Everyone’s favorite basketball simulator returns in NBA 2K23, including the amazing players and teams of the WNBA. The game started including WNBA players in 2019 when Candace Parker became the first woman to be featured on one of the covers of the game. This year, NBA 2K23 features Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird on one of its covers.
Taurasi, who also plays in the same city as fellow cover athlete Devin Booker, is wildly considered the greatest WNBA player ever. Bird, on the other, holds another title: longest-tenured WNBA player at 20 years. With Taurasi and Bird inching closer toward retirement, we take a look at who the best overall players are currently in the WNBA.
5 Elena Delle Donne – 91
Drafted with the second overall pick in 2013, Elena Delle Donne spent the first four years of her career with the Chicago Sky. In her rookie season, Delle Donne averaged an impressive 18.1 points per game that powered the Sky to the best record in the Eastern Conference. Her performance was widely praised as she became the first rookie in history to lead All-Star voting and won Rookie of the Year.
Delle Donne won two MVP awards, the first in her third season with Chicago and the second in 2019 with the Washington Mystics. Washington acquired Delle Donne in the 2017 offseason, which paid huge dividends. The small forward honed her offensive skills to efficiently operate inside (A), mid-range (A), and deep (A). She’s equally as gifted on the defensive end, locking players down inside (A) and on the perimeter (A). Delle Donne is among the top performers in the WNBA each year.
4 Candace Parker – 93
The longtime Los Angeles Sparks player, Candace Parker returned home and signed with the Chicago Sky last season. The former first overall pick was instrumental in Chicago winning its first WNBA championship in history, knocking off the Phoenix Mercury in four games. Entering her fifteenth season in the league, Parker’s WNBA career might be quickly approaching its expiration date.
Parker’s offensive game has taken a step back in the last three seasons, but she’s still extremely skilled at scoring inside (A+) and shooting a few three-pointers (B). Her high basketball IQ (A+) and overall knowledge of the game help Parker identify opposing offensive plays and defend the interior (A+) and perimeter (A) very well.
3 Jonquel Jones – 94
Jonquel Jones is in the midst of the best stretch of her career. She’s been selected as an All-Star every year since 2019 and she won MVP in 2021 behind a career-high 19.4 points per game. Jones and the Connecticut Sun finally reached the WNBA Finals this season against the Las Vegas Aces.
As a two-way scoring machine, Jones is incredibly skilled to contribute on offense on all three levels. She excels in attacking the basket (A+) and finding her shot from mid-range (A) and beyond the arc (A). Jones is a top frontcourt defender who lockdowns the interior (A) and can hold the perimeter too (A-). Her playmaking (B-) isn’t as high as others, but she is still capable of collecting an assist or two each game.
2 Breanna Stewart – 96
Playing professional is the ultimate goal for any athlete, but we shouldn’t forget about the stops along the journey. For Breanna Stewart, her time at the University of Connecticut was spectacular. She won the National Championship each year she was in school and was named the Consensus College National Player of the Year three times. Stewart’s collegiate success rivals that of North Carolina’s Michael Jordan.
Stewart continued having success for the Seattle Storm in the WNBA. In 2018, Stewart averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game en route to her first MVP and championship. Stewart’s the only WNBA player with perfect grades across her shooting categories and can defend both inside (A) and outside (A). Without a doubt, Stewart will be discussed as being one of the best players in WNBA history.
1 A’ja Wilson – 96
It’s A’ja Wilson’s world and we’re all just living in it. The Las Vegas Aces forward won her second MVP award this past season by averaging a career-high 20.7 points per game. Wilson was also named to her fourth All-Star team in her career. Her incredible inside offense (A+) mixed with impenetrable inside defense (A+) helped advance the Aces to the WNBA Finals.
Along with winning MVP, Wilson was awarded Defensive Player of the Year for her stellar post-defense and perimeter defense (A). And as a two-way three-level scorer, Wilson adds a lethal mid-range (A) and three-point (A-) shot to her offensive arsenal. Wilson’s won plenty of accolades in her five-year career and she can now add the honor of being the best WNBA player in the game.
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