rebounds per game in a single season, but that was significantly assisted by the number of offensive boards she grabbed off her own misses, or second-chances after her shots were blocked. The field-goal percentage of 39% was also pretty remarkable (in the wrong direction) for someone who took the vast majority of her shots in the paint and around the rim.

But however much you take into account her faults, it’s pretty clear at this point that Reese was underrated by many coming out of college. Her intense and constant physicality translated immediately to the pros, as did her work rate and the long arms that cause problems for opponents on the defensive end. The positive angle on her shortcomings is that there’s such a glaring path to immediate and significant improvement. If she can learn to finish from a higher starting point she’ll get blocked a lot less, and should finish much more efficiently around the basket. She’s also been working on her range, and an improved jumpshot would be great – especially with Kamilla Cardoso wanting to work under the basket with the floor spaced around her – but Reese doesn’t need to become A’ja Wilson. In one year she proved she could have a real impact in this league, and now it’s a matter of refining the raw talent and physical ability into a more complete product. – Richard Cohen

Just typing out ‘Brionna Jones, Atlanta Dream’ felt strange. After eight years in Connecticut developing from an afterthought on the end of the bench to a max-worthy all-star multiple teams wanted to tempt away, Jones is now in Atlanta facing a new challenge. The 2024 season with the Sun gave her the chance to show that she’d recovered from her Achilles injury, and while her field-goal percentage and rebounding dropped a little, she was largely the same player. Efficient finishing in the paint and smooth footwork, alongside being a central piece in Connecticut’s consistently effective defense, means her reputation was secure wherever she was going to play next.

However, her ranking is a little lower than last year’s 19th, maybe showing a reaction to the 2024 playoff games where she was ineffective, or some trepidation at how well she’ll fit in a new system and alongside Brittney Griner. Jones has been very successful in Europe, so Connecticut is hardly the only place where she’s proven herself, but it is the only place where WNBA fans have ever seen her perform. Especially surrounded by four other starters who all like to have the ball in their hands, there could be some understandable reservations about how much production we’ll see from Jones. But by now we can all be pretty confident that if she’s given the chance, she’ll produce. – Richard Cohen

It took a few weeks into the 2024 season for the Fever to remember that Mitchell was on the team, but once they did she put together her most efficient year as a scorer. The former top pick had a career high 55.9% effective field-goal percentage and ranked in the 94th percentile in points per play (career high).

With a talented team around her now, Mitchell’s speed can fully be utilized in transition and she can get more open opportunities from 3-point land as the attention goes to another guard or down low in the paint to Aliyah Boston. Everything doesn’t have to be off the dribble for Mitchell anymore, instead she can be on the right side of kick-outs and pick-and-rolls. That must be refreshing after years of carrying the offense on her shoulders.

If the Fever continue to make her the featured finisher, she can put up even bigger numbers. Last year in May, she only averaged 14.1 points per game but in the final two months of the season that increased to 25.2 and 22.0 ppg. The question, however, is whether the new additions to the roster like DeWanna Bonner and Sophie Cunningham will change the dynamic and reduce the number of shots that Mitchell gets on a nightly basis.

She also isn’t going to add much in other areas. Mitchell had just 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game and has never finished with a higher defensive rating than the 6th percentile. Maybe that will also improve with better defenders around her. – Matthew Coller

When the light came on for Jackson, she started to show signs of a potential big-time scorer going forward. She finished her rookie campaign with 17 games in which she scored at least 15 points and 13 of those games came after July 1. The former Tennessee Volunteer was terrific at getting to the basket and finishing. She finished in the 85th percentile on shot attempts inside five feet from the hoop and she shot 63.0% on those attempts (69th percentile). If she can increase her 3-point efficiency (34.7%) by a hair and cut down on bad mid-range shots (28.8%), Jackson can elevate her game into the elite scorer category in 2025.

