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I joined the Writers' Union because it is a 'Union.' That is, it is an organization that responds to its membership and provides a forum for us to express and debate common concerns. It has been important to me, for example, to collectively consider issues such as the appropriation of voice, the representation of writers of colour, and the protection of the creative community.
Dave Williamson
Photo: Red River College 1991
Dave Williamson was born in Winnipeg, and studied at the University of Manitoba. He was the advertising manager of The Bay (Saskatoon), before joining Red River Community College in Winnipeg as an instructor in advertising, communications and creative writing. He founded the Creative Communications program at Red River in 1969. He was Dean of Applied Arts and Business from 1983 until his retirement in 2006. From 1986-89, he was president of the Manitoba Writers' Guild, and chair of the Writers' Union of Canada in 1992-93. He has published novels, short stories and a memoir and is a freelance book reviewer and columnist. His play Anniversary, written with Carol Shields, was first produced in Toronto in 1986.
E-mail: davewil7@mymts.net
Accountable Advances. Winnipeg, MB: Turnstone Press, 1994.
Beyond Borders. Winnipeg, MB: Turnstone Press, 1992.
Running Out. Winnipeg, MB: Queenstone House, 1987.
Shandy. Winnipeg, MB: Queenstone House, 1980.
The Bad Life. Winnipeg, MB: Queenstone House, 1975.
Weddings. Great Plains Publications, 1999
Author! Author! Encounters with Famous Writers. Great Plains Publications, 2000
A Century in Print. Pollard Banknote Limited, 2007
Dating: A Novel. Turnstone Press, 2012


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WNBAWNBA
2021 Draft2021 Draft
25 years of the WNBA: The best players at every jersey number
160dMechelle Voepel
What can we expect from 2022 WNBA free agency?
5dKevin Pelton and Mechelle Voepel
Breaking down WNBA free agency: Key free agents, questions for all 12 teams
Ranking the top 20 WNBA free agents
13dKevin Pelton
Brondello: 'Exciting' to join Liberty, be in N.Y.
10dMechelle Voepel
Storm's Bird returning for 19th WNBA season
Hammon on taking Aces job: Ready to run a team
Parker voted AP's top female athlete for 2nd time
Ginobili headlines list of first-time HOF nominees
28dTim Bontemps
Mystics win WNBA draft lottery, secure No. 1 pick
WNBA star Parker announces wife expecting child
How Sandy Brondello can help the New York Liberty win their first WNBA title
What Becky Hammon's hire means for the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces and the NBA
WNBA mock draft: Who will the Washington Mystics select at No. 1 overall?
The 10 must-see games of the 2022 WNBA regular season
The biggest moments in Staples Center history
26dESPN.com
WNBA mock draft: Rhyne Howard or NaLyssa Smith at No. 1 overall?
Opals' Brondello determined to stay in WNBA
39dKane Pitman
The best player in WNBA history at every jersey number
ESPN.com Illustration
Mechelle VoepelESPN.com
Mechelle Voepel covers the WNBA, women's college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
The WNBA's key number this season is 25, as the league celebrates its silver anniversary season. The WNBA launched in June 1997 with eight teams, expanded to as many as 16 at one point, and currently has 12.
As the league prepares to resume the 2021 season, first with the Commissioner's Cup championship game on Thursday and then all 12 teams in action on Sunday -- including the league-leading Seattle Storm at the Chicago Sky (4 p.m. ET, ABC) -- we take a look at the best players in WNBA history at every jersey number, from 00 to 99.
Every member of the U.S. women's 5-on-5 roster that won an Olympic gold medal Saturday in the Tokyo Games made the list, with seven designated as the best to ever wear her number.
Several of the more popular numbers have multiple stars, and some potentially deserving players got left out. Other players listed here might not be at quite that level, but made the list because there are fewer players who wore that number. Even so, just to make a roster in the highly competitive WNBA puts a player among the most elite.
'I had to be an Olympian': How a Team USA snub launched Dawn Staley to the doorstep of Olympic history
Not just Nneka: 12 WNBA standouts who never suited up for Team USA
In the college game, players are limited to 37 allowable jersey numbers that are some combination of the digits 0 through 5. There's more leeway in the pro game, resulting in some signature jerseys such as Lisa Leslie's No. 9 for the Los Angeles Sparks and some more quirky choices like 99.
Although the jersey numbers generally favored by WNBA players are the same as they wore in college, it's inevitable that several have to change numbers when they turn pro, and/or when they switch teams. Also, with some WNBA players, it's difficult to pick their "main" number, if they had success wearing more than one. For our purposes, we usually put the player at the number she wore the most in the WNBA. There are some exceptions noted, such as when a player's so-called "secondary" number is far less popular and thus gives her a better chance to make the list.
We list our top player at each number, with subsequent players listed by when they entered the WNBA, starting with the most recent. Also, even if a player had more than one stint with a team, we list the franchise just once next to her name. In the "see also" category for each jersey number, active players are indicated in bold.
00 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 37 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 47 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 57 | 81 | 88 |91 | 92 |99
00: Ruth Riley, Miami/Detroit/San Antonio/Chicago/Atlanta (2001-13; also wore No. 7)
See also: Sylvia Crawley, Portland/San Antonio (2000-03); La'Keshia Frett, Los Angeles/Sacramento/Charlotte/New York (1999-2005, also wore No. 7); Tracy Reid, Charlotte/Miami/Phoenix (1998-2003); Latasha Byears, Los Angeles/Washington/Houston (1997-2008; also wore No. 51)
Riley, a former Notre Dame center, is one of five players who have been both the most outstanding player of the NCAA tournament (2001) and WNBA Finals MVP (2003). The others are Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. Riley played for Detroit's 2003 and 2006 championship teams, and was on San Antonio's runner-up team that lost to the Shock in the 2008 Finals.
Frett, of Georgia, and Crawley, part of North Carolina's 1994 NCAA title team, both played in the ABL before coming to the WNBA. North Carolina's Reid was the first WNBA rookie of the year (the honor wasn't given in the league's inaugural season) in 1998. Byears, out of DePaul, won two WNBA championships with the Sparks.
Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
0: Alana Beard, Washington/Los Angeles (2004-2019; also wore No. 20)
See also: Satou Sabally, Dallas (2020-present); Jackie Young, Las Vegas (2019-present); Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana (2018-present); Odyssey Sims, Tulsa/Dallas/Los Angeles/Minnesota/Atlanta (2014-present; also wore No. 1); Olympia Scott, Utah/Detroit/Indiana/Charlotte/Sacramento/Phoenix (1998-2008); Latasha Byears, Los Angeles/Washington/Houston (1997-2008)
Beard's WNBA career was almost equally divided between two jersey numbers, which is why the guard/forward is on this list twice. She wore No. 20 at Duke and for her first six years with the Mystics. She wore No. 0 in her eight years with the Sparks. Her big seasons as a scorer were all in D.C., but her championship and two awards for Defensive Player of the Year came in L.A.
It might seem too early in her career to add Sabally, but with an All-Star appearance this season, she makes it. Mitchell, second all time on the NCAA scoring list and a No. 2 overall draft pick like Sabally, has been a solid scorer, but her Fever team has had little success thus far in her career.
Young, who won an NCAA title with Notre Dame in 2018, was the No. 1 draft pick in 2019 and reached the WNBA Finals with the Aces in 2020. As a late replacement for the U.S. 3x3 Olympics team, she won a gold medal in late July. Fellow guard Sims was part of Baylor's 2012 championship team and played for the Sparks in the 2017 WNBA Finals. She was an All-Star for the Lynx in 2019.
Scott, a former Stanford center, appeared in 10 WNBA seasons, and her timing was good: She was with Sacramento for its 2005 championship and Phoenix for its 2007 title.
1: Crystal Langhorne, Washington/Seattle (2008-20)
See also: Diamond DeShields, Chicago (2018-present); Elizabeth Williams, Connecticut/Atlanta (2015-present; also wore No. 52); Shavonte Zellous, Detroit/Tulsa/Indiana/New York/Seattle/Washington (2009-present; also wore 11); Tamera Young, Atlanta/Chicago/Las Vegas (2008-19; also wore Nos. 11, 23)
Langhorne's two championships (2018, '20) came near the end of her career in Seattle. She was a two-time All-Star during her six seasons at Washington, which selected her No. 6 overall in the 2008 draft out of nearby Maryland, where she won a national championship. She averaged 10.9 points and 6.0 rebounds for her WNBA career. Langhorne ranked in the top four in field goal percentage in nine of her 13 seasons, and her .560 career percentage is second in league history only to Sylvia Fowles.
DeShields, the No. 3 pick in 2018 out of Tennessee, really showed her stuff in her All-Star season of 2019, and is looking to get to that level again. Duke grad Williams was the league's most improved player in 2016 and was named to the all-defensive team last year. Pitt's Zellous played in two WNBA Finals with Indiana, winning the title in 2012. Young, the best player out of James Madison, spent the bulk of her career with the Sky, going to the 2014 WNBA Finals with Chicago.
Duke grad Williams was the league's Most Improved Player in 2016 and was named to the All-Defensive Team last year. Pitt's Zellous played in two WNBA Finals with Indiana, winning the title in 2012. Young, the best player out of James Madison, spent the bulk of her career with the Sky, going to the 2014 WNBA Finals with Chicago.
2: Temeka Johnson, Washington/Los Angeles/Phoenix/Tulsa/Seattle (2005-15)
See also: Kahleah Copper, Washington/Chicago (2016-present); Riquna Williams, Tulsa/Los Angeles/Las Vegas (2012-present; also wore No. 1); Erlana Larkins, New York/Indiana/Minnesota (2008-18; also wore No. 24); Michelle Snow, Houston/Atlanta/San Antonio/Chicago/Washington/Los Angeles (2002-15; also wore No. 22); Kelly Miller, Charlotte/Indiana/Phoenix/Minnesota/Atlanta/Washington/New York (2001-12; also wore No. 8)
One of the smaller players in league history, the 5-foot-3 Johnson never backed down from anyone. She was Rookie of the Year in 2005, when she was the No. 6 draft pick out of LSU. She averaged 8.0 points and 4.2 assists in her career, with the highlight coming as a starter for the Mercury's 2009 championship team.
