If you need a quick pick-me-up, look no further than the WNBA. There are some ridiculously talented and attractive ladies out there who can make dunking a basketball look like art.
And while many of the world’s best basketball players are in the NBA, you should know that there are some amazing women who can ball out right here in America.
Some of these women have been dubbed “supermodels with swagger” for their good looks and style on the court. And it doesn’t hurt that they can take your breath away with a dunk or layup, either. With so many superstars to choose from, it’s hard to pick just one.
If you’re a WNBA fan, then you know the league’s star players. Here are just a few of the women who have lit up basketball courts across the country and throughout the world with their talent and style.
Table of Contents
- 1. Cayla George
- 2. Sydney Carter
- 3. Skylar Diggins-Smith
- 4. Swin Cash
- 5. Candice Wiggins
- 6. Sue Bird
- 7. Penny Taylor
- 8. Elena Delle Donne
- 9. Jennifer Lacy
- 10. Brittany Jackson
- 11. Renee Montgomery
- 12. Candace Parker
- 13. Kayla McBride
- 14. Tayler Hill
- 15. Lauren Jackson
- 16. Liz Cambage
- 17. Nneka Ogwumike
- 18. Lisa Leslie
- 19. Chiney Ogwumike
- 20. Abby Bishop
- 21. Erin Phillips
- 22. Leilani Mitchell
- 23. Maria Stepanova
- 24. Jasmine Lister
1. Cayla George
Cayla George, born 1 May 1989, is an Australian professional basketball player. She currently plays for the Washington Mystics of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). George is an Australian citizen who was born in Toronto, Canada.
Cayla George is an international WNBL basketball player who plays for the Australian Institute of Sport. She also plays for the Canberra Capitals, Australia’s top women’s basketball team. Cayla George has dual citizenship in both Australia and Canada.
George first played with the Canberra Capitals in 2005, on their roster for three years before moving on to the WNBL Victoria team, where she played for two years.
2. Sydney Carter
Sydney Carter, born November 18, 1990, is a basketball player who is currently a free agent. Known for her shooting arm, Carter is a member of the American Basketball League.
Sydney Carter is a shooting guard who spent most of her career playing for the Tulsa Shock, where she won three consecutive WNBA championships.
Carter was selected ninth overall by the Chicago Sky during the 2016 draft when she left Tulsa after ten seasons. Carter averaged 8.7 points per game with Tulsa and scored more than 2,000 points during her ten-year career with them.
3. Skylar Diggins-Smith
Skylar Kierra Diggins-Smith, born August 2, 1990, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was a key player for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team from 2009-2012.
Skylar Diggins was born in South Bend, Indiana. Her father, Darren, was a pro soccer player, and her mother, Karen, was an All-American high school player. Skylar grew up living with her family in Crothersville, Indiana, and played sports such as table tennis and softball before she turned to basketball. When she was six years old, the family moved to nearby Zionsville, where she began playing CYO basketball.
4. Swin Cash
Swintayla Marie “Swin” Cash Canal, born September 22, 1979, is an American former professional basketball player who played professionally for 15 seasons in the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Cash played at the University of Connecticut from 1996 to 2000. In her four years, she averaged 15.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game for the Huskies and was a first-round draft pick of the Detroit Shock after college but suffered a severe injury and missed two seasons.
5. Candice Wiggins
Candice Dana Wiggins, born February 14, 1987, is an American former professional basketball player. Wiggins played college basketball at Stanford University, where she graduated as the all-time leading scorer in Stanford and Pac-10 women’s basketball history. Throughout her playing career, Wiggins played for the Minnesota Lynx, Tulsa Shock, Los Angeles Sparks, and New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association.
6. Sue Bird
Suzanne Brigit Bird, born October 16, 1980, is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. The Bird was named an All-American at Purdue in the 2002-03 season and was drafted 5th overall in 2004 by Seattle, where she has been a four-time WNBA champion. In her career, Bird has been voted to the WNBA’s 15th Anniversary Team, 10 Best Seasons list, and 10 Greatest Players list. She is also one of only four players all-time to earn 1,000 points and 500 assists in a single season twice.
7. Penny Taylor
Penelope Jane Taylor, born May 24, 1981, is an Australian retired professional basketball player and assistant coach. During her 19-year career, Taylor spent the most time with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. She was a four-time Olympian and a former captain of the Opals.
In the WNBA, Taylor won a WNBA championship with the Phoenix Mercury in 2007 and was named Most Valuable Player of the league’s All-Star Game in 2009. After 14 seasons, Taylor retired from professional basketball on February 13, 2015. In 2016, she joined the Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant coach for their women’s basketball program.
8. Elena Delle Donne
Elena Delle Donne born September 5, 1989, is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the United States women’s national basketball team.
In her rookie season, she was awarded the 2014 WNBA Rookie of The Year Award and the 2015 WNBA MVP Award.
As a starter player, Elena Delle Donne has been an active member of the U.S. national team since 2012, and she won a Gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics Games as a member of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team.
9. Jennifer Lacy
Jennifer Lee Lacy, born March 21, 1983, is an American professional basketball player.
Lacy is a forward from North Carolina State University. She was drafted in the second round (20th overall) of the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun. Lacy, who stands six feet tall, played college basketball for NCSU before playing professionally in China and Italy.
10. Brittany Jackson
Brittany Elizabeth Jackson, born July 28, 1983, in Cleveland, Tennessee, is an American basketball player, formerly with the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA.
The most notable of Jackson’s awards are being named MVP of the 2004 WNBA All-Star Game, 2004 WNBA Rookie of the Year, 2004 Julius Erving Award for Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and two gold medals with USA Basketball in FIBA world championship games.
Jackson is one of three players to have won both an MVP award in a regular-season game and an All-Star game MVP award.
