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I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it’s a busy offseason for the WNBA. A CBA to negotiate, two more franchises coming in, and a massive impending free agency fill the headlines, all the while the normal procedure of a draft and training camp loom behind.

Such a monumental offseason can even overshadow that the next WNBA season — we all hope it’s in 2026, but who can be sure yet — will be the league’s 30th. If that happens this year, it will certainly be cause for a ton of celebration.

Included in every five-year milestone for the WNBA since 2006 has been a recognition of the league’s top players, beginning with the All-Decade Team’s roster of ten and most recently commemorating the league’s 25 top all-time players in the W25 in 2021. Starting back in 2021 and a couple times over the years since, I’ve made my attempt at writing through the process and my own selections. If you want to catch up, here’s the series.

• Starting to pick a WNBA All-Time Top 25 (W25)

• My W25

• Piecing together a hypothetical W28

• Let’s build a W29

Now that we’re back to a milestone year, I’m going to start over, breaking down who’s eligible, who’s obviously out, who’s obviously in, and then I’ll fill out a list of 30 players to make up my own unofficial “W30.”

So, let’s get started.

Who’s eligible?

We’re way out in front of the W30, or whatever the league will call this year’s list, if it’s even happening, so we don’t have official criteria for who’s eligible. Until we get something official, I’m going to work off the criteria from the selection of the W25.

For a player to be eligible, they must have been a member of a WNBA team for at least two seasons and met at least four of these seven criteria:

• won a major individual award

• selected to an All-WNBA Team (First or Second)

• selected to a WNBA All-Defensive Team (First or Second)

• selected to a WNBA All Star Game

• member of a WNBA championship team

• currently ranked among the top 40 leaders in at least one major statistical category

• recipient of the WNBA’s season-long Community Assist Award

Right away, there’s ambiguity in the criteria, which has never helped speculators. What qualifies as a “major individual award?” Which statistics are “major?” In 2020, the league awarded its season-long Community Assist Award to “All Players,” so does every 2020 player get a checkmark in that column?

We’re unlikely to get clear answers, so I’ve made my best approximation of an eligible list, all 98 players listed here, with the ability to tweak the criteria to your liking. Here’s the full list of 98:

It’s a fascinating list to just soak in for a minute. If you’re new to the game, you’ll recognize many names. If you’ve been around the WNBA for a long time, some names will immediately pop and some names might make you think “Really?”

Some names that don’t make the list that stand out are:

• Margo Dydek: Go back to my W25 breakdown for more on Dydek, but it’s worth calling out the league’s all-time leader in blocks — Brittney Griner is edging up on that record, though — doesn’t meet enough criteria to be eligible (two All-WNBA Second Team selections, two All Star selections)

• Kayla McBride: Depending on how you count that 2020 Community Assist award, McBride is potentially a championship, All-WNBA team, or All-Defense selection away from eligibility. Her immensely successful career overseas may be clouding my view of her WNBA career, but I also think she’s closer to one of these lists than many players who are technically eligible.

• Tangela Smith: She meets three of the seven criteria and was always a solid contributor over her career, including two championship runs with the Phoenix Mercury. On closer inspection, the lack of individual accolades over 15 years means she’ll never break through to this list.

I mostly point this out to say this: being “eligible” via these criteria does not imply a better career than everyone ineligible. Is a couple of really good years more deserving than 300+ games of consistency? Probably the better way to look at it is the criteria alone should only be used to narrow down the eligible pool, not to directly compare any two players.

Who’s out?

Clearly the criteria are not enough to decide the list. If 98 players are eligible, that’s over three times as many as can make the list. The criteria can probably filter out everyone who shouldn’t be in the W30, but it’s always going to leave in some players with great careers and accomplishments to their names but are just not top-30 picks.

Here’s the first 43 players who I think are clearly out:

Some of these players will likely be squeezed out of the league’s official process by tighter eligibility criteria. Some of these players have a good possibility on a future all-time top players list for the WNBA. For now, though, it’s just not their time.

Who’s in?

On the other hand, as you scan over the remaining 56 players, there are many names that pop out as players who very clearly should and will be on a W30. Let’s go ahead and count these players in right away.

The only player here who didn’t make my W25 is A’ja Wilson, who I called “a victim of timing” during that process. Just since the W25 she’s a three-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP, and three-time WNBA champion. In what is really less than five years she’s gone from the cusp to arguably the easiest case for making the list.

The easiest way to put it for the other players clearly in is that nothing major has changed to degrade their status. More of them have retired, Parker and Hammon — go read what I wrote around the W25 for more on why I think coaching accomplishments should factor in for former WNBA players — added championships to their résumés (one of them together), and Stewart helped lead the Liberty to their first title, her third. Otherwise, go check out my previous W25 rundowns for more details on why they’re in.

