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Top 10 WNBA player rankings: Liz Cambage heads into All-Star break on top
We've made it to the WNBA All-Star break, and the only thing that's clear so far this season is that the league is more exciting than it's ever been. The standings are absolutely stacked — there is only a two-game difference between the second team in the standings, the Atlanta Dream, and the eighth team in the standings, the Connecticut Sun.
The competition in the player power rankings is just as tight. There's a shake-up at the top, a shake-up at the bottom, and, yes, even a shake-up in the middle. The performances across the league are so impressive this year that even one off game can knock a player down a few pegs.
1. Liz Cambage (C, Dallas Wings)
This is the first time all season that Breanna Stewart hasn't been at the top of this ranking, and trust me, the bump has nothing to do with Stewart's form — this is all about Cambage. In the last five games, she's averaging 31.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, highlighted by a 53-point game on July 17, a WNBA record.
On the season, she's averaging 22.1 points per game, trailing only Stewart, and 9.4 rebounds per game, trailing only Sylvia Fowles. She's also taken over the top spot in the player efficiency rankings from Stewart. There's really just no denying it: This is Liz Cambage's league right now.
2. Breanna Stewart (F, Seattle Storm)
That being said, Stewart is still heavily in contention for this season's MVP award. She's leading the league in points per game, with 22.8, fifth in the league in rebounds per game, at 8.1, and leads the league in win shares, at 6.4. She's been pretty incredible the last five games too, averaging 26.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Have I mentioned these women are good?
3. Elena Delle Donne (F, Washington Mystics)
It's hard to imagine anyone other than Stewart or Cambage winning MVP at this point, but counting Elena Delle Donne completely out would be a foolish move. She's averaging 20.5 points per game, just behind the MVP front-runners, and she is currently the best player in the WNBA when it comes to protecting the ball. She always finds a way to contribute, too; in the July 19 game against Dallas, she was struggling with her jump shot, going only 3-of-9 for nine points. However, she nabbed 13 rebounds and five blocks, both season highs.
4. Diana Taurasi (G, Phoenix Mercury)
It's been an interesting couple of weeks for Diana Taurasi; the Mercury have been struggling since Sancho Lyttle's injury, and Taurasi faced a one-game suspension due to getting her seventh technical of the season in controversial fashion. However, she's still being as productive as ever on the court. She's fourth in the league in points per game, with 20.3, first in the league in terms of three-pointers made and attempted, first in the league in field-goal percentage and third in the league in offensive win shares.
5. Sylvia Fowles (C, Minnesota Lynx)
The Minnesota Lynx have been so up and down that it's easy to overlook the fact that Sylvia Fowles is having quite the runner-up performance to last year's MVP run. With 17.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, she's the only player averaging a double-double this year. Plus, she's second in the league in true shooting percentage and effective field-goal percentage.
6. A'ja Wilson (C, Las Vegas Aces)
A'ja Wilson is headed to her first All-Star Game this weekend, and the lock for Rookie of the Year is sure to fit right in. She's sixth in the league in points, with 20 per game, third in rebounds, with 8.6 per game, and is doing it all at an incredibly effective clip — she's sixth in the league when it comes to player efficiency. Most importantly, she has her Aces battling for a spot in the playoffs.
7. Skylar Diggins-Smith (G, Dallas Wings)
It hasn't been the best shooting stretch of Diggins-Smith's career, which is why she's fallen a few spots on the list, but she's still having an incredibly effective season. She's 10th in the league in points per game, with 18.1, and third in the league with assists per game, with 6.3. She's also third in the league in steals, which shows how many different ways she can impact a game.
8. Candace Parker (F/C, Los Angeles Sparks)
Candace Parker had a slow start to the season — by her standards, at least —but she's picked up the pace lately. She's averaging a18 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, which is absolutely ridiculous. That mean she's averaging more points per game than Tiffany Hayes, more rebounds per game than Brittney Griner, and more assists per game than Diana Taurasi.
9. Brittney Griner (C, Phoenix Mercury)
Griner is averaging 20.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, good for sixth and ninth in the league, respectively. Griner is absolutely crushing the league when it comes to blocks per game, with 2.8, and is seventh in the league in win shares. It says all you need to know about Griner's talent and skill that this season still feels like a bit of a disappointment for her, considering there were MVP expectations coming into it. (At least for me.) Still, she's undoubtedly a force of nature.
10. Chiney Ogwumike (F, Connecticut Sun)
Chiney's sister, Nneka Ogwumike, got bumped from the rankings this week, primarily due to a mysterious illness she is suffering from. (Get well soon, Nneka!) But Chiney's performance this season is certainly power-ranking worthy. She is leading the league in field-goal percentage, making a staggering 60.7 percent of her shots and averaging 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. She leads the league in effective field-goal percentage, is third in true shooting percentage and sixth in win shares.
Honorable mentions: Tiffany Hayes, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Nneka Ogwumike, Kayla McBride
More must-reads:
- Record-setting week showcases all Liz Cambage brings to WNBA
- MVP Moore lifts Team Parker to victory in ASG
- The 'NFL MVP runners-up' quiz
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