Larkins often seemed to bring her best in the playoffs, including for Indiana's 2012 title team. She started just two games and averaged 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in the 2012 regular season. That jumped to starting nine games and averaging 9.9 points and 10.9 rebounds in the postseason. The former North Carolina forward also had a strong playoff run when the Fever made the 2015 WNBA Finals.
Copper, the No. 7 pick out of Rutgers in 2016, went to Chicago in a trade for Elena Delle Donne, and found a home there, playing in her first All-Star Game this season. Williams, an All-Star in 2015, once scored 51 points in a 2013 game and also is known for her defense. In her ninth WNBA season as a second-round pick out of Miami, she is now a starter for Las Vegas. Former Tennessee center Snow was the league's Most Improved Player in 2003 and an All-Star in 2005 and '06. Miller and twin sister, Coco, were Georgia grads; Kelly's WNBA highlight was starting for the Mercury's 2007 championship team.
3: Diana Taurasi, Phoenix (2004-present)
See also: Candace Parker, Los Angeles/Chicago (2008-present); Courtney Paris, Sacramento/Atlanta/Tulsa/Dallas/Seattle (2009-19); Marie Ferdinand-Harris, Utah/San Antonio/Los Angeles/Phoenix (2001-11; also wore Nos. 9, 24); Crystal Robinson, New York/Washington (1999-2007; also wore No. 17); Wendy Palmer, Utah/Detroit/Orlando/Connecticut/San Antonio/Seattle (1997-2007; also wore Nos. 0, 4, 14)
The same players who were the tops at No. 3 in college are there in the WNBA: Taurasi and Parker. Taurasi recently became the first WNBA player to surpass 9,000 points (9,040 in the regular season; she also has 1,279 in the playoffs). The former UConn star also holds the record for most 3-point field goals (1,179) and attempts (3,221). Taurasi has averaged 19.5 points, 4.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in her 17-season career, and is a 10-time All-Star who played in her fifth Olympics. The Mercury have won three WNBA titles with Taurasi. All said, it's odd that she has been the league's MVP just once (2009), although she was twice named Finals MVP.
Parker is a two-time MVP: In 2008, when she was also Rookie of the Year, and 2013. The Tennessee grad won her championship with Los Angeles in 2016, when she was Finals MVP. A No. 1 draft pick like Taurasi, Parker was Defensive Player of the Year last season, and then left after 13 seasons in Los Angeles to move as a free agent to her hometown of Chicago.
Paris didn't have the kind of WNBA career like she did in college at Oklahoma, where she was a double-double machine. But she played 10 seasons and won a WNBA title with Seattle in 2018. LSU grad Ferdinand-Harris was a three-time All-Star, a distinction that Virginia's Palmer earned once. Robinson, who stayed close to home in Oklahoma and went to an NAIA school, first played professionally in the ABL and then became part of the Liberty core that made three trips to the Finals.
4: Candice Dupree, Chicago/Phoenix/Indiana/Seattle (2006-present)
See also: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Tulsa/Dallas/Phoenix (2013-present); Janel McCarville, Charlotte/New York/Minnesota (2005-16); Mwadi Mabika, Los Angeles/Houston (1997-2008)
Dupree, 36, was recently released by Seattle and then picked up by Atlanta during the Olympic break. She ranks fourth in the league in career points (6,822) and is the all-time leader in 2-point field goals made (2,779). Dupree has career averages of 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds and is a seven-time All-Star out of Temple who won a championship with Phoenix in 2014.
Notre Dame grad Diggins-Smith is a five-time All-Star who just got done competing in her first Olympics for Team USA. McCarville was the No. 1 draft pick out of Minnesota by Charlotte in 2005, with her most productive seasons coming with the Liberty. She won a championship with the Lynx in 2013.
Mabika, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, played all but one of her 12 seasons for the Sparks, winning titles with them as a starter in 2001 and '02.
Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images
5: Dawn Staley, Charlotte/Houston (1999-2006; also wore No. 4)
See also: Dearica Hamby, San Antonio/Las Vegas (2015-present); Leilani Mitchell, New York/Phoenix/Washington (2008-present; also wore 23); Jasmine Thomas, Washington/Atlanta/Connecticut (2011-present; also wore No. 6); Elaine Powell, Orlando/Detroit/Chicago (1999-2008; also wore No. 50)
Staley wore No. 24 in college at Virginia, switching to No. 5 for most of her pro career, which began in the ABL. A Naismith Hall of Famer and five-time All-Star, Staley focused more on playmaking in her pro and international careers (she was a three-time Olympian). She was in the top six in the league in assists each of her eight seasons and averaged 5.1 per game for her WNBA career. Staley is now coach of South Carolina and led the U.S. Olympic team to gold in Tokyo.
Hamby never went to the NCAA tournament while at Wake Forest, but she has found her niche as perennially one of the best sixth players in the WNBA. She played in her first All-Star Game last month.
Underestimated because of her 5-5 height, Mitchell wasn't drafted until late in the second round out of Utah in 2008. But she's in her 13th season and has twice won the Most Improved Player Award (2010, '19). Duke grad Thomas started her pro career in her hometown with Washington, then went to Atlanta. At her third stop, Connecticut, she has been an All-Star and played in the 2019 WNBA Finals.
LSU's Powell played in the ABL and then was the last player picked -- No. 50 -- in the 1999 WNBA draft when it still had four rounds. But she beat the odds, playing 10 seasons and going to four WNBA Finals with Detroit and winning three of them.
6: Ruthie Bolton, Sacramento (1997-2004)
See also: Natasha Howard, Indiana/Minnesota/Seattle/New York (2014-present, also wore Nos. 3, 33); Kayla Thornton, Washington/Dallas (2015-present; also wore No. 5); Sandy Brondello, Detroit/Miami/Seattle (1998-2003); Eva Nemcova, Cleveland (1997-01)
Bolton was 30 when the WNBA launched in 1997 and averaged 19.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.6 APG and 2.3 SPG that year. Imagine what her WNBA career numbers would have been if the league had been around in 1989 when she finished a stellar college career at Auburn. As it is, playing to age 37, she averaged 10.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG for her WNBA career, just missing the Monarchs' 2005 championship season.
Howard was on two WNBA title teams with Seattle (2018, 2020) and was the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Thornton was undrafted out of UTEP in 2014, but played 10 games for the Mystics in 2015 and has found a home with the Wings since 2017.
Brondello (Australia) and Nemcova (Czech Republic) played in the WNBA's inaugural season. Brondello is now coach of the Mercury and the Australian national team.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
7: Tina Thompson, Houston/Los Angeles/Seattle (1997-2013; also wore No. 32)
See also: Ariel Atkins, Washington (2018-present); Jia Perkins, Charlotte/Chicago/San Antonio/Minnesota (2004-17; also wore Nos. 11, 15); Kamila Vodichkova, Seattle/Phoenix (2000-06; also wore No. 9); Michele Timms, Phoenix (1997-2001)
Thompson was the No. 1 pick of the inaugural 1997 college draft, and the USC star joined Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes to form Houston's "Big Three" that won the first four titles in WNBA history. A Naismith Hall of Famer and nine-time All-Star, the power forward was the prototype "stretch 4," able to hit from anywhere on the floor, including behind the arc. Thompson averaged 15.1 points and 6.2 rebounds; she is second to Taurasi in scoring (7,488) and fifth in career 3-point field goals made (748).
Texas grad Atkins was a key contributor to the Mystics' 2019 WNBA title team, and she just made her Olympic debut with Team USA in the Tokyo Games. Perkins was a standout at Texas Tech but wasn't taken until late in the third round of the 2004 draft because she was pregnant. She missed most of that season after having her daughter, but played four games as a rookie, and then 13 full seasons after that with a perfect ending: the 2017 WNBA title with the Lynx.
A powerful post player from the Czech Republic, Vodichkova joined the WNBA at age 27 in 2000 and had her highlight in 2004 as a starter for the champion Storm. Timms was among the initial group of Australians who helped launch the WNBA and she is still one of the most popular. Her first season, at age 32 in 1997, was her best statistically. Then she helped the Mercury reach the 1998 WNBA Finals and was an All-Star in 1999.
8: DeLisha Milton-Jones, Los Angeles/Washington/San Antonio/New York/Atlanta (1999-2015, also wore Nos. 3 and 1)
See also: Liz Cambage, Tulsa/Dallas/Las Vegas (2011-present) ; Iziane Castro Marques, Miami/Phoenix/Seattle/Atlanta/Washington/Connecticut (2002-13; also wore Nos. 18, 88); Jennifer Azzi, Detroit/Utah/San Antonio (1999-2003); Janice Braxton, Cleveland (1997-99)
Milton-Jones, the 1997 Wade Trophy winner out of Florida, first played in the ABL. Then she came to the WNBA in 1999, the fourth pick in a draft that included former ABL players. She paired well inside with Lisa Leslie for the Sparks, starting on their 2001 and '02 championship teams. Milton-Jones played 11 of her 17 seasons with Los Angeles, although one of her two All-Star appearances was with the Mystics. Milton-Jones, known for her tough and aggressive defense, is second all-time in regular-season games (499) to Sue Bird.
Cambage, a 6-8 Australian center, was drafted No. 2 in 2011 but has played in just five WNBA seasons. But she has been an All-Star in four of those, including this year, and she led the league in scoring (23.0) in 2018.
