The WNBA’s all-time points, assists, and rebounds leaders walk in to an arena. Will it be the last time for all three in 2022?

Sylvia Fowles (3,712 rebounds) has already announced it’s her last season, and all signs point to it being a farewell tour for Sue Bird (3,048 assists). In the summer we celebrate the ten-year anniversary of she and the Indiana Fever winning their lone title, Briann January has also indicated this is it for her; will former Phoenix Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi (9,174 points) call it after one more run?

Every WNBA season has its history. Particularly for a league so young, records are always being broken, leaderboards are shifting, and players and coaches are constantly adding to their legacies. A ton will happen that we can’t predict, but let’s look ahead at some potential history we might be able to foresee.

Player Stat Milestones

Rebounds

Let’s start with Syl. Fowles has been the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder since passing former teammate and current Minnesota Lynx assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson back in 2020, but she still has an opportunity to make history. Entering the summer with 3,712 rebounds, she has a shot at becoming the first WNBA player to break the 4,000-rebound mark. She had 312 last year in just 31 games, so in a 36-game season, it’s not a reach, so to speak.

Fowles’ longtime opponent and fellow 2008 draftee Candace Parker (3,095 rebounds) got over the 3,000-rebound hump last year, and she has a good chance to move up the overall leaderboards, trailing closely behind Candice Dupree (3,146 - 6th overall) and former teammate Lisa Leslie (3,307 - 5th). Another former MVP and former Parker teammate, Nneka Ogwumike will also likely make a big leaderboard move this summer; she currently has 2,138 rebounds in her career, meaning she can pass Margo Dydek (2,143) and move in to the top 20 all-time in her first game or two.

Fowles is also the all-time leader in double-doubles with 180 to her name, so she at least has a look at getting to 200 in her final year. Tina Charles is next behind her (168), and Candace Parker is 4th with 142, and she could get to 150 this year. 16+ double-doubles would move Parker past former teammate Lisa Leslie, who is 3rd with 157. Not all of their double-doubles include rebounds, but it’s the most common way these four players notched them.

There’s also a good group of players on the cusp of 1,000 career rebounds:

Blocks

Fowles also leads a group of players nearing big blocks milestones. Syl could become just the fourth WNBA player with 700+ blocks, joining Margo Dydek (877), Lisa Leslie (822), and Brittney Griner (716). Some players to watch:

Assists

Bird may be the all-time leader, but Courtney Vandersloot is the current standard. She has averaged better than 8.0 assists per games in each of her five most recent seasons – Ticha Penicheiro is the only other player to do that (2002) – and she’ll continue to extend her career record for points/assists double-doubles. She leads with 48, Bird being next-closest with 28, followed by Penicheiro with 18.

Vandersloot enters the 2022 season with 2,180 career assists, very likely to pass new Hall of Famer Lindsay Whalen (2,348) for 3rd overall.

Sloot’s partner Candace Parker can make some moves in assists as well; she enters 2022 with 1,422 assists, looking to become just the eighth WNBA player with 1,500 or more. To get there she’d jump in to the top 10, passing Tanisha Wright (1,423 - 10th), Shannon Johnson (1,424 - 9th), and Tamika Catchings (1,488 - 8th).

Some more players to watch:

Steals

This is where I take the opportunity to remind everyone that Tamika Catchings is still many years away from being reached as the all-time steals leader; she had 1,074 in her career, next-closest being Penicheiro with 764.

That said, Bird has a chance to make a move up the leader board this year, entering 2022 with 687 in her career, just 23 behind Alana Beard (710 - 3rd). Bird had 28 last year in 30 games, so even just maintaining that pace could do it.

If not for some tough injuries, Angel McCoughtry was probably the next in line to challenge Catchings’ record. While that’s pretty well out of sight, she’ll likely make a couple moves up the leader board, entering 2022 just behind former teammate Sancho Lyttle (631 - 7th) and Jia Perkins (634 - 6th). If Angel’s anywhere near her 2020 form, Sheryl Swoopes (657 - 5th) could be within reach.

