Just Who Are the Toughest Players in the WNBA?

Tough Enough

Every player in the WNBA is tough. After all, you don't make it to the very top without overcoming physical and mental challenges of all kinds, fighting through injuries, withstanding and overcoming cuts at every level every season. Tough means strong with the ball. Tough means fighting for every loose ball. Tough means not backing down from a battle. Tough means two-a-day practices in training camp. Tough means playing with a broken nose. Tough means wanting the ball with the game on the line.

So who are the strongest of the strong and the toughest of the tough? No one knows better than the very players they go up against in practice, in the trenches and in the playoffs. Here is what some of the game's best have to say on the subject.

Natalie Williams, Indiana Fever

Katie Smith, Minnesota Lynx.
Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images

"Mentally, I would say Katie Smith. She is extremely tough. Physically, Tina Thompson is also playing great at the point in her career right now."

Lindsay Whalen, Connecticut Sun
"I�d have to say Dawn Staley, she�s really tough. She is a leader and sets the tone for her team."

Tina Thompson, Houston Comets
"I think the toughest would have to be Dawn Staley. She plays with an unbelievable toughness. She is usually the smallest player on the court, but her heart is so much bigger than her body on so many occasions and she is such a great teammate, that every accolade she has ever received in this game is very well-earned."

Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
"As a guard, the most physical player is Katie Smith. She is the strongest woman I have ever met. Mentally, there is a long list: Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings� do you want me to go on? Everyone here is mentally tough or they wouldn�t be here."

Sheryl Swoopes, Houston Comets
"Dawn Staley has always been a hero of mine because she does the little things. Lots of times, you won�t see what she does in the newspaper, but she is so good at playing her position and taking care of everything on her team. She is one of the toughest players mentally.
There are so many tough players physically."

Katie Smith, Minnesota Lynx
"Dawn, Lisa, Swoopes, myself, Catch, Dee, Sue�. Honestly, I could say so many people, both, physically and mentally, that know how to get it done. A tough player is smart and gets it done. It is the combination of knowing what is working and what doesn�t and how to be effective."

Dawn Staley, Charlotte Sting
"Lisa Leslie, Teresa Edwards, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson."

Dawn Staley, Charlotte Sting.
Kent Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

Ruth Riley, Detroit Shock
"There is definitely more than one. So many players have been successful, but at the core, Lisa, Sheryl and Dawn have been so successful. The leadership of the National team has proven it on the WNBA level as well as on the international stage."

Deanna Nolan, Detroit Shock
"Tamika Catchings is the toughest player. She plays hard on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes. Lisa Leslie is also very tough in the post, especially with the things she is able to do and the fact that she goes all out every time. She is very competitive."

Mwadi Mabika, Los Angeles Sparks
"Tamika Catchings, Lisa Leslie. There are a couple of them that I could name, but everyone that is here is a great player."

Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks
"My number one toughest player is always Tari Phillips because she works so hard. She is a workhorse out there even if she is not puttingn the ball in the basket. She forces you to play hard every time."

Shannon Johnson, San Antonio Silver Stars
"Tamika Catchings and Sheryl Swoopes play on another level mentally. Anytime you play against Tamika, you realize just how good she is. Every year, she just keeps getting better and that is very scary."

Beck Hammon, New York Liberty
"There are some really strong players in this league. Physically strong, probably Natalie Williams. From a guard standpoint there are so many players who are very strong. Mentally, Dawn Staley is really tough. I think knowing you are gonna get knocked down and then getting right back up and using your smarts and skills to compete out there is what makes a player tough. Doing that night in and night out, and helping your teammates do that too, that is what makes a player tough."

Yolanda Griffith, Sacramento Monarchs
"Everybody. All of them. I am either guarding a big small forward, a big center or power forward that has the height advantage or the strength.

Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever.
Ron Hoskins/NBAE/Getty Images

Cheryl Ford, Detroit Sting
"I think Lisa Leslie is, she plays very physical and she knows the game. She would be the toughest player I�ve played against."

Allison Feaster, Charlotte Sting
"Tamika Catchings is at the top of my list for obvious reasons. She is a complete hussle player 100% of the time. I would also my teammate, Dawn Staley. She has been through a lot injurywise and still gives it her all at the tender, ripe age of 34."

Anna DeForge, Phoenix Mercury
"Lauren Jackson. She�s the MVP of the League and she�s both physically and mentally tough. Tamika Catchings, when you talk about relentless, her picture is in the dictionary under relentless. Katie Smith is a real physical, tough player. They�d be my top three."

Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever
"Aside from myself, I would say the toughest players are� hmmm. I don�t know. Everyone is tough. That�s why they are in the WNBA."

Swin Cash, Detroit Shock
"The mentally toughest player is Lisa Leslie. She is always focused and at the top of her game. She knows she can dominate and does so. Physically, I think Tamika Catchings is the toughest player. Her passion for the game is amazing and she gives 110% on every play."

Sue Bird, Seattle Storm
"Swin Cash is tough both physically and mentally. Cheryl Ford is tough physically. Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson are both physically and mentally tough as well."