When it comes to naming the top player in the WNBA, there’s no surprise: The Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson went wire-to-wire at No. 1 in ESPN’s top 25 rankings of WNBA players in 2024. Our playoff edition, which features four players who weren’t on our midseason list, includes only players from the eight teams in the postseason. But it’s still difficult to narrow the list down to 25.
Wilson became the first player to score 1,000 points in a WNBA season — she finished with 1,021 in the regular season — and also set the record for rebounds in a season with 451. Multiple records fell in 2024: The Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark had the most assists in a season, and the Atlanta Dream’s Tina Charles set the marks for career rebounds and double-doubles.
Rookies weren’t eligible for our preseason top 25 player rankings in May, allowing them a little time in the league to prove themselves. But Clark has steadily climbed up the rankings. She was No. 15 on August’s list and has made another big leap ahead of the playoffs, as did Kelsey Mitchell, Clark’s Indiana backcourt mate.
As we get set for the first round of the WNBA playoffs to open Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN), here’s a look at the top players — as voted on by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel — who will be competing for the 2024 WNBA championship trophy.
(Editor’s note: Wilson was named a unanimous MVP on Sunday morning, receiving all 67 first-place votes. Napheesa Collier got all but one second-place vote. Breanna Stewart, who received the other second-place vote, finished third in MVP voting.)
Center | 6-foot-4
2024 stats: 26.9 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG
Midseason ranking: 1
Wilson led the WNBA this season in scoring, blocks, player efficiency rating and win shares. Her scoring average is the highest ever for a season, besting Diana Taurasi’s 25.3 PPG in 2006. Wilson’s averages in rebounding, blocks and steals (1.8) also are career highs. She had two games this season with 40-plus points and nine others with 30 or more. Wilson was an easy choice for MVP after having perhaps the best individual season ever in the league. — Michael Voepel
Forward | 6-foot-1
2024 stats: 20.4 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.9 SPG
Midseason ranking: 3
The best season of her standout career lifted Collier to second in our rankings, the same spot she finished on our MVP ballots. With more help around her, Collier saw her scoring drop slightly after averaging 21.5 PPG en route to an All-WNBA first team appearance last season. In every other major per-game statistic, she posted a new career high. Collier was our consensus pick for Defensive Player of the Year and still finished fifth in scoring on above-average efficiency. Having played just nine playoff games, Collier is hoping for an extended run with the second-seeded Lynx. — Kevin Pelton
Forward | 6-foot-4
2024 stats: 20.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.7 SPG
Midseason ranking: 2
With a strong second half to the season, averaging a team-best 22.1 points per game on 46.5% shooting, Stewart has shown once more why she’s the consistent pulse of New York, its “MVP” who will step up and do whatever the team needs to win games. This postseason, can she finally get the top-ranked Liberty over the hump to win the franchise’s first title? — Alexa Philippou
Forward | 6-foot-2
2024 stats: 10.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 7.9 APG
Midseason ranking: 4
Thomas’ scoring numbers aren’t as high this year as they were in 2023 — the Sun offense is much less reliant on her putting up shots — but her value to third-seeded Connecticut lies in how she’s the conductor, anchor and heartbeat to what the Sun do on both ends. She and Clark were the only players with over 300 assists this season, while Thomas also finished top-10 in both total rebounds and steals. — Philippou
Guard | 6-foot
2024 stats: 19.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 8.4 APG
Midseason ranking: 15
Clark went from a record-breaking senior year at Iowa to a record-breaking rookie season with the Fever, who are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. She led the WNBA in assists, setting a single-season record with 337. She also set the WNBA rookie points record (769) and became the first rookie to get a triple-double (she had two). It has been one of league’s best-ever seasons by a rookie, and no player has had more impact on attendance in a season than Clark. — Voepel
Forward | 6-foot-2
2024 stats: 16.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 41% 3s
Midseason ranking: 8
The president of the WNBPA also doubles as the league’s most consistent star. No player who averaged at least 14 PPG saw less variation in their game-to-game scoring than Ogwumike, who had at least nine points in every game. Ogwumike’s steady production at both ends proved particularly crucial for the Storm down the stretch, as Seattle won five of its past six games despite injuries to Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor. Because Ogwumike missed the Los Angeles Sparks’ one-and-done 2020 run with a migraine, remarkably this will be her first playoff appearance since 2019. — Pelton
Guard | 5-foot-11
2024 stats: 18.2 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.4 RPG
Midseason ranking: 7
Ionescu shined last year with her 3-point shooting; this season, her game inside the arc was where she improved the most, particularly her drives and her ability to hit floaters. But her efficiency is down in the second half, so the Liberty are hoping she’ll be closer to top form once the playoffs are underway. — Philippou
Forward | 6-foot-6
2024 stats: 14.2 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.3 BPG
Midseason ranking: 5
Jones was the Liberty’s best player in the postseason last year, and particularly in the first half of this season, she showed shades of her 2021 MVP campaign. If Jones can channel that level of efficiency, assertiveness and dominance, it would go a long way toward helping New York secure its first championship. — Philippou