Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynxįowles will be 37 in October, and looks as if she easily could play a few more years. Plum winning MVP in her All-Star debut Sunday only confirmed that she belongs among the league's best players.
Plum leads the league in 3-pointers and has become a three-level threat, as she was at Washington, where she finished as the NCAA's all-time-leading scorer. 579 true shooting percentage is identical to last year's mark) while pushing her scoring to second best in the WNBA.
In a larger role, Plum has literally maintained her efficiency (her. Unranked when the season began, Plum has played her way into the league's highest echelons after winning the sixth player of the year award a year ago. Her assist average this season is the highest it has been since 2015 (6.3). Parker's versatility always has been a hallmark, and she has two triple-doubles this season. But she doesn't look near retirement in regard to how good her game still is, and that has Chicago leading the league. She turned 36 in April and has said she isn't sure how much longer she will play. Parker's numbers are very similar to last year's, when she joined Chicago after 13 seasons in Los Angeles and helped the Sky win a championship. Her field goal percentage (.571) would be the second best of her career if the 2016 MVP can keep it up. Los Angeles, which started the season with a brutal schedule and fired coach Derek Fisher midseason, wouldn't be in playoff contention - the Sparks currently are seventh in the WNBA standings at 10-12, with the best eight teams making the postseason - without Ogwumike's heroics. Finally healthy and in a renewed mental space, Ogwumike has been the bright light in an otherwise tumultuous Sparks season. Olympic team for the Tokyo Games and difficulties stemming from a knee injury. Ogwumike has had a hell of a past two years on and off the court navigating the demands of leading the players' union, the disappointment of being left off the U.S. WNBA Power Rankings: A lot more to be decided over the next five weeksĢ Related 4.But her value to the Sun, including on the glass and on the defensive end, cannot be disputed: Jones' plus-13.3 on/off court net rating is comfortably the best on the team. DeWanna Bonner and Williams are taking the most shots on the team - Jones' 10.9 field goal attempts per game are her fewest in three seasons - and Connecticut will need to work on getting her the ball, especially in late-game situations. Jones - who went off in Sunday's All-Star Game with 29 points - continues to cement her status as one of the league's best, even as she has assumed a slightly less prominent role on the Sun with Courtney Williams and Alyssa Thomas back into the fold. The Aces have cooled after a hot start but as long as they have Wilson, 25, they are a championship contender. She is also averaging career highs in rebounding and blocks while continuing to be a strong presence defensively. She is shooting 49% from the field and has an effective field goal percentage of 52.0, both career bests. Plum and Young have upped their offensive production this season, but it hasn't negatively impacted Wilson's stats. Wilson was the leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game and is a perennial MVP candidate. Despite Stewart's heroics, the Storm started slowly, but they've moved into third in the WNBA standings at the All-Star break and are just 1½ games out of first place. In addition to leading the WNBA in scoring, Stewart is also second in steals per game, a key reason she was also our midseason pick for Defensive Player of the Year. Our midseason pick for MVP, Stewart is playing perhaps the best basketball of her career after winning the award in 2018 and Finals MVP twice. But Stewart was a unanimous pick this time. 1 in the preseason, edging reigning MVP Jonquel Jones, who got one vote. 19) and the Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell (No. The New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu (No. Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream is the lone rookie on the list, landing at No. 1 in the WNBA standings and in Monday's WNBA Power Rankings, have four players featured. Teammate Jackie Young also makes her debut, putting the entire Las Vegas Aces' starting five on the list. Six players who weren't on our preseason list break into the rankings, including Kelsey Plum, who climbed all the way into the top 10. Five former MVPs dominate the top of our update, although No. And as the playoff race heats up, the best players will continue to have an impact around the league.īefore play resumes Tuesday, ESPN's Mechelle Voepel, Kevin Pelton and Alexa Philippou once again rank the top 25 players in the WNBA. The All-Star Game is in the books, and just five weeks remain of the 2022 WNBA regular season.