Azzi played in the ABL first and didn't join the WNBA until she was 30. But then the 1990 Final Four most outstanding player for Stanford had five strong years in the WNBA, with career averages of 9.1 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 45.8% from 3-point range.
Braxton was 35 when the WNBA launched but held her own for three seasons. Under her maiden name, Lawrence, she earned most outstanding player honors in Louisiana Tech in the first NCAA tournament in 1982. Castro Marques spent most of her career wearing No. 8, but for this list we'll discuss her at No. 18.
9: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles (1997-2009)
See also: Natasha Cloud, Washington (2015-present; also wore No. 15); Janeth Arcain, Houston (1997-2005)
One of the best centers in women's hoops history, Leslie was among a trio of stars -- with Sheryl Swoopes and Rebecca Lobo -- who were the first to sign with the WNBA. The former USC standout spent her WNBA career in her hometown of Los Angeles, leading the Sparks to the 2001 and '02 league championships and winning WNBA Finals MVP both times. A three-time season MVP and eight-time All-Star, Leslie was the first player to dunk in a WNBA game. She averaged 17.3 points and 9.1 rebounds for her career and also won four gold medals with Team USA in the Olympics. The Naismith Hall of Famer was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Cloud was a 2015 second-round pick, No. 15 overall out of St. Joseph's, and a steal for the Mystics. She was a starting guard for Washington's 2018 WNBA Finals team and for its 2019 championship squad. Brazilian guard Arcain was a vital part of the Comets' four-championship dynasty in the league's opening years, and then was an All-Star in 2001.
10: Sue Bird, Seattle (2002-present)
See also: Courtney Williams, Phoenix/Connecticut/Atlanta (2016-present; also wore No. 11); Epiphanny Prince, Chicago/New York/Las Vegas/Seattle (2010-present; also wore No. 11); Lindsey Harding, Minnesota/Washington/Atlanta/Los Angeles/New York/Phoenix (2007-16; also wore No. 12); Murriel Page, Washington/Los Angeles (1998-2008; also wore No. 0); Kim Perrot, Houston (1997-98)
At some point, you kind of run out of superlatives for Bird, who at age 40 and in her 18th season is still at the top of her game. She just made her 12th All-Star appearance and fifth trip to the Olympics for Team USA. The 2002 No. 1 pick out of UConn, Bird leads the league in regular-season games (540) and assists (3,003) and is second in 3-pointers made (928). She has four championships with the Storm and is the first WNBA player to win titles in three different decades.
Williams, the 2016 No. 8 pick from South Florida, made her first All-Star appearance last month, and is averaging a career-high 16.3 points for the Dream. She helped lead the Sun to the 2019 WNBA Finals. Prince, a 12-year veteran out of Rutgers, is no longer the scoring threat she was earlier in her career, when she was a two-time All-Star for the Sky. But she has been a valuable reserve for the Storm, winning her first WNBA title last season and continuing that role off the bench this season.
Harding was the 2007 No. 1 pick out of Duke by Phoenix, but traded on draft day to Minnesota. She played for six teams, averaging 9.8 points and 4.0 assists. Page, the No. 3 pick in 1998, was a workhorse forward who helped establish the expansion Mystics franchise, playing eight seasons in D.C.
Perrot only played two WNBA seasons, joining the league at age 30 when it launched after she had played overseas. But in a short time, she left a lasting impact as a starting guard on two Comets championship teams. Perrot died of cancer at age 32 during the Comets' run in 1999 to a third title, and the league's annual sportsmanship award is named after her.
Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
11: Elena Delle Donne, Chicago/Washington (2013-present)
See also: Candice Wiggins, Minnesota/Tulsa/Los Angeles/New York (2008-15; also wore No. 2); Teresa Weatherspoon, New York/Los Angeles (1997-2004); Penny Toler, Los Angeles (1997-99)
Delle Donne had an unforgettable 2019, becoming the first 50/40/90 player in WNBA history, winning her second MVP and leading the Mystics to their first championship despite severe back issues. She hasn't returned to play on a WNBA court since, although there is still hope she could compete later this season. The No. 2 draft pick out of Delaware, she was 2013 Rookie of the Year, helped Chicago make the 2014 Finals, and won her first MVP in 2015. For her career, she has shot 93.8% from the foul line, best in WNBA history, as was her single-season percentage of 97.4 in 2019.
Weatherspoon and Toler were both 31 when the league began. T-Spoon, the former Louisiana Tech national champion, was allocated to the Liberty, while Long Beach State grad Toler went to the Sparks. T-Spoon was a perfect fit for New York, the heart and soul of the teams that played in the '97 title game and in three WNBA Finals. She was a five-time All-Star in her eight seasons and hit the most famous shot in league history: a half-court heave in Game 2 of the 1999 Finals at Houston that extended the series. The Liberty fell in Game 3 and didn't win the championship, but her shot lives on. She is now an NBA assistant coach.
Toler played just three seasons, but scored the first points in WNBA history and went on to be the Sparks' general manager for 20 years.
Like Weatherspoon, Stanford grad Wiggins was a Wade Trophy winner. The No. 3 pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, Wiggins won the 2011 title with the Lynx.
12: Chelsea Gray, Connecticut/Los Angeles/Las Vegas (2015-present)
See also: Ivory Latta, Detroit/Atlanta/Tulsa/Washington (2007-17); Ann Wauters, Cleveland/New York/San Antonio/Seattle/Los Angeles (2000-16; also wore No. 21); Margo Dydek, Utah/San Antonio/Connecticut/Los Angeles (1998-2008)
Gray, one of the league's most talented point guards, made her Olympic debut with Team USA in the Tokyo Games. With a knee injury cutting short her senior season at Duke, Gray was drafted No. 11 overall in 2014, but didn't make her WNBA debut until 2015. She was traded to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, and had a lot of success with the Sparks before moving as a free agent to the Aces this year.
Latta, who was from the other Tobacco Road college power, North Carolina, had her best WNBA seasons in 2013 and '14, when she was an All-Star with the Mystics.
Dydek of Poland and Wauters of Belgium were both No. 1 draft picks, in 1998 and 2000, respectively. Dydek played 11 consecutive years in the league; Wauters played nine WNBA seasons spread out over 16 years as she spent much of her time overseas. Wauters wore No. 12 every year of her WNBA career except her last, as Los Angeles teammate Gray already had that number. It all worked out: Wauters transposed her jersey number to 21, and she and Gray won a title with the Sparks that year. Dydek, at 7-2 the tallest player in WNBA history, was beloved by teammates and fans alike. She tragically passed away in 2011 at age 37 after suffering a cardiac arrest while pregnant.
13: Lindsay Whalen Connecticut/Minnesota (2004-18)
See also: Chiney Ogwumike, Connecticut/Los Angeles (2014-present); Danielle Robinson, San Antonio/Phoenix/Minnesota/Las Vegas/Indiana (2011-present, also wore Nos. 3, 11); Penny Taylor, Cleveland/Phoenix (2001-16; also wore No. 14); Sophia Witherspoon, New York/Portland/Los Angeles (1997-2003)
Whalen was a home-state hero in leading Minnesota to the 2004 women's Final Four, and Gophers fans desperately wanted to see her playing for the Lynx. It took a while -- she spent six seasons with Connecticut, the team that drafted her fourth overall -- but then came via trade to Minnesota in 2010. The next year, with top pick Maya Moore joining the Lynx, they went on a run of making the WNBA Finals six of the next seven years, winning the title four times. Whalen was a five-time All-Star whose 2,345 assists are third-most in WNBA history.
Ogwumike, the top pick in the 2014 draft, was Rookie of the Year and has been a two-time All-Star. Her career has been hampered by injuries, but she still has career averages of 12.9 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Robinson, a three-time All-Star, is in her 10th season out of Oklahoma as one of the league's most dependable point guards.
Taylor came to the league in 2001 as the No. 11 pick, the same year Australian countrywoman Lauren Jackson was taken No. 1. They are the two most successful Aussies in WNBA history. Taylor, a crafty forward, was a key part of three Mercury championship teams and was a three-time All-Star. Her career scoring average (13.0) matched the jersey she wore throughout her Mercury career, after starting as No. 14 in three seasons with Cleveland.
Witherspoon was in the same "two-Spoon" Liberty backcourt as Teresa Weatherspoon for the WNBA's first three years. Florida grad Witherspoon was a good player in her own right, averaging double-digit scoring four of her seven WNBA seasons.
14: Cynthia Cooper, (Houston 1997-2003)
See also: Allie Quigley, Phoenix/Indiana/San Antonio/Seattle/Chicago (2008-present; also wore No. 22); Nicole Powell, Charlotte/Sacramento/New York/Tulsa/Seattle (2004-14; also wore No. 28); Deanna Nolan, Detroit (2001-09); Shannon Johnson, Orlando/Connecticut/San Antonio/Detroit/Houston/Seattle (1999-2009; also wore Nos. 7, 41)
No player was more important to the launch of the WNBA than Cooper, who won the league's first two MVP awards as the Comets took the first four titles. A Naismith Hall of Famer, Cooper had won two NCAA titles with USC, then was a longtime star overseas before entering the WNBA at age 34 when the league began in 1997. Cooper was a three-time All-Star whose career scoring average of 21.0 is the best in WNBA history. She later coached in the league and is now a college coach.
Quigley was a 2008 second-round draft pick out of DePaul, and it took awhile for her to stick in the league. From 2008-11, she played in just 34 games for four different franchises. But everything clicked when she came to Chicago, near her hometown of Joliet, Illinois, in 2013. She helped the Sky reach the 2014 WNBA Finals, has been a three-time All-Star and won the All-Star Game's 3-point shooting contest three times. She has averaged double-digit scoring seven of her nine seasons with Chicago and was the league's Sixth Woman of the Year in 2014 and '15.