Who’s left?

That leaves us with 34 eligible players from which to choose 9 more for the list.

I’m not going to finish the list today, but let’s break this group down into categories to understand why they may be in the conversation.

• MVPs: Tina Charles, Yolanda Griffith, Jonquel Jones

  These are the only three players remaining who have won regular season MVP in the league. They represent a wide range of the league’s history, all the way back to Griffith’s entry post-ABL.

• Champs: Janeth Arcain, Rebekkah Brunson, Swin Cash, Cheryl Ford, Chelsea Gray, Natasha Howard, Jewell Loyd, Deanna Nolan, Plenette Pierson, Penny Taylor, Jackie Young

  All of these players have won at least three championships in the WNBA, with varying roles. About half have won titles with multiple franchises. It’s not a direct indicator of impact, but it can be a differentiator.

• Finals MVPs: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Yolanda Griffith, Jonquel Jones, Emma Meesseman, Deanna Nolan, Ruth Riley

  These players were each named Finals MVP of a WNBA championship run. Most have never been regular season MVP, but they stood out when their team won it all.

• Specialists: Cheryl Ford, Chamique Holdsclaw, Angel McCoughtry, Ticha Penicheiro, Allie Quigley, Alyssa Thomas, Courtney Vandersloot, Teresa Weatherspoon

  Despite their varying lengths of time in the league, each of these players brought something unique that stood out during their careers.

  • Ford is still one of the greatest rebounders the league has seen

  • Holdsclaw was both a scoring and rebounding leader

  • McCoughtry was both a scoring and steals leader

  • Penicheiro dazzled as an assist leader

  • Quigley dominated as an outside shooter

  • Thomas defies even “positionless” basketball with her triple-doubles and near-triple-doubles

  • Vandersloot smashed assist records

  • Weatherspoon was an original two-way point guard.

  Maybe it’s not enough to make the list, but all of these players stand out in league history.

• Staying power: Alana Beard, DeWanna Bonner, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Skylar Diggins, Katie Douglas, Candice Dupree, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Plenette Pierson, Courtney Vandersloot

  To last in the league as long as these players did (and some are still playing as of 2025) across multiple franchises and contexts, there’s a consistency and longevity factor to consider. While voters don’t hesitate to include players who make a big impact in a short time (Cynthia Cooper, Maya Moore, etc.), perennially being brought back on teams with championship aspirations speaks to a player’s caliber and respect.

• Up-and-comers: Napheesa Collier, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young

  There are major award winners and multi-time champs here, so it’s not that they haven’t accomplished anything, but perhaps on closer inspection they’re still missing that key differentiator — it could be a championship ring, an MVP, or even just sustained success at the top of the league — to elevate them to inclusion.

What else?

I won’t belabor the point of Dawn Staley’s lack of eligibility again. If you’re interested, check out the “Eligibility” section of My W25.

I think there’s a broader discussion that could be had about the WNBA potentially absorbing ABL accomplishments into this process or otherwise honoring players whose careers were splintered by joining the WNBA after the ABL folded. It’s not to say it’s necessarily enough to push someone onto the list, but the careers of players like Katie Smith, Dawn Staley, Yolanda Griffith, Natalie Williams, and Taj McWilliams-Franklin, among others, carry even more weight when you consider the full breadth of their careers in the United States.

The case against it is probably stronger, though, and only growing stronger. You could say:

• That’s really the role of the Halls of Fame. Between the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and FIBA Hall of Fame, every players’ full career is in scope for eligibility there. The question there is: will the Naismith’s nomination process ever catch up with the growth of women’s basketball?

• Poking at whether a player’s career outside the WNBA should be considered should have anyone asking if a player’s accomplishments in other countries or even on their national teams should factor in to the discussion. Many of the players in consideration here had incredible success outside the United States, and many players on the fringe or even outside eligibility would be vaulted up quickly by their European accolades alone.

• Stateside leagues are coming back to prominence. Though they aren’t directly competitive yet, like the ABL was, complementary opportunities like Athletes Unlimited and Unrivaled would have to enter the conversation if they have staying power. You could understand the WNBA not wanting to open up its “best players” honors to include the ABL if it later begs questions of including accomplishments from these leagues as well.

What’s next?

Well, hopefully a 2026 season. If the pieces come together for a finalized CBA and a 30th season, I’ll revisit this breakdown and flesh it out to a final list of 30 players. If the league announces their official process and criteria by then, what I’ve considered so far may need to be adjusted to reflect that.

Until then, happy new year! Until the WNBA returns, enjoy the college season, Unrivaled, Athletes Unlimited, and any of the numerous overseas leagues in the meantime.