Like all young players, she will need to make a bigger impact on the defensive side as she only picked up 3.9 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks per game and finished with 0.1 defensive win shares.

With some additions to the Sparks roster this offseason including Kelsey Plum, Jackson has a chance to lead a team that could take a big step forward this season. – Matthew Coller

I didn’t take issue with many of our rankings last year, but I did pretty openly say that No. 5 seemed very high for Boston heading into her second season. The drop all the way down here suggests that our panel now agrees that they may have been expecting a little too much too soon from Boston. In fairness, she was by no means bad in 2024. There was a rocky start while the Fever suffered through a tough early schedule and acclimating to the presence of Caitlin Clark, but once they settled in, Boston returned to her typical levels of efficiency.

The rise of Clark may also play into the fall in placement for Boston. While most people will project Indiana to win a lot more games in 2025, Clark is now cemented as the superstar and there’s a lot more veteran talent on the roster around Boston. Even if she becomes a better basketball player in a vacuum, the raw numbers may not show it and the spotlight on Clark may overshadow Boston’s production. Of course, she won’t care. One of the quietest stars in the game, Boston will just keep getting her work done and helping Indiana win games. They’ll just be hoping that there are a few more of them this year. – Richard Cohen

Dearica Hamby has been a WNBA player for a decade, and a meaningfully impactful WNBA player for well over half that, and yet this is likely the highest she ever would’ve been placed on a list like this. She didn’t even make the top 50 a year ago. A lot of things went wrong for the Sparks last year but their one consistently reliable rock was Hamby. Playing easily the most minutes of her career simply led to more production in every area, averaging over 17 points per game while shooting 51% from the field and 34% from deep. She also had time to pick up an Olympic bronze medal in 3×3 (and continues to pursue her legal claim against the league and the Las Vegas Aces for discrimination).

Hamby’s remarkable return to peak physical condition after giving birth to her second child suggests there probably shouldn’t be any real concerns about age catching up with her just yet, but the opportunities in LA could become a little more limited. With Kelsey Plum’s arrival, Rickea Jackson’s development and the eventual return of Cameron Brink, the Sparks will be hoping that they don’t have to lean so heavily on Hamby’s shoulders again, which could see her raw numbers drop back a little from last year. However, her performances last season earned her this spot, and she was one of the better performers in the star-studded Unrivaled league during the offseason. Our panel understandably sees no reason why she can’t continue to produce at those levels. – Richard Cohen

As with new teammate Brionna Jones, just typing ‘Atlanta Dream’ next to Brittney Griner’s name felt strange. At 34 years of age and after 11 seasons in a Mercury uniform, Griner will be playing for a different WNBA franchise this year for the very first time. The fascinating question is what the changes will do to her game. Playing with a new cast around her, in a new city, and for a new coach who’s well-known for encouraging his players to shoot a lot from outside, how well will Griner’s skills fit in and how successful can the Dream be?

Griner’s been an interesting player the last couple of years, since returning from her ordeal in Russia. The beautiful offensive touch and efficient scoring is still just as evident, but there are flaws to her game that perhaps made Phoenix happy to move on from the Taurasi-Griner era and start over without her. While obviously still long-limbed and mobile around the rim, she hasn’t been the transformative defensive presence of her early WNBA seasons in a long time. Her rebounding has also always been relatively poor for someone with her physical abilities. Getting her the ball and pushing her into taking as many shots as her exceptional skills should demand has also often seemed disappointingly difficult, and is a central part of why she’s often been on MVP ballots but never won the award. At 34, the question now is what she has left and how she’ll fit in with Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray and Brionna Jones. It should be very interesting to witness, and our panel rightly still values the skills that she showed right up to the end of her Mercury career. – Richard Cohen

There aren’t many players in the WNBA who are more difficult to guard one-on-one than Loyd. She is shifty, creative and might have the most eye-popping off-balance makes in the league every year. The problem is that over the last two years, her belief in those high-difficulty shots has increased to the point where she is missing a lot more than she’s making.