11. Renee Montgomery
Renee Danielle Montgomery, born December 2, 1986, is a retired American basketball player and sports broadcaster who is currently vice president, part-owner, and investor of the Atlanta Dream. During her playing career, she played for the Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever, Washington Mystics, and New York Liberty. She was selected fourth overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
Montgomery attended Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she received many honors and awards. As a senior in 2004–05, Montgomery averaged 21.1 points per game and 3.8 assists per game as she led the Bulldogs to a 28-2 record and runner-up finish at the 2005 IHSAA Class AAA state tournament.
12. Candace Parker
Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a former United States women’s national basketball team.
She was a three-time All-American in college and won the Most Outstanding Player award at the 2007 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament to Southern Methodist University (SMU), earning her first national championship on their way to an undefeated season. She is regarded as one of the best players in women’s basketball history.
13. Kayla McBride
Kayla McBride, born June 25, 1992, is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). McBride was selected as the first pick of the 2011 WNBA draft. She played collegiate basketball at Notre Dame before entering the draft.
McBride is a three-time gold medalist and was voted MVP of 2017
14. Tayler Hill
Tayler Hill, born October 23, 1990, is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Hill previously played for the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
She played for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Stanford Cardinal basketball team from 2007 to 2011. During her career with the Cardinal, she was selected as the team’s most valuable player in 2009 and 2010. Hill was also named to the ACC All-Defensive Team in 2009, 2010, and 2011, averaging 1.2 steals per game in her senior season.
15. Lauren Jackson
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson, born 11 May 1981, is an Australian former professional basketball player. The daughter of two national basketball team players, Jackson was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport in 1996 before being drafted into the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1999. Jackson was the number one draft pick in the 1999 WNBA Draft for the Seattle Storm and won Rookie of the Year honors. She has since played for three different WNBA franchises: Seattle, New York, and Atlanta.
16. Liz Cambage
Elizabeth Cambage, born 18 August 1991, is an Australian professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Cambage currently holds the WNBA single-game scoring record with her 53-point performance against the New York Liberty on 17 July 2018, and is the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer in the playoffs with 414 points.
Cambage was drafted by Tulsa Shock fifth overall in the 2012 WNBA draft after leaving college early. She had an impressive inaugural season with the Shock, breaking the league’s single-game scoring record when she scored 53 points against New York on 17 July 2018.
17. Nneka Ogwumike
Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria “Nneka” Ogwumike born July 2, 1990 is a Nigerian-American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association
Nneka Ogwumike made her WNBA debut on June 3, 2008 with the Connecticut Sun.
Early in her career, she played at Stanford University for the Cardinal. She led them to victory in the 2010 NCAA Championship Game and was honored as co-Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament.
On July 8, 2011, she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in a three-team trade deal involving high school standout Tina Charles going from Connecticut to New York and Alana Beard going from New York to Washington.
18. Lisa Leslie
Lisa Deshaun Leslie, born July 7, 1972, is an American former professional basketball player. She is currently the head coach for Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on Fox Sports Florida.
Rafael Pellő’s book “Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Lakers and the Magic Johnson Era” (1999) has written about her.
19. Chiney Ogwumike
Chinenye “Chiney” Ogwumike, born March 21, 1992, is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association.
She was born in the United States to Nigerian parents.
Ogwumike is listed as 6-feet tall and 180 pounds. She played for Stanford for the past four years, where she was an All-American, Pac Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and took them to three consecutive Final Four appearances.
20. Abby Bishop
Abby Bishop, born 29 November 1988, is an Australian professional basketball forward/center who plays for Southside Flyers of the Australian WNBL.
Abby Bishop, a player for the Australian WNBL. She is currently signed with Southside Flyers. Abby is well-known internationally as an Australian native and now represents Australia in the international series against New Zealanders. In 2004 she was awarded as the Queensland Junior Female Athlete of the Year and earned All-Australian selection in 2005 as a member of the representative junior national team.
21. Erin Phillips
Erin Victoria Phillips was born 19 May 1985, a radio host and a former professional basketball player. She played nine seasons in the Women’s National Basketball Association before retiring in 2012. Phillips has also played for the Chicago Sky, New York Liberty, and Utah Starzz.
The Fordham product turned pro in 2006 before finishing her college career at Fordham University. Her first two seasons were with the Chicago Sky before she signed with the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2008, where she averaged 11 points per game that year.
22. Leilani Mitchell
Leilani Seamah Mitchell, born June 15, 1985, is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Mitchell is an Australian-born American basketball player who was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2008 WNBA Draft. She joined the Lynx for her rookie season. Mitchell has also played for Australia’s national team, winning bronze medals at the 2007 FIBA Oceania Championship and 2010 FIBA World Championship, as well as qualifying for Team USA for several international competitions.
23. Maria Stepanova
Maria Alexandrovna Stepanova, born 23 February 1979, is a Russian professional and Olympic basketball player. In the United States, she played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Stepanova was raised in Odintsovo and played for the Odintsovo Dynamo Club and CSKA Moscow teams before joining the Russian national team.
Stepanova made her debut with the Russian National Team in 1999. She played for Russia at European Championships, winning a silver medal in 2003 and a bronze medal in 2005. She also won a bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship for Women and gold at the 2001 Goodwill Games.
24. Jasmine Lister
Jasmine Lister, born May 12, 1992, is a former collegiate and professional basketball player and currently an assistant coach for DePaul University Women’s Basketball team in Chicago, Illinois.
Lister was a four-time All-Atlantic 10 Conference player at the University of Dayton in her last two years and set the school’s all-time scoring record. In her senior year, she was twice named Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year and led the team to an upset over #3 ranked Connecticut Huskies at home.
Lister is a former professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream in Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).