Nolan was the sixth pick out of Georgia in 2001 and spent her entire career in Detroit, near her hometown of Flint, Michigan. A four-time All-Star, she helped lead the Shock to four WNBA Finals appearances and three titles. Nolan, a guard with great body control and ability to get to the rim, had her best performance scoring-wise (16.9 PPG) in 2009, her final WNBA season. When the Shock moved to Tulsa for the 2010 season, Nolan didn't go with them, and that ended her WNBA career at age 30.
Former Stanford standout Powell won a championship with Sacramento in 2005. After winning two ABL titles with the Columbus Quest, South Carolina grad Johnson was a four-time WNBA All-Star.
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15: Lauren Jackson, Seattle (2001-12)
See also: Allisha Gray, Dallas (2017-present); Tiffany Hayes, Atlanta (2012-present); Kia Vaughn, New York/Washington/Phoenix (2000-present, also wore Nos. 7, 9, 1); Asjha Jones, Washington/Connecticut/Minnesota (2002-15); Nikki McCray, Washington/Indiana/Phoenix/San Antonio/Chicago (1998-2006); Adrienne Goodson, Utah/San Antonio/Houston/Charlotte (1999-2005; also wore No. 24)
Jackson is being inducted into both the Naismith and Women's Basketball Halls of Fame this year and is not just the top Australian in WNBA history, but one of the best players, period. At 19, she was the No. 1 pick in a strong 2001 draft class, then teamed with 2002 top pick Sue Bird to lead the Storm to the 2004 and 2010 WNBA titles. Jackson was a three-time MVP and seven-time All-Star who averaged 18.9 points and 7.7 rebounds for her career. The forward/center has three of the top five seasons in player efficiency rating, led by her 34.04 PER in 2007. The only thing that slowed her down was injuries, which ended her WNBA career at age 31.
Gray, the 2017 Rookie of the Year out of South Carolina, helped Team USA win the inaugural gold medal in 3x3 at the Tokyo Games. Hayes surprisingly was a second-round draft pick (No. 14 overall) out of UConn in 2012. She proved several teams wrong as many of those selected before her are no longer in the league (and a couple never played in the WNBA). A 2017 All-Star, Hayes has averaged in double figures in eight of her nine seasons.
It's hard to know where to slot Vaughn; she has worn four different numbers and doesn't have one real standout season. But her longevity -- she's in her 12th season -- works in her favor, so we put her at 15, the number she wore at Rutgers and came into the WNBA wearing.
UConn standout Jones was with the Sun nine seasons, making two All-Star appearances. She spent just the 2015 season with the Lynx, her last year in the league, and got her WNBA title that year. Tennessee grad McCray started her pro career in the ABL, then was one of the bright spots in the early years for the WNBA's Mystics, making three All-Star appearances for Washington. She's now coach at Mississippi State.
Goodson is another former ABL player; she was 32 when she entered the WNBA in 1999. A national champion at Old Dominion in 1985, she was a WNBA All-Star 17 years later, and averaged double figures for six of her seven WNBA seasons.
16: Ebony Hoffman, Indiana/Los Angeles/Connecticut (2004-14; also wore Nos. 32, 34)
See also: Kelly Santos, Detroit/Seattle (2001-02, '08; also wore No. 9)
Hoffman, the No. 9 overall pick out of USC in 2004, wore No. 16 for just four of her 11 seasons. The forward spent six seasons wearing No. 32. So with not many 16s to choose from, we slotted her here. The Los Angeles native spent seven seasons in Indiana, reaching the 2009 WNBA Finals as a starter with the Fever. Then she played three years in her hometown for the Sparks, finishing her career with Connecticut. The forward Santos is one of several Brazilian players who've spent time in the WNBA, but one of the few from anywhere to don No. 16.
17: Essence Carson, New York/Los Angeles/Phoenix/Washington/Connecticut (2008-20)
See also: Erica Wheeler, Atlanta/New York/Indiana/Los Angeles (2015-present; also wore No. 3); Amanda Zahui B, Tulsa/New York/Los Angeles (2015-present; also wore Nos. 1, 32)
Carson, a Rutgers grad and New Jersey native, spent her first eight seasons in New York and was an All-Star in 2011. With a move to the opposite coast, she got her first WNBA title as a starter with Los Angeles in 2016. She also made a WNBA Finals appearance in 2017 with the Sparks.
Another former Rutgers guard, Wheeler was not taken in the WNBA draft when she finished college in 2013, but made her WNBA debut 2015, playing briefly for Atlanta and New York. She seemed to find her place in the league with Indiana in 2016. In 2019, she became the first undrafted player to earn All-Star Game MVP honors, dedicating the award to her late mother, who died from cancer when Wheeler was in college.
Swedish center Zahui B was the No. 2 draft pick in 2015 by Tulsa, but was traded to New York the next year, where she later became a starter for the Liberty. She and Wheeler are both in their first season with the Sparks this year, so Zahui B switched to No. 1.
18: Iziane Castro Marques, Miami/Phoenix/Seattle/Atlanta/Washington/Connecticut (2002-13; also wore Nos. 8, 88)
See also: Vanessa Nygaard, Cleveland/Portland/Miami/Los Angeles (1999-2003; also wore No. 17)
We mentioned earlier that Castro Marques spent most of her career wearing No. 8, but her one season at No. 18 gives us a chance to spotlight her here. A guard/forward from Brazil, she entered the WNBA with Miami at age 20, but had her longest stint with the Dream. At Atlanta, she appeared in the 2010 and 2011 WNBA Finals, with her best season coming in 2010, when she averaged 16.9 PPG.
Without a lot of 18s, it's worth mentioning Stanford grad Nygaard. Dealing with a torn ACL that kept her out of the NCAA tournament as a senior, she was taken next-to-last in the 1998 WNBA draft. But she ended up being one of four players selected that year in the now-defunct fourth round who not only made the WNBA but played at least five seasons. Mercury coach Sandy Brondello and college coaches Adia Barnes (Arizona) and Tricia Bader Binford (Montana State) are the others. Nygaard, a successful high school coach in Los Angeles, is now an assistant with the Aces.
19: JiSu Park, Las Vegas (2018-present)
See also: Sonja Tate, Minnesota (1999-2000)
Being the backup center to Liz Cambage means not a lot of court time for Park. She is still notable both for her rare jersey number and that she's just the second South Korean player to make a WNBA roster. Park was a 2018 second-round draft selection by the Lynx, then was picked up by the Aces when Minnesota released her. She didn't play in the bubble in 2020, but got some brief playoff experience with Las Vegas in 2019. She also competed in the Tokyo Olympics.
Tate, an Arkansas State grad, played one season and part of another with the Lynx in the little-used No. 19.
20: Kristi Toliver, Chicago/Los Angeles/Washington (2009-present; also wore No. 7)
See also: Briann January, Indiana/Phoenix/Connecticut (2009-present; also wore No. 12); Alex Bentley, Atlanta/Connecticut (2013-19; also wore No. 2); Camille Little, San Antonio/Atlanta/Seattle/Connecticut/Phoenix (2007-19; also wore No. 2); Sancho Lyttle, Houston/Atlanta/Phoenix (2005-19; also wore Nos. 21, 31); Alana Beard, Washington/Los Angeles (2004-19; also wore No. 0); Shameka Christon, New York/Chicago/San Antonio/Phoenix (2004-15); Kara Lawson, Sacramento/Connecticut/Washington (2003-15)
It seems unimaginable the Sky traded their No. 3 pick from the 2009 draft, Toliver, for a 2011 second-round draft pick (who turned out to be Angie Bjorklund, who played in just seven WNBA games). But the Sky then were an inexperienced franchise (launching in 2006) that undervalued Toliver's talent and overreacted to her public bluntness when she's unhappy or questions something. The Sparks reaped the benefit; Toliver spent the next seven years in Los Angeles, winning the 2016 WNBA title, and she is back there this year. From 2017-19, she played for Washington, winning the 2019 WNBA championship. Toliver has averaged 12.3 points and 3.5 assists in her WNBA career and is seventh all-time in 3-pointers (620).
January, still a top perimeter defender at age 34, played in all three of the Fever's WNBA Finals appearances, winning the title in 2012.
Little was one of the most underestimated draftees ever, as was North Carolina teammate Ivory Latta (listed above at jersey No. 12). Coming off two consecutive Final Four appearances, Latta went late in the 2007 first round at eleventh and Little was taken 17th in the second round. Little then played more seasons (13) and more games (431 in the regular season, 37 in the playoffs) than anyone in her draft class, plus won the 2010 WNBA title with Seattle. Latta was third in those categories from the class of 2007 (11 seasons, 346 total games).
Lyttle made two WNBA Finals appearances for Atlanta. Lawson was in back-to-back WNBA Finals for Sacramento, winning the 2005 title. Christon and Bentley never won titles, but both had All-Star seasons, and Bentley helped the Dream reach the 2013 WNBA Finals as a rookie. We address Beard's career under No. 0.
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21: Ticha Penicheiro, Sacramento/Los Angeles/Chicago (1998-2012)
See also: Kayla McBride, San Antonio/Las Vegas/Minnesota (2014-present); Tianna Hawkins, Seattle/Washington/Atlanta (2013-present); Renee Montgomery, Minnesota/Connecticut/Seattle/Atlanta (2010-19; also wore No. 20); Tamecka Dixon, Los Angeles/Houston/Indiana (1997-2009; also wore No. 20); Allison Feaster, Los Angeles/Charlotte/Indiana (1998-2008; also wore No. 5)
No WNBA player has passed with more creative flair than Penicheiro, whose 2,600 career assists are second all-time to Sue Bird. A top defender as well, Penicheiro is also second in league history in steals (764) behind Tamika Catchings. Penicheiro holds the record for most steals in a game (10, in 2003) and is second in most assists in a game (16, which stood as the league record for 22 years until Courtney Vandersloot broke it with 18 in 2020).