At one point in her career, Loyd was a role player alongside Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird and she played fairly efficient basketball. Her best marks came en route to a title in 2020 when she shot 47.7% on 2-pointers and 39.0% on threes. Those numbers have since collapsed to 40.5% from inside the arc and 27.4% from 3-point land in 2024, which is in the 12th and 21st percentile, respectively.

The percentages would seem to reflect the issues that she was apparently having in Seattle with coaches and teammates last year or her desire to retain the WNBA scoring crown after being the only true scoring option on the struggling 2023 version of the Storm. Now that Loyd is with a supremely-talented Las Vegas team, it’s plausible that her shot selection will go back to 2020 mode. If it doesn’t, the Aces may have a difficult time having her in the same offense as another player who takes 15-20 shots per game in A’ja Wilson. – Matthew Coller

Every year it seems there is an expectation that Howard will take the next step and elevate her game to match up with the true franchise players around the WNBA. We’re still waiting for that to happen. Last year she managed just a 37.1% field-goal percentage (18th percentile) and 32.9% 3-point percentage (48th percentile) while taking 15.0 shots per game (93rd percentile). Nearly half of those shots were from 3-point land despite making an underwhelming percentage. The concerning thing is that those numbers are on par with her career averages and she doesn’t appear to be making progress. Her effective field-goal percentages have been in the 18th, 32nd and 29th percentiles over the last three years.

What seems to be keeping her from being more consistent is finishing at the rim. She ranks in the 34th percentile in the restricted area and 21st percentile in the paint (non-restricted area). Howard has not had an above 40th percentile shooting percentage in either spot at any point in her career.

One factor that has to be considered for Howard is whether struggling supporting casts in Atlanta have forced her to take a ton of high-difficulty shots or if it’s entirely a symptom of her style of play. With Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones in the mix, she should have less pressure to do it all. This year needs to be the year she steps up her efficiency and consistency in order to justify her “franchise player” label. – Matthew Coller

Chelsea Gray spent a lot of last season rehabbing her injury from the previous year’s Finals, and ultimately finished with her lowest scoring average since she was a backup in 2016 in Los Angeles. But our panel has longer memories than that. They recognise the years that Gray has produced as a leader and arguably the best passer in the game, and the number of times she’s stepped up at vital closing moments for her teams. They also saw her back at full power in Unrivaled, where she was named to the First Team and led her squad to the title. This ranking suggests we’re fully confident that Gray will bounce back to her typical levels for Las Vegas in 2025.

Things have changed a little for the Aces, with Kelsey Plum moving on and Jewell Loyd coming in, but with Gray, A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Becky Hammon still around they’re unlikely to move far from the summit of the league. Gray is also the type of player who’s never relied upon quickness or raw athleticism to have an impact on the game, so she may well continue to age like a fine wine. Watching her create angles and fit the ball through spaces that no one else even sees is one of the delights of the modern game, and it’s been central to facilitating all the wins the Aces have piled up in recent years. Chances are, this year will simply see more of the same. – Richard Cohen

The margins can be small in the WNBA between an elite, success-driving superstar and a strong-yet-flawed star. That’s the gap between what Diggins was in 2020 and 2021 versus last year. In her best seasons, the veteran point guard ranked in the 72nd and 66th percentile as a 2-point scorer and 76th and 70th as a 3-point shooter and she was getting to the free-throw line as much as any player in the league. Last year she dipped to the 44th percentile inside the arc, 26th outside the arc and got to the line nearly half as much as her career high.

Diggins was still overall a good player for the Storm. She posted the fourth-highest assist total and ranked 12th in total win shares. Seattle was the fourth-best team in terms of points per 100 possessions allowed, and the All-Star point guard played a big role in their defensive success.