A little further down, DeWanna Bonner (473), Candace Parker (463), Diana Taurasi (461), and Sylvia Fowles (459) could all shake up the bottom end of the top 20, Sophia Young-Malcolm (20th) looking susceptible to be passed with 477 in her career.

Some others to watch:

Points

Diana Taurasi will continue to extend her career record (9,174 points and counting), and her new Mercury teammate Tina Charles will look to break in to the top 4. Charles enters 2022 with 6,613 points, well within reach of Cappie Pondexter (6,811 - 5th), former teammate of both Taurasi and Charles. It’s not tough to see Charles also passing Candice Dupree (6,895 - 4th).

Parker and Fowles have come up a lot, and they’ve got some moves to make here too. Parker enters 2022 with 5,990 (12th), with Fowles just behind (5,983 - 13th), both almost certain to pass Seimone Augustus (6,005 - 11th) and Lauren Jackson (6,007 - 10th). Lisa Leslie (6,263 - 9th) would be next in their sights.

Many more to watch in 2022:

Games Played

Bird’s next game will extend her WNBA career record, making her the first to play 550 regular season games. Diana Taurasi is next-closest among active players, needing 28 more to join Bird as the only other player to reach 500.

With the rise in player movement in the WNBA, we see fewer players with extended time with the same franchise. With at least 24 games for the Sky this season, Courtney Vandersloot can join a small group of players to have played 350+ games with one WNBA franchise:

Some more games played milestones within reach:

Player Award Milestones

• The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Sylvia Fowles, would tie Tamika Catchings for most such honors in WNBA history (5) if she were to repeat in her final year.
• Tina Charles could become the first WNBA player to win Player of the Week with four different franchises. She leads all-time with 32 Player of the Week honors, having won at least once with each of the Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty, and Washington Mystics. Three other players have each been Player of the Week with three different franchises: Tina Thompson (Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle), Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix, New York, Chicago), and Katie Smith (Minnesota, Detroit, Seattle).
• Candace Parker and Tina Charles each have a chance to earn their 10th All-WNBA honor. Only Diana Taurasi (14), Lisa Leslie (12), and Tamika Catchings (12) have more.

Coaching Milestones

The league has a good mix of longer-tenured head coaches and newer faces, so there are some names to watch in terms of games coached milestones:

Reeve’s 25th game this season will tie her with Anne Donovan (419 - 5th), Brondello can move up a couple places to 9th (passing Pokey Chatman and Van Chancellor), and Miller can pass Corey Gaines and John Whisenant to get to the top 15.

Reeve also enters the 2022 season with 267 regular season wins. With a 20-win season, she can at least move up in to a tie with Brian Agler (3rd):

Thibault will be looking to get the Washington Mystics back in to the Playoffs, which would extend his career record 15 WNBA Playoffs appearances as a head coach. Reeve will look to secure her 12th postseason appearance, which would tie Dan Hughes and Bill Laimbeer for 2nd all-time. Her 11 consecutive appearances is already a record streak in the W.

Sandy Brondello will look to become the sixth coach with 10+ postseason appearances as she starts her next phase with the New York Liberty.

Another 20-win season for Reeve would be her 9th, and would tie her with Laimbeer for most all-time in the WNBA. 20+ for Thibault would mark his 8th 20-win season (3rd all-time). At least a winning season for Reeve would be her 12th and could tie her with Thibault at the top of that leader board (unless he has another winning season himself).

Franchise Milestones

• The Los Angeles Sparks lead all-time in franchise wins, just 8 from 500 in franchise history.
• The Seattle Storm need just 14 wins to get to 400 as a franchise.
• The Connecticut Sun are looking to record their 10th 20-win season as a franchise. Only the Sparks have more (13).
• The New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury are going for their 15th winning seasons, which would trail only the Sparks (16).
• A postseason appearance for the Minnesota Lynx would be their 12th in a row, tying the Indiana Fever’s 2005-2016 run in the Playoffs for longest in WNBA history.
• If the Indiana Fever miss the postseason again, they would become the 4th franchise to record a playoff drought of 6+ consecutive years, joining the Chicago Sky (2006-2012), Phoenix Mercury (2001-2006), and Minnesota Lynx (2005-2010).

That’s all for today! Enjoy opening weekend, and more to come soon!