Introducing The Her Hoop Stats WNBA Top 50 Players List
If you owned a WNBA team and were able to draft any player for one year, who would that player be? What would a draft board of the top 50 players in the WNBA look like?
Inspired by the Sports Illustrated Top 100 NBA list, we’re proud to announce the launch of the Her Hoop Stats Top 50 WNBA players by Chris Zwart. Here are the ground rules for the rankings:
- This is a single year exercise. Drafting a player for 2020 has no implications on your team in 2021 and beyond.
- Salary cap constraints do not apply.
- Potential 2020 rookies are not eligible.
This will give us a snapshot today of who we think the best players will be in the 2020 WNBA season and playoffs. Think is the operative word, as this is not a list generated by a magic formula of statistics.
Instead, players have been evaluated from watching them play, their stats, and any other information we gathered. Regular season performance obviously plays a role in the order of this ranking, but playoff performance is also considered (see Meesseman, Emma). Anticipated improvement of young players such as Arike Ogunbowale and Napheesa Collier is a part of the evaluation as is the decline of players on the wrong end of the aging curve. Additionally, there were a number of players who didn’t play this past season due to injury or personal reasons. They are eligible to be drafted with past performance, anticipated return, and future performance considered.
In summary, players are ranked based on today’s expectations of their performance in the 2020 WNBA season and playoffs. We plan to update the list periodically as time marches on. No single list can be 100% accurate, so we look forward to reflecting on this list after the season to see where we were right and where were wrong. Of course, we do expect to hear our reader's thoughts on where we’re correct and incorrect as soon as we publish this article.
Without further ado, our first installment of the Her Hoop Stats Top 50 WNBA Players: 50–41:
50. Jessica Breland, Atlanta Dream
Age: 31|2019 Stats: 7.5 Points/7.3 Rebounds/1.7 Assists
A solid year for the Atlanta Dream forward. Breland averaged career highs in steals and free throw percentage. She is also a workhorse for her team, only missing two games in the last three seasons.
49. Jantel Lavender, Chicago Sky
Age: 30|2019 Stats: 10.0 Points/6.9 Rebounds/1.1 Assists
Traded to the Chicago Sky for a second-round draft pick prior to the start of the season, Lavender made the most of her first year in the Windy City, despite an injury that cut her season short. After being relegated to the Los Angeles bench for the last three seasons, Lavender saw an uptick in her stats this year, nearly doubling her points and rebounds from 2018. She has also improved on her free throw percentage in each of the last four seasons.
48. Natalie Achonwa, Indiana Fever
Age: 26|2019 Stats: 8.7 Points/5.2 Rebounds/1.6 Assists
Although Achonwa struggled through the majority of the season’s second half, she still averaged near or above her career averages, including a career-high 90.0 free throw percentage. She also struggled with an ankle injury near the end of the season, which limited her playing time.
47. Alysha Clark, Seattle Storm
Age: 32|2019 Stats: 9.6 Points/4.7 Rebounds/2.3 Assists
Having Clark this low seems like a crime. A vital part of the Seattle Storm offense, Clark led the WNBA with a career-best 48.1 three-point shooting percentage. She also hit career-high marks in points, assists, and rebounds.
46. Natasha Cloud, Washington Mystics
Age: 27|2019 Stats: 9.0 Points/2.5 Rebounds/5.6 Assists
Starting all 34 games for the Washington Mystics this season, Cloud hit career-high marks in points, steals, and assists. An essential piece of the Mystics’ playoff run, she upped her game in the postseason by averaging 13.1 points and 6.2 assists over her team’s nine playoff games.
45. Erica Wheeler, Indiana Fever
Age: 28|2019 Stats: 10.1 Points/3.0 Rebounds/5.0 Assists
What a year for Wheeler, who won All-Star Game MVP honors this year in Las Vegas. Wheeler, who ranked fifth in assists this season, was an important piece of the offense in Indiana this past season and her contribution to the team will only be more crucial as they continue to improve.
44. Stefanie Dolson, Chicago Sky
Age: 27|2019 Stats: 9.3 Points/5.6 Rebounds/2.2 Assists
A workhorse of the Chicago Sky, Dolson started all 34 games this season. She hit 51.9 percent of her shots and also spent quality time in three-point range, taking a career-high 83 attempts from deep. I’d look for her to increase those numbers next season, making her an even more versatile player.
43. Cheyenne Parker, Chicago Sky
Age: 27|2019 Stats: 8.8 Points/5.8 Rebounds/0.9 Assists
Part of the Chicago Sky’s bench mob, Parker made head coach James Wade’s job easier with her consistent play throughout the season. She set a career-high in free throw shooting with a mark of 84.2, destroying her previous career average of 56.7. Fun fact: Parker averaged 1.8 offensive and 4.0 defensive rebounds in both 2018 and 2019.
42. Leilani Mitchell, Phoenix Mercury
Age: 34|2019 Stats: 12.8 Points/3.0 Rebounds/4.0 Assists
Mitchell became a reliable go-to player for head coach Sandy Brondello this season. With Diana Taurasi out for the majority of the season due to back surgery, Mitchell was given the opportunity to show what she could do with additional minutes. Mitchell hit new career highs in points, rebounds, and assists per game, earning her the WNBA Most Improved Player award this season.
41. Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces
Age: 25|2019 Stats: 8.6 Points/2.8 Rebounds/3.0 Assists
While Plum hit around her career averages for the regular season, she took her game to a new level for the playoffs. Plum averaged 15.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.8 assists over five playoff games, including a 19 point, 10 assist performance against the Mystics on September 19. Playoff Plum is for real and I’m here for it.
Our countdown will continue tomorrow with players ranked #40–31, including a two-time WNBA Champion and a Sixth Woman of the Year!
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