What Seattle needs from Diggins is sharper shooting. That may come from a different team dynamic without Jewell Loyd stagnating ball movement or just from Diggins getting her feel back from downtown after missing the 2023 season. If she gets closer to the player who flirted with 50/40/90 back in 2020, she can be a top three point guard in the league. – Matthew Coller

It’s sad that one of the WNBA’s most talented players has only had one full season since coming into the league in 2020. When she has been healthy, Sabally has been the complete package – from getting close-range shots to shooting 3-pointers to passing to getting to the free-throw line to racking up rebounds to getting steals – she does it all.

In her 15 games last season, Sabally averaged 17.9 points per game, hit 45.2% of her 3-pointers and had 6.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Those are superstar type numbers, which followed up on her phenomenal breakout season in 2023 where she averaged 18.6 points per game.

Another thing that has held her back was being in Dallas, where the franchise never figured out exactly how to build the roster or settle on one coach for more than two years. Now she joins a Phoenix team that has championship All-Star players in Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper by her side. If Sabally is healthy and playing in a high-tempo system, she has a great chance to be an All-Star and push her team into serious title contention. – Matthew Coller

Seattle wasn’t quite the powerhouse last season that we expected, but that was not due to any decline from Ogwumike. She was her typical wildly efficient self, shooting 53.0% on 2-point shots and 40.5% on 3-pointers. The long-time Spark also was in the 90th percentile in rebounds per game and 98th percentile in steals per game. If we go a little deeper, Ogwumike was in the 92nd percentile in points per play, 98th percentile in turnover percentage and finished fifth in total win shares.

Normally if a player had that type of season you would hear some MVP chatter, but the Storm’s so-so 25-15 season and quick elimination in the playoffs limited the discussion about her excellent debut with Seattle.

As good as she was, the Storm might need more from Ogwumike in terms of scoring output in 2025. With Jewell Loyd in Vegas, that opens up an additional 17 attempts per game for somebody else to fill. Ogwumike might have to take the reins more offensively and attack more often. She only got to the free-throw line 2.6 times per game in 2024, down from 4.5 per game in 2023. If that number goes up, it’s probably a good sign for the Storm. – Matthew Coller

McBuckets has been a model three-and-D player for her entire career and that was no different in 2024. She made 40.7% of her 3-point shots while attempting a career-high 6.6 threes per game and had her highest points per game mark since 2018. She also added 3.4 free-throw makes per game at a stellar 89.3%.

McBride fit perfectly into Cheryl Reeve’s new scheme last year that was built around playing fast, spreading the floor and letting it fly from 3-point range. The additional ball movement showed up in the former Notre Dame guard’s highest assist total (3.2 per game) since 2018. Her only downside is that she’s inconsistent hitting the short stuff, going just 10-for-46 between 5 and 15 feet last year.

The Lynx didn’t make many roster changes this offseason so we can expect Reeve to continue to deploy McBride on some of the tougher matchups defensively and rain threes from the outside. – Matthew Coller

After back-to-back years of hovering around 44% as a 3-point shooter, it seemed that Young had simply established herself as one of the elites of the elite from downtown, but in 2024 she wasn’t as sharp making only 33.7% from deep. That’s a drop from the 96th and 97th percentile in 2022 and 2023 to just the 56th percentile. While Young’s value doesn’t hinge on 3-point success alone, her win shares sank from 6.9 to 4.4 from 2023 to 2024 because of it.

Here’s the good news: Posting a 4.4 win share mark still puts Young in the 90th percentile because she still made 50.6% percent of 2-point shots and averaged 4.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while playing the best perimeter defense on the Aces roster. It’s also not hard to find explanations for Young’s slide in 3-point shooting when you consider that the league’s best passer Chelsea Gray was out for a big chunk of the season and Young and Kelsey Plum had to take more off-the-dribble shots from outside. If Young gets her catch-and-shoot game back, she will rank among the best players in 2025 again. – Matthew Coller

We’ll be back on Monday to continue the countdown as we enter the top 10.

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