Penicheiro was the No. 2 pick of the 1998 draft out of Old Dominion. A four-time All-Star in her 12 seasons at Sacramento, she helped the Monarchs win the 2005 WNBA title and reach the 2006 Finals. The consummate pass-first point guard, Penicheiro averaged 7.7 points for her career, but did have one season in which she averaged double figures (11.9 in 2008).
Before the league's first season, there was a player allocation, an elite draft of pros who had been playing overseas, and a draft of mostly college players. Dixon was taken No. 14 in that latter draft, and was a steal for the Sparks. She spent nine of her 13 seasons in Los Angeles, winning two titles.
Montgomery won championships with the Lynx in 2015 and '17. McBride, the No. 3 pick in 2014, has averaged 14.6 points in her career and went to the WNBA Finals last year with Las Vegas. Hawkins, the No. 6 pick in 2013, won a title with Mystics as a key reserve in 2019. Harvard's Feaster was the rare Ivy League grad to be picked in the WNBA's first round, and she played 10 seasons.
Sheryl Swoopes was an Olympic gold medalist, a four-time WNBA champion and a three-time WNBA MVP. Greg Shamus/Getty Images
22: Sheryl Swoopes, Houston/Seattle/Tulsa (1997-2011)
See also: A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas (2018-present); Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago (2011-present, also wore No. 21); Armintie Herrington, Chicago/Atlanta/Los Angeles/Washington (2007-15); Betty Lennox, Minnesota/Miami/Cleveland/Seattle/Atlanta/Los Angeles/Tulsa (2000-11; also wore No. 7); DeMya Walker, Portland/Sacramento/Connecticut/Washington/New York (2000-12; also wore No. 11); Jennifer Gillom, Phoenix/Los Angeles (1997-2003)
Swoopes was in the trio with Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo who were the first to sign with the WNBA for its inaugural season, which she then joined late after giving birth to her son. She was still part of the Comets' first title team in 1997, and the next three championships that followed. A Naismith Hall of Famer, three-time MVP, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, six-time All-Star and three-time Olympic gold medalist, Swoopes averaged 15.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.0 steals in her 12-season career. She was in Houston for 10 seasons, then spent one in Seattle. After being out of the WNBA for two years, she returned as a starter for Tulsa in 2011 at age 40, averaging 8.2 points and 4.1 assists.
Vandersloot started in the WNBA at No. 21, which she wore in college at Gonzaga. But she switched to No. 22 in her second season and has become of the league's premier point guards. She holds the record for most assists in a game (18, set in 2020) and is fourth on the career assist list (2,084) and second among active players behind Sue Bird.
Wilson is just in her fourth season in the WNBA, but already has an MVP award and WNBA Finals appearance, both coming last year. She was the No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year in 2018, and played on her first Olympic team in Tokyo.
Herrington played on Atlanta's three WNBA Finals teams. Lennox, the 2000 rookie of the year, played for seven teams, but her career highlight was being WNBA Finals MVP for the 2004 champion Storm. Walker was an All-Star in 2005, when Sacramento won its championship. Gillom was 33 when the league launched; nicknamed "Grandmama," she helped the Mercury make the 1998 WNBA Finals. That was her top season, averaging 20.9 points and 7.3 rebounds at age 34. She later had stints as a head coach with the Lynx and the Sparks.
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23: Maya Moore, Minnesota 2011-2018
See also: Cappie Pondexter, Phoenix/New York/Chicago/Los Angeles/Indiana (2006-2018; also wore No. 25); Katie Douglas, Orlando/Connecticut/Indiana (2001-14; also wore No. 32); Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington/Los Angeles/Atlanta/San Antonio (1999-2010; also wore No. 1); Sue Wicks, New York (1997-2002); Tammy Jackson, Houston/Washington (1997-2001, also wore No. 28)
We don't know whether we'll see Moore play again; she's 32 and has been away from the league the past three seasons as she pursued social justice causes, helping her now-husband Jonathan Irons be released from prison after a wrongful conviction. The Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner at the 2021 ESPYs, Moore was sensational in her eight seasons with the Lynx, reaching the WNBA Finals six of those years and winning four championships. The 2014 MVP, Moore averaged 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in her career.
On our college list, Holdsclaw edged Moore for the top spot at No. 23 with her three NCAA titles at Tennessee to Moore's two at UConn; both scored over 3,000 points collegiately. Both were WNBA first-round draft picks 12 years apart and six-time All-Stars, but Holdsclaw didn't play in the WNBA Finals in her 12-season career. She averaged 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds, including two seasons -- 2002 and '03 -- when she averaged a double-double. Holdsclaw has talked openly about her career being impacted by mental health issues, a cause for which she is a spokesperson.
Pondexter was the No. 2 pick in the 2006 draft out of Rutgers and a seven-time All-Star. She was the WNBA Finals MVP in 2007, when the Mercury won their first title, and she also won a championship with Phoenix in 2009. She is in the WNBA's top 10 all-time in points (No. 5 at 6,811) and assists (No. 7 at 1,578).
Douglas is one of the players who is listed twice, because her career was exactly split between two numbers: She spent the first seven years wearing 32, and the last seven wearing 23. The latter included her time with her hometown team, Indiana, and her 2012 WNBA title.
On stats alone, you wouldn't include Wicks and Jackson, but they were both contributing vets on top teams in the league's opening years. Jackson, a college star at Florida who was 34 when the WNBA launched, won four titles with the Comets. Wicks, one of Rutgers' greats, was 30 at the start of the WNBA, and played in the 1997 championship game (before there was Finals series) and three WNBA Finals for the Liberty.
24: Tamika Catchings, Indiana (2002-2016)
See also: Napheesa Collier, Minnesota (2019-present); Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas (2019-present); Jewell Loyd, Seattle (2015-present); DeWanna Bonner, Phoenix/Connecticut (2009-present); Tari Phillips, Orlando/New York/Houston (1999-2007); Natalie Williams, Utah/Indiana (1999-2005; also wore No. 12)
If you picked one number for an all-time team, 24 would be a good choice. It's topped by Catchings, a Naismith Hall of Famer who was a 10-time All-Star, a season MVP (2011) and Finals MVP (2012) and won the Defensive Player of the Year honor five times, plus won four Olympic gold medals. She was also rookie of the year in 2002 after being drafted No. 3 in 2001, when she couldn't play because she was a rehabbing a knee injury that cut short her senior season at Tennessee. Seattle went with Lauren Jackson at No. 1, but Charlotte opted for Kelly Miller at No. 2, rather than wait a year for Catchings. And the rest was Fever history. Miller played 12 seasons, but had 15.6 win shares to Catchings' 93.7.
Four players listed are still active. Including two youngsters from the same draft class, as Collier was 2019 Rookie of the Year and Ogunbowale led the WNBA in scoring in 2020. Collier made her Olympic debut in the Tokyo Games, as did Loyd, the 2015 No. 1 draft pick and Rookie of the year who is a two-time WNBA champion. Bonner is a do-everything type player at 6-foot-4 who won two league titles with the Mercury and is now with the Sun.
Phillips (age 29) and Williams (28) were older when the league launched but made the most of the opportunity. Phillips played in two WNBA Finals with New York; she and Williams were both four-time All-Stars.
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25: Becky Hammon, New York/San Antonio (1999-2014)
See also: Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut (2014-present); Glory Johnson, Tulsa/Dallas/Atlanta (2012-20; also wore No. 0); Marissa Coleman, Washington/Los Angeles/Indiana/New York (2009-18; also wore Nos. 0, 4); Monique Currie, Charlotte/Chicago/Washington/Phoenix/San Antonio (2006-18, also wore No. 1); Svetlana Abrosimova, Minnesota/Connecticut/Seattle (2001-12); Merlakia Jones, Cleveland/Detroit (1997-2004)
Hammon is the patron saint of the undrafted, although it comes with the caveat that the 1999 draft was when the influx of veterans from the folded ABL entered the WNBA. Nonetheless, not getting picked after her standout Colorado State career fueled Hammon, who caught on with the Liberty that year. Her career was split between eight seasons in New York and eight in San Antonio. She made three WNBA Finals appearances with the Liberty and one with the Stars. Her post-playing career has been groundbreaking, too, as she's an assistant coach with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and is in the pool of potential candidates as the NBA's first female head coach.
Thomas, who led Maryland to the 2014 Final Four, was our top No. 25 on the college list, and was a strong contender here, too. The length of Hammon's career and her four Finals appearances gave her an edge, but Thomas, 29, still has time. Thomas is out this season with an Achilles injury, but is one of the league's best defensive players and led the Sun to the 2019 WNBA Finals.
Russia's Abrosimova, out of UConn, won the 2010 WNBA title with Seattle.
26: Maimouna Diarra, Los Angeles (2017)
See also: Florina Pascalau, Seattle (2015)
Sometimes, being tall can get you the proverbial cup of coffee in the WNBA. So it was with the 6-6 center Diarra from Senegal who played 10 games with the Sparks, and the 6-4 center Pascalau from Romania (three games with the Storm).
27: Lady Grooms, Utah/Sacramento (1997-2004)
See also: Krystyna Lara, Utah (1999)
Grooms, who played collegiately at Georgia, started for three seasons in the WNBA, two of those with Sacramento. Lara, a guard from Poland, was a reserve for one season with the Starzz. Yes, No. 27 is obscure.
28: Elena Baranova, Utah/Miami/New York (1997-2005)
See also: Cintia Dos Santos, Orlando (2000-02); Haixia Zheng, Los Angeles (1997-98).
