WNBA Top 20@20 In Photos
As the WNBA unveils its list of the 20 best players in league history, here’s a look at some of their finest moments and accolades through their storied careers.
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Seimone Augustus receives the 2011 WNBA Finals MVP award.
A six-time All-Star, and three-time WNBA champion, Seimone Augustus has been a staple in the Lynx franchise since being drafted by Minnesota in 2006.
Augustus also won Rookie of the Year in 2006.
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Sue Bird receives a commemorative game ball after reaching 1,000 career assists in July 2007.
Bird has cemented her place among the best WNBA point guards of all-time. The two-time champion and nine-time All-Star played a pivotal role in both the Storm’s championship runs in 2004 and 2010.
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Swin Cash celebrates the first WNBA Championship in franchise history for the Detroit Shock in 2003.
The current Liberty forward is a four-time All-Star, and three-time champion. She’s been a staple in the five franchises she’s been a member of (Shock, Storm, Sky, Dream, Liberty)
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Tamika Catchings breaks Lisa Leslie’s record for most career playoff points scored (908) with a three vs. Mystics in 2014.
At 36 “Catch” has garnered every accolade possible in a WNBA jersey. She is a 10-time All-Star, five-time Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year (2002), and regular season (2011) and Finals (2012) MVP. She won her first championship in 2012.
She also was voted to the WNBA All-Decade team in 2006.
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Cynthia Cooper celebrates after winning a fourth consecutive WNBA Championship with the Houston Comets.
When the WNBA embarked on its inaugural season, Cynthia Cooper was one of the faces of the league. Cooper won the first-ever league MVP award while leading the Houston Comets to the first-ever WNBA title.
In her five-year playing career Cooper won four titles, four Finals MVP awards, two regular season MVP awards, and made three All-Star games.
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Lisa Leslie records the WNBA’s first-ever dunk vs. the Miami Sol in May 2002.
Leslie is often regarded as the game’s preeminent big. Over 12 seasons, all in Los Angeles, Leslie averaged 17.3 points and 9.1 rebounds. Her 3,307 rebounds are the most all-time.
Leslie was an eight-time All-Star, three-time league MVP and two-time WNBA champion.
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Hammon tosses one of her WNBA-leading 140 assists in 2007.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more cerebral guard in WNBA history then Becky Hammon. Hammon played for 16 seasons and was a seven-time All-Star. After her highly-productive playing career she joined the San Antonio Spurs organization, becoming the first full-time female coach in NBA history.
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Lauren Jackson swats Cappie Pondexter in 2007, a year when she took home WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
LJ is widely regarded as the best foreign-born player in WNBA history. The 6’5″ Aussie was a seven-time All-Star, three-time league MVP, and two-time champion.
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Maya Moore receives her first WNBA MVP award in 2014.
Maya Moore is the the youngest player selected for the Top 20@20 at just 27 years but she’s already well on her way to being an all-time great.
The first overall pick in 2011 has been a scoring prodigy in her first five seasons in the league, averaging 18.6 points per game. She’s been named to the All-Star team in four of those five seasons while also establishing the Lynx as a dynasty, winning three championships in the same time span.
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Deanna Nolan celebrates the first championship in Detroit Shock history in 2003.
When Nolan was drafted in 2001 the Flint, Michigan native joined a Detroit Shock team that was in need of the diverse skillset she could provide.
She was a five-time All-Star, three-time WNBA champion and won Finals MVP during the Shock’s 2006 title run.
The Shock were a powerhouse in the mid-2000s before being relocated to Tulsa. Deanna Nolan was a major key in solidifying the Shock as a yearly contender.
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On June 22, 2008, Parker became the second woman in WNBA history to dunk in a game. With the one-hand slam against the Fever, Parker joined teammate Lisa Leslie as the only women to dunk in WNBA history at the time.
Parker twice won league MVP honors, while also being named Rookie of the Year, and being named to the All-Star team three times.
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Ticha Penicheiro dishes out one of her famous no-look assists.
Basketball is the perfect balance of skill and finesse and no one embodied this more than Ticha Penicheiro. The Portuguese-born point guard played the game with an unrivaled sense of flair and creativity.
She was effective in her flashiness, earning four All-Star selections, leading the WNBA in assists a record seven times, and winning a championship in 2005 with the Sacramento Monarchs.
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Cappie Pondexter poses with her 2007 Finals MVP trophy alongside the championship trophy.
Cappie is as tough as they come despite her slender frame. The 5’9″ guard has started every single one of the 336 career games she’s played in. Her career averages of 18.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game have earned seven All-Star selections and two WNBA championships.
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- Sheryl Swoopes cuts down the nets during the second of the four straight titles she led the Comets to from 1997-2000. In addition, Swoopes won three MVP Awards, went to six All-Star Games, was named Defensive Player of the Year three times, and won two scoring titles during her legendary 12-year career.
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- Katie Smith celebrates after the Detroit Shock won the 2008 WNBA championship. Over the course of her 14-year career, Smith won two titles (2006, 2008), was named the Finals MVP in 2008, went to seven All-Star Games, and was the scoring champion in 2001.
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Diana Taurasi hoists her 2009 WNBA MVP trophy.
Taurasi has been one of the league’s most prolific scorers over her 12-year career. Taurasi’s insatiable will to stuff the stat sheet has led to seven All-Star selections, five scoring titles, and nine First Team All-WNBA selections. She’s played her entire career with the Phoenix Mercury.
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- Tina Thompson celebrates during a 2004 game against the Liberty. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer (7,448 pts) won four straight titles with the Houston Comets from 1997-2000, and went to nine All-Star Games during her 17-year career.
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Teresa Weatherspoon launches perhaps the most famous shot in WNBA history, a game-winner from halfcourt in Game 2 of the 1999 Finals.
T-Spoon established herself as one of the greatest defenders in WNBA history over her eight-year career, winning two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and going to four All-Star Games.
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Lindsay Whalen rises for the layup in pivotal Game 3 of the Lynx’s 2011 WNBA Finals victory.
Whalen has been a stalwart selection in the Lynx lineup since being drafted by Minnesota 2004.
She’s a five-time All-Star and three times led the WNBA in assists. She’s currently third all-time in career assists (2033).
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Yolanda Griffith raises the 2005 WNBA Finals MVP trophy in the Monarchs’ first championship.
Griffith won the league MVP award and Defensive Player of the Year in 1999. In addition to that she was an eight-time All-Star.
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