Baranova, a forward from Russia, came into the league at its launch, and ended up averaging 10.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in her seven seasons. China's Zheng, 30 when the league launched, played just two seasons but was memorable for her 6-8 stature and constant smile. Dos Santos, a center from Brazil, had a brief WNBA career and averaged just 4.9 points -- but we don't have a lot of 28s from which to choose.
Chasity Melvin wore it for two seasons, Nicole Powell for one and Tammy Jackson for two games. All are listed instead under the numbers they wore for most of their careers: 44, 14 and 23, respectively. Perhaps one day, Awak Kuier -- the 19-year-old from Finland who was picked No. 2 in this year's draft by Dallas -- will go to the top of 28s. But thus far, she has played just eight games.
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30: Breanna Stewart, Seattle (2016-present)
See also: Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles (2012-present); Katie Smith, Minnesota/Detroit/Washington/Seattle/New York (1999-2013; also wore No. 14); Tanisha Wright, Seattle/New York/Minnesota (2005-19)
Stewart is already a regular-season MVP (2018) and two-time Finals MVP (2018, '20), and doesn't turn 27 until late August -- and she just won her second Olympic gold medal for Team USA. The 2016 No. 1 draft pick after winning four NCAA titles at UConn, Stewart was Rookie of the Year that season. She is in the top 10 in career Player Efficiency Rating and has career averages of 22.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 blocks. A three-time All-Star, she missed the 2019 season with an Achilles injury, but returned in 2020 without missing a beat.
Ogwumike, the No. 1 pick out of Stanford in 2012 when she was Rookie of the Year, was the 2016 MVP and won a championship with the Sparks that season. A six-time All-Star, she shot a career-best 66.5% from the field in 2016, and her career shooting percentage of 55.3 is fifth-best all-time.
Smith, a Naismith Hall of Famer out of Ohio State, came to the WNBA at age 25 after winning two ABL championships, and then was a top scoring guard for her first 6½ seasons with the Lynx. But she was traded to Detroit during the 2005 season and transformed herself into a point guard and strong defender, winning titles with the Shock in 2006 and 2008, when she was Finals MVP. A seven-time All-Star, Smith scored 6,452 points, which ranks seventh all-time in WNBA history. Smith was head coach of the Liberty for two seasons and is now an assistant with the Lynx.
Wright was never an All-Star, but her defense and willingness to do the dirty work was appreciated by teammates. She spent 10 of her 14 WNBA seasons in Seattle, where she was a starter for the 2010 championship team. She's now an Aces assistant coach.
31: Tina Charles, Connecticut/New York/Washington (2010-present)
See also: Stefanie Dolson, Washington/Chicago (2014-present); Erin Phillips, Connecticut/Indiana/Phoenix/Los Angeles/Dallas (2006-16; also wore No. 13); Debbie Black, Utah/Miami/Connecticut (1999-2004; also wore 24)
Charles is still seeking a WNBA title, but that is the only thing she doesn't have. A two-time NCAA champion at UConn, she was the No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year in 2010. An eight-time All-Star, she has been named to the All-Defensive team four times. After her first four seasons with Connecticut, which included winning the 2012 MVP, she spent six with her hometown Liberty. Charles didn't play in the 2020 WNBA bubble. Now with Washington at age 32, she is having one of the best seasons in league history, averaging 26.3 points and 10.0 rebounds. The eight-time All-Star also just got back from her third Olympics with Team USA.
Phillips, a guard from Australia, was a second-round draft pick in 2005 who started her WNBA career in 2006. She was part of two championship teams: with Indiana in 2012 and Phoenix in 2014.
Dolson won two NCAA titles at UConn and was the No. 6 pick in the 2014 draft by Washington. She went to Chicago as part of the February 2017 trade that sent Elena Delle Donne to the Mystics. Dolson, a two-time All-Star, helped the U.S. women win gold in late July as 3x3 made its Olympic debut.
Black, standing 5-3, played in the ABL, where she had a quadruple-double, and then was 32 when she joined the WNBA. She brought her trademark brand of pesky defense to the WNBA for six seasons.
32: Rebekkah Brunson, Sacramento/Minnesota (2004-18)
See also: Alysha Clark, Seattle/Washington (2012-present); Swin Cash, Detroit/Seattle/Chicago/Atlanta/New York (2002-16; also wore Nos. 2, 4, 8); Katie Douglas, Orlando/Connecticut/Indiana (2001-14; also wore 23); Andrea Stinson, Charlotte/Detroit (1997-2005, also wore No. 7); Adia Barnes, Sacramento/Minnesota/Cleveland/Seattle (1998-2004).
Brunson is a five-time WNBA champion, winning four of those titles with the Lynx. The other was with Sacramento, which drafted her 10th out of Georgetown in 2004. She spent six seasons with the Monarchs, playing in two WNBA Finals, before being selected second by Minnesota in Sacramento's dispersal draft after the 2009 season. Brunson, who played nine seasons for the Lynx, is second in all-time rebounding (3,356) to former Minnesota teammate Sylvia Fowles. A five-time All-Star, Brunson is now an assistant with the Lynx, who will retire her jersey next season.
Clark was a scoring sensation as an undersized forward in college at Middle Tennessee and then transformed herself into one of the WNBA's best defensive players. She was drafted in 2010's second round but didn't make a roster until joining the Storm in 2012. She was a key part of their 2018 and '20 championship teams. After nine seasons in Seattle, she signed with Washington, but is out this season with a foot injury.
Cash was a starter on what many think is the best women's college team ever, UConn's 2002 undefeated champions. She was the No. 2 pick that year by Detroit and won a championship with the Shock the next year. Cash, a four-time All-Star, also won WNBA titles with Detroit in 2006 and Seattle in 2010. She finished a 15-season career averaging 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds.
As mentioned earlier, Douglas' career was evenly split between two numbers, with her success at No. 23 chronicled above. As a national champion at Purdue and in her first seven WNBA seasons, she wore No. 32, which included two trips to the WNBA Finals (2004, '05) with the Sun. She was a five-time All-Star, twice wearing 32 and three times wearing 23.
North Carolina native Stinson was allocated to Charlotte, entering the league at age 29 when it launched, and spent eight of her nine WNBA seasons there. An outstanding scorer and three-time All-Star, the former NC State star led the Sting to the 2001 WNBA Finals.
Barnes was a WNBA role player for seven seasons. But the Arizona grad stands out for beating the odds as a fourth-round draft pick who made it in the league, and earlier this year she joined Dawn Staley as the only former WNBA players to take her team to the women's Final Four as a coach.
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33: Seimone Augustus, Minnesota/Los Angeles (2006-20)
See also: Emma Meesseman, Washington (2013-present); Sophia Young-Malcolm, San Antonio (2006-15); Yolanda Griffith, Sacramento/Seattle/Indiana (1999-2009; also wore 13)
Griffith is being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this year, and the only reason she's not the top choice at No. 33 is because a future Hall of Famer is in that spot. Augustus was the 2006 top draft pick and Rookie of the Year out of LSU, and set the foundation in leaner years at Minnesota for what would become the Lynx's four-championship dynasty. With one of the smoothest jump shots in WNBA history, Augustus was an eight-time All-Star and averaged 15.4 points per game in her career. She and Lauren Jackson are tied at 10th in career scoring at 6,005 points. Augustus was the 2011 WNBA Finals MVP and spent 14 of her 15 seasons with the Lynx. She's now an assistant coach for the Sparks, for whom she played in her last season, 2020.
Griffith was one of the best post players in women's basketball history. After playing in the ABL, she came to the WNBA at age 29 in 1999, and was named league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year that season. The seven-time All-Star averaged 13.6 PPG and 7.9 RPG in her career and won the 2005 WNBA title with the Monarchs, who also made the 2006 WNBA Finals.
Meesseman, a Belgian forward, was a steal for the Mystics as a second-round pick in 2013, just before she turned 20. An All-Star in 2015, she was Finals MVP in 2019 when the Mystics won their first championship. Young-Malcolm, who led Baylor to the 2005 NCAA title, spent her nine-year WNBA career with the Stars, making three All-Star appearances and going to the 2008 WNBA Finals.
34: Sylvia Fowles, Chicago/Minnesota (2008-present)
See also: Sonja Henning, Houston/Seattle/Washington/Indiana (1999-2003; also wore No. 22); Kym Hampton, New York (1997-99)
Fowles went to the Final Four all four of her seasons at LSU, then was the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft by Chicago. She went to the WNBA Finals with the Sky in 2014, but waited out the start of the 2015 season until she was traded to Minnesota. The dominant center has been the perfect fit with the Lynx, winning titles there in 2015 and '17 as WNBA Finals MVP both times. She was also the regular-season MVP in 2017 and has been the league's Defensive Player of the Year three times. Last month, she made her seventh All-Star Game appearance and just returned from her fourth Olympics for Team USA.
Henning, a former Stanford star guard, was 29 when the WNBA launched, and her stats were never big. But she got a chance to play an important role for the 1999 champion Comets, starting every game that season.
Hampton was another of those players for whom the WNBA came along just in the nick of time, as she was 34 when it began. She made the most of her three seasons with a Liberty team that captured fans' hearts with its gritty play and outgoing personalities. The former Arizona State star had a strong showing in the inaugural 1997 playoffs (averaging 13.5 points and 13.5 rebounds), when New York lost the championship game at Houston. She made her All-Star appearance in her last season, 1999, when New York fell to the Comets in the WNBA Finals.
35: Angel McCoughtry, Atlanta/Las Vegas (2009-present)
See also: Jonquel Jones, Connecticut (2016-present); Cheryl Ford, Detroit (2003-09)
McCoughtry was the No. 1 pick in 2009 after leading Louisville to its first women's Final Four, and she immediately became the Dream's signature player and was Rookie of the Year. She led Atlanta to the WNBA Finals in 2010, '11 and '13, and was the league's leading scorer in 2012 and '13. The guard/forward left the Dream after 10 seasons to sign as a free agent in Las Vegas last year, helping the Aces make the 2020 WNBA Finals. McCoughtry has been on the WNBA's all-defensive team seven times and will look to return in 2022 after missing this season with an ACL injury.
Jones, a three-time All-Star, is in the middle of her best season, averaging 21.0 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists, and is one of the early contenders for MVP. A 6-6 forward out of George Washington, she was born and grew up in the Bahamas. Jones helped the Sun reach the 2019 WNBA Finals, but didn't play in the 2020 bubble.
Ford was the third pick in the 2003 draft out of Louisiana Tech. She spent her seven-season career with Detroit, winning three championships (although she was out the 2008 postseason with injury) and making one other WNBA Finals appearance. A four-time All-Star, Ford was one of the Shock veterans who didn't move to Tulsa when the franchise left Detroit after the 2009 season, which was her last in the WNBA.
37: Teana Miller, Charlotte/Phoenix (2003-07; also wore Nos. 31, 33)
The former Tulane center played four WNBA seasons and wore three different numbers. She donned No. 37 for just two games for the Mercury, but that's a rare enough jersey to make it here. Plus that came in Phoenix's 2007 championship season, which she got to be a part of.
40: Shekinna Stricklen, Seattle/Connecticut/Atlanta (2012-present)
See also: Monica Lamb, Houston (1998-2000); Vicky Bullett, Charlotte/Washington (1997-2002; also wore No. 23)
Stricklen was the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft out of Tennessee. Her best overall season came in 2019, when she started for Connecticut's WNBA Finals team. Lamb, a USC grad, was 33 when the WNBA started, so she played just three seasons. But all were with the Comets' dynasty teams. Bullett, one of Maryland's all-time greats, entered the league at age 29; she averaged double figures in four of her six seasons.
41: Erika de Souza, Los Angeles/Connecticut/Atlanta/Chicago/San Antonio (2002-17; also wore No. 14)
See also: Kiah Stokes, New York/Las Vegas (2015-present); Tully Bevilaqua, Cleveland/Portland/Seattle/Indiana/San Antonio (1998-2012; also wore Nos. 44 and 4); Marlies Askamp, Phoenix/Miami/Los Angeles (1997-2002; also wore No. 14)
De Souza wore No. 14 more seasons than 41, including when she won a WNBA title with the Sparks as a rookie, and when she played on three WNBA Finals teams with the Dream. But there aren't a lot of 41s, so we slotted the Brazilian center here because no one will dislodge Cynthia Cooper atop the list at 14. The same goes for Askamp, also a center who wore 14 more than 41, but had the latter number when she won the 2002 WNBA title with the Sparks. She was the first of five Germans who have played in the WNBA.
De Souza was just 20 and played sparingly in Los Angeles her first season. Then she focused on playing in Europe and didn't return to the WNBA until 2007, when at 25 she was traded to Connecticut. She was still a reserve there, but her career started to blossom in 2008 when she was selected by Atlanta in the expansion draft. She averaged double figures in six of her 7½ seasons with the Dream and made three All-Star appearances while with Atlanta. Her best overall season came in 2013 when she averaged 12.9 PPG and 9.9 RPG.
Stokes is lone among this group in her loyalty to 41; she wore it while winning three NCAA championships at UConn and during her time with the Liberty, who drafted her. And she kept it with her new team, the Aces. Bevilaqua, a guard from Australia, had her longest stay with the Fever, for whom she played six season and made a WNBA Finals appearance in 2009. But her WNBA championship came with Seattle in 2004.
Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
42: Brittney Griner, Phoenix (2013-present)
See also: Brionna Jones, Connecticut (2017-present); Jantel Lavender, Los Angeles/Chicago/Indiana (2011-present; also wore Nos. 7, 14); Nikki Teasley, Los Angeles/Washington/Atlanta/Detroit (2002-09; also wore No. 6); Nykesha Sales, Orlando/Connecticut (1999-2007)
Griner, a 6-9 center, was the No. 1 draft pick in 2013 out of Baylor, where she won the 2012 national championship, and she played in her second Olympics for Team USA this summer. She has averaged 17.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in her nine-season WNBA career. A seven-time All-Star, Griner helped lead Phoenix to the 2014 WNBA title.
She has also made the dunk one of her signatures, doing it 14 times in the regular season and once in the playoffs. On the other side of the ball, Griner has been one of the league's best rim protectors as a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Jones has made huge strides the past two seasons and was an All-Star this year. Lavender, the No. 5 pick out of Ohio State in 2011, was an All-Star as a Sparks starter in 2015. Then she excelled coming off the bench the next two seasons, helping Los Angeles make back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances in 2016 (won title) and '17. She was Sixth Woman of the Year in 2016.
Sales was an All-Star for seven of her nine seasons. The former UConn star played in the WNBA only until age 31, but was the picture of consistency that whole time, averaging 14.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. Her team highlight was making the WNBA Finals with the Sun in 2004 and '05.
Teasley was drafted No. 5 out of North Carolina in 2002 by the short-lived Portland franchise but was traded on draft day to the Sparks. That worked out well for her; as a rookie, she hit a championship-winning 3-pointer for Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals. Her best overall season statistically was the next year, when she was an All-Star, but that 2002 title was her peak achievement in the league.
43: Le'Coe Willingham, Connecticut/Phoenix/Seattle/Chicago/Atlanta (2004-13; also wore 34)
See also: Nakia Sanford, Washington/Phoenix/Seattle (2003-13); Alicia Thompson, New York/Indiana/Seattle (1998-2005)
The 2004 draft was strong, with nine picks playing at least 10 WNBA seasons, including Diana Taurasi, who is now in her 17th season. Willingham was also a 2004 rookie who played in the league for 10 seasons -- except she wasn't drafted. Willingham averaged 16.3 PPG and 9.1 RPG while shooting 60.8% from the field as an Auburn senior, yet WNBA scouts weren't sure the 6-foot forward's game would translate to the pro level. They couldn't have been more wrong: She signed as a free agent with the Sun and played on their 2004 and '05 WNBA Finals teams. Then she won WNBA titles with Phoenix in 2009 and Seattle in 2010, before making one more Finals appearance with Atlanta in her last season, 2013.
Sanford was another undrafted player, finishing her Kansas career in 1999 with no intent to play professionally. But she started missing the game, went overseas to play and finally made her WNBA debut at age 27 -- and then spent 11 seasons in the league. Eight of those were with the Mystics.
Thompson, the No. 9 pick in the 1998 draft out of Texas Tech, had her most productive seasons statistically with the Fever, but won the 2004 championship with the Storm.
44: Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Orlando/Connecticut/Los Angeles/Washington/Detroit/New York/Minnesota (1999-2012; also wore Nos. 3, 7, 8, 11)
See also: Betnijah Laney, Chicago/Connecticut/Indiana/Atlanta/New York (2015-present); Chasity Melvin, Cleveland/Washington/Chicago (1999-2010; also wore No. 28); Tamika Whitmore New York/Los Angeles/Connecticut/Indiana (1999-2009; also wore Nos. 00, 91); Astou Ndiaye-Diatta, Detroit/Indiana/Houston/Seattle (1999-2007; also wore Nos. 9, 14); Charlotte Smith, Charlotte/Washington/Indiana (1999-2006; also wore Nos. 23 and 0)
It figures that someone with the style and flair of McWilliams-Franklin couldn't be held to just one jersey number; she had five while playing for seven different WNBA teams. We went with 44, which she wore for her first WNBA championship season, with Detroit in 2008. She won another WNBA title at Minnesota in 2011, while wearing No. 8.
The NAIA player of the year as a senior in 1993, she competed overseas, then in the ABL and joined the WNBA at age 28. A six-time All-Star, she played to age 41 and was a starter for the WNBA runner-up Lynx her final season in 2012.
Laney made this list on the strength of last season, when she was the league's Most Improved Player, and this one, when she was a first-time All-Star. Melvin played briefly in the ABL coming out of leading NC State to the 1998 Final Four, then spent 12 seasons in the WNBA with one All-Star appearance.
Whitmore wore this number for the bulk of her career, and it's the one she is best remembered for. She gets a chance to stand alone, however, with No. 91.
Ndiaye-Diatta, from Senegal, was an NAIA player like McWilliams-Franklin and was taken in the 1999 draft's fourth round, which no longer exists. Her best years were with the Detroit Shock, with whom she won the 2003 WNBA title. Smith is best known for No. 23, which she wore when winning the 1994 NCAA title at North Carolina. She also wore that number part of her WNBA career, but with more 23s than 44s to choose from, she slots in here.
45: Kara Braxton, Detroit/Phoenix/New York (2005-14)
See also: Astou Ndour-Fall, San Antonio/Chicago/Dallas (2014-present); Noelle Quinn, Minnesota/Los Angeles/Washington/Seattle/Phoenix (2007-18)
There aren't a lot of 45s, but all these players listed have been loyal to it, not wearing any other numbers in the WNBA.
Braxton was the No. 7 pick in the 2005 draft out of Georgia. The Michigan native was selected by the home-state Shock in Detroit and won the 2006 and 2008 WNBA titles there. When the Shock moved to Tulsa, she went with them for one season (2010) before being traded to the Mercury and then finishing her career in New York.
Ndour-Fall was born in Senegal but moved to the Canary Islands as a teenager and has played for the Spanish national team in the past two Olympics, winning a silver medal in 2016. She was a second-round pick by San Antonio in 2014 when she was just 19. Ndour-Fall was traded to Chicago before the 2018 season and spent three of the last four years with the Sky, her other stop being in Dallas. Thus far in 2021 with the Sky, she's having her best season statistically.
Quinn, the No. 4 pick in 2007 out of UCLA, started in Minnesota but was traded to Los Angeles in 2009, and had her best statistical season with the Sparks in 2010. She won a league championship in 2018 with Seattle as a player, another as an assistant coach (2020) and is now the Storm's head coach seeking this season's championship.
47: Tracy Henderson, Cleveland (1999-2003)
The former Georgia center spent just three seasons in the WNBA and never started for the now-defunct Rockers, averaging just 1.8 PPG. But her unusual 47 -- she wore No. 33 at Georgia -- stands out.
49: Amaya Valdemoro, Houston (1998-2000; also wore No. 13)
The forward from Spain, a third-round pick in 1998, won three championships with the Comets.
50: Tangela Smith, Sacramento/Charlotte/Phoenix/Indiana/San Antonio (1998-2012; also wore No. 5)
See also: Rebecca Lobo, New York/Houston/Connecticut (1997-2003); Jessica Davenport, New York/Indiana (2007-12)
Smith, an All-Star just once, is one of the more underappreciated players in league history. The Iowa grad wasn't drafted until the 1998 second round by Sacramento. But Smith and the Monarchs' first-round pick that year, Ticha Penicheiro, spent more seasons in the WNBA (15) than anyone else in their draft class. Smith averaged double-digit scoring in nine of those seasons, and between 9.2 and 9.9 PPG in three more. She was a starter for 12 seasons, including for the 2007 and '09 Mercury title teams. She was a more mobile center than most and turned herself into a good 3-point shooter. After making just 39 3-pointers over her first eight regular seasons, she hit 196 in her last seven. She added 57 more treys in the playoffs.
UConn star Lobo was one of the original trio to sign with the WNBA, along with Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes. She started the 1997 and '98 seasons for the Liberty, averaging in double figures both years. But an ACL injury in the 1999 opener cost her the rest of that season, and after re-injuring the knee six months later in a scrimmage, she also missed the 2000 season. Lobo wasn't the same player after being out two years, but played three more seasons in the league.
Davenport had a shorter WNBA career than most expected after her dominance at Ohio State and being the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2007. But things ended on a high note with the Fever's 2012 championship.
51: Jessica Breland, New York/Connecticut/Indiana/Chicago/Atlanta (2011-present)
See also: Sydney Colson, New York/San Antonio/Minnesota/Las Vegas/Chicago (2011-20; also wore No. 50); Rhonda Mapp, Charlotte/Los Angeles (1997-2003)
Breland's story is one of persistence. The forward sat out a season battling cancer in college at North Carolina. She was a second-round pick, No. 13 overall, in 2011 by the Lynx, but traded on draft day to the Liberty. Cut by New York and picked up by Connecticut, she appeared in just 13 total games as a rookie and didn't play in the WNBA the next season. Back in the league in 2013 with Indiana, she was waived near the end of the season. But in 2014 with Chicago, she became an All-Star and has played every season since except last year, when she got a medical exemption from playing in the WNBA bubble.
Colson's story was one of persistence, too. A second-round pick after winning a national championship with Texas A&M in 2011, she played 16 games as a rookie, then didn't get a WNBA roster spot again until four years later. Grinding it out to appear in seven WNBA seasons, including last year after being ill for weeks with COVID-19, has been its own triumph for Colson.
Former NC State center Mapp was 27 when the league launched, and her career highlight was playing for the Sparks' 2001 title team.
52: Kara Wolters, Houston/Indiana/Sacramento (1999-02)
See also: Tyasha Harris, Dallas (2020-present); Kristen Rasmussen, Utah/Miami/Indiana/Houston/Charlotte/Phoenix/Connecticut/Minnesota (2000-2008)
Wolters, a 6-7 center, had a shorter career than she hoped, but has a lot to show from it. She was on UConn's first national championship team in 1995, then played in the ABL before being drafted into the WNBA by Houston in 1999. That year, she won a championship with the Comets. She was taken in the 2000 expansion draft by Indiana and had her best of four WNBA seasons, plus was on the 2000 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team. She was traded to Sacramento and played two seasons there, but injuries ended her career prematurely.
Harris is in just her second WNBA season, so her best is yet to come. A national champion at South Carolina in 2017, she was the No. 7 pick in the 2020 draft.
An underdog as a fourth-round pick out of Michigan State in 2000, the 6-4 Rasmussen was able to stay in the league for nine seasons. She played for eight different teams and wore No. 52 at all of them.
53: Kendra Wecker, San Antonio/Washington (2005-08; also wore No. 2)
See also: Jordan Hooper, Tulsa/Dallas/Connecticut/Atlanta/Chicago (2014-17, also wore Nos. 35 and 15); Susanna Bonfiglio, Phoenix (2002);
Two of the least-popular numbers in women's college hoops are 53 and 54, and that remains true with 53 in the WNBA. The great Cindy Brown wore No. 53 at Long Beach State and was tops on our college jersey list at that number. But she wore No. 14 in her two WNBA seasons.
Wecker also was on the college list after a stellar Kansas State career that made her the No. 4 pick in the 2005 draft. But an ACL tear in the first game of her rookie season set an ominous tone, and she was out of the league at age 25 after four seasons. Hooper's primary number was 35 in college at Nebraska and in the WNBA, but she switched to 53 her one season in Atlanta because Angel McCroughry was 35
Italy's Bonfiglio played just one season with the Mercury.
54: Plenette Pierson, Phoenix/Detroit/Tulsa/New York/Dallas/Minnesota (2003-17; also wore Nos. 22, 23, 33)
See also: Barbara Ferris, Detroit/New York/Phoenix (2000-09)
Texas Tech's Pierson was the best player at No. 54 in college, too. However, she left that number early in her WNBA career. The No. 4 overall pick in 2003 by Phoenix, she was traded to Detroit during the 2005 season, and won two WNBA championships with the Shock wearing No. 23. The 6-2 forward played 15 seasons and was still effective late in her career, making her only All-Star appearance at age 33 in 2015. She won her third championship in her last season, 2017, with Minnesota, this time wearing No. 22. She is now an assistant coach with the Lynx.
Ferris, a forward/center from Tulane, was undrafted but played 10 seasons in the league, including two with Pierson in Detroit. Pierson wasn't wearing No. 54 anymore then; Ferris wore the number throughout her career, including in the 2003 season when she won a championship with the Shock.
Robert Mora/NBAE via Getty Images
55: Vickie Johnson, New York/San Antonio (1997-2009)
See also: Tammy Sutton-Brown, Charlotte/Indiana (2001-12; also wore No. 8); Sheri Sam, Orlando/Miami/Minnesota/Seattle/Charlotte/Indiana/Detroit (1999-08; also wore No. 2)
Johnson was with the Liberty in the league's inaugural season, playing in the 1997 WNBA title game. Then she went to the WNBA Finals four times: three with the Liberty and once with the Stars. Johnson, now the Dallas Wings' coach, also was our college pick at No. 55 with Louisiana Tech.
How did a guard get a number traditionally worn by post players? Johnson said she started with No. 5 in the fifth grade, but was too big for that jersey the next year, and moved to a larger one, No. 55. That number stuck for Johnson, who said she liked to bang around inside like a post player whenever she could.
Rutgers' Sutton-Brown was an All-Star at No. 55 when she was in Charlotte, but also had that honor at No. 8 in Indiana, where she ended her career with the 2012 title. With more No. 8s than No. 55s to choose from, we list Sutton-Brown at the latter. Sam, who starred collegiately at Vanderbilt, won WNBA titles at Seattle (2004) and Detroit (2008).
No. 55 is the highest allowed jersey number in college.
57: Caity Matter, Charlotte (2005)
You may recall Matter for her Ohio State career, where she is second all time in 3-pointers made (270), but not her 10 games with the defunct Sting. Alas, she ingeniously wore the obscure No. 57 in Charlotte and gets a mention here.
81: Alaina Coates, Chicago/Minnesota/Atlanta/Washington (2018-20; also wore No. 41)
Coates wore No. 41 in college at South Carolina, where she won a national championship. The No. 2 pick overall in the 2017 draft (she was injured and didn't play that season), Coates played her first WNBA season in 2018 staying with No. 41, then switched to 81.
88: Jacki Gemelos, Chicago/Connecticut/Washington (2015, '20; also wore No. 5)
Eleven-year WNBA veteran Iziane Castro Marques also wore 88 for a season, but we list her at No. 18 to give a shoutout here to Gemelos. She persevered through 10 knee operations, including five ACL surgeries. She played 36 total games (one was in the playoffs) over two WNBA seasons, 2015 and '20. She was able to play overseas several years and is now an assistant coach for the Liberty.
91: Tamika Whitmore, New York/Los Angeles/Connecticut/Indiana (1999-2009; also wore Nos. 00, 44)
Whitmore spent most of her 11-season career wearing No. 44, including in her three WNBA Finals appearances with the Liberty and her 2006 All-Star season with the Fever. But No. 91, which she wore for the 2007 season with Indiana, lets her stand alone.
92: Damiris Dantas, Minnesota/Atlanta (2014-present; also wore Nos. 12, 34)
The Brazilian forward started her career at No. 34, and is currently wearing No. 12 for the Lynx in her seventh WNBA season. Her one season wearing No. 92 (2019) got her on this list.
99: Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, Sacramento/Houston/Minnesota (2002-2010; also wore No. 9)
See also: Samantha Prahalis, Phoenix/New York/Los Angeles (2012-2014, also wore Nos. 12, 21)
Maiga-Ba, a native of Mali, was a 2002 first-round pick out of Old Dominion and won a title with Sacramento in 2005. She wore No. 9 in six of her nine WNBA seasons. But her three years at 99 got her on this list. Prahalis was a flashy point guard at Ohio State but played just three WNBA seasons. In her best -- 2012, when she was on the All-Rookie team -- she wore No. 99.

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