A PRO OF PROS
Uconn nation tabs Diana Taurasi as best former Husky to play in the WNBA. Who else filled out the top 10?
We asked readers to vote on the top 10 former Huskies to play in the WNBA, and the results are in.
The usual suspects — Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart — made up the top four. Who else filled out the top 10, and what were some of the surprises along the way?
Here is a player-by-player analysis of the top 10 as chosen by our readers. You can find more data on how the voting broke down at courant.com/uconnwnba.
1. Diana Taurasi
Not too surprising considering many already deem her the WNBA GOAT, Taurasi is the league’s all-time scoring leader, a threetime champion with the Phoenix Mercury (2007, 2009, 2014) and one of five players to win multiple Finals MVP awards. She also leads the league in selections for ALL-WNBA First and Second Teams with 14. The only two seasons she didn’t get a nod were ones where she missed the majority of the year with injuries. She also became the first WNBA player to score 9,000 points this season.
2. Sue Bird
Another go-to for many WNBA fans’ Mount Rushmore, Bird’s résumé speaks for itself. She’s the league’s all-time assists leader,
a 12-time WNBA All-star (the most for any player in history) and has made eight appearances on ALL-WNBA teams. Her championship pedigree is unrivaled, too, as she is the first WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. Her longevity distinguishes her, but Bird’s ability to maintain such a high level of play throughout her 18 seasons in the league is remarkable in its own right.
3. Maya Moore
People look at Moore’s career in different ways considering she played just eight WNBA seasons, but what Moore was able to do in those eight seasons sets her apart. She’s a four-time WNBA champion with the Minnesota Lynx, the 2013 Finals MVP and 2014 WNBA MVP. She made six All-star appearances and seven ALL-WNBA teams, and who knows what she could have added to her résumé if she hadn’t stepped away from the game to work on criminal justice reform. Though scoring was just one facet of her game, according to Across the Timeline’s database, Moore is one of 10 players to average over 18 points in her career, joining the likes of Cynthia Cooper-dyke, Taurasi, Angel Mccoughtry and Lauren Jackson.
4. Breanna Stewart
The scary thing about Stewart is that though she came in fourth in our poll, in another 5-10 years she may very well have an argument for being No. 1. Stewart won titles in the last two WNBA seasons she played, after an Achilles tear kept her out of 2019 season. Despite losing two important pieces from their 2020 team, the Storm are one of the top teams in the league this season and Stewart is an MVP candidate once again. She was the 2018 MVP, 2018 and 2020 Finals MVP, inaugural Commissioner’s Cup MVP and, at 26, shows no signs of slowing down.
5. Tina Charles
You know who else is in the esteemed company of scorers who averaged at least 18 points throughout their entire careers? Charles. Charles has made clear that a WNBA championship is fueling her this season, her first with the Washington Mystics. She is currently leading the league in scoring with 25.4 points per game. Regardless of whether or not Charles takes home a title, her legacy has been set as one of the league’s all-time greats with her status as an eight-time All-star, eight-time ALL-WNBA pick, 2012 MVP and former scoring and rebounding champion (the latter four times).
6. Swin Cash
You don’t have to think back far to understand Cash’s significance to women’s basketball, as she was just inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame this past weekend. Cash, who currently works in the front office of the New Orleans Pelicans, is a three-time WNBA champion, twice with the Detroit Shock and once with the Seattle Storm, a four-time All-star (twice being named All-star MVP) and a two-time ALL-WNBA Second Team selection.
7. Nykesha Sales
Sales may have played her final WNBA season over a decade ago, but her stint in the league was extremely impactful. She was an eight-time All-star and earned a nod for ALL-WNBA Second Team in 2004. Now an assistant coach at UCF, Sales spent her entire WNBA career with the Orlando Miracle/connecticut Sun franchise and helped the Sun make back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances in 2004 and 2005. She’s still the franchise’s all-time leading scorer nearly 15 years later.
8. Rebecca Lobo
As a Naismith and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, Rebecca Lobo’s impact on the game is undisputed. Lobo, now an analyst for ESPN, was one of the three founding players of the WNBA in 1996, one year after helping Uconn win its first national title. She was an ALL-WNBA Second Team selection in 1997, the league’s first season, and an All-star in 1999.
9. Napheesa Collier
A third-year player cracking the top 10 may be a little controversial, but Collier does have an impressive résumé so far as a pro, and her potential is promising. The Lynx forward was the 2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year and in 2020 was tabbed ALL-WNBA Second Team and All-defensive Second Team as she guided Minnesota to a semifinals appearance. This summer, Collier, 24, earned her first Olympic bid, leads Minnesota in scoring and is second in rebounding as the Lynx look to make some noise with the playoffs looming next month.
10. Renee Montgomery
Montgomery, now a co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, balances both individual accolades and team achievements throughout her 11-year WNBA career. While playing for the Connecticut Sun, she was an All-star in 2011 and Sixth Woman of the Year in 2012. After joining the Minnesota Lynx, she came off the bench to be part of the franchise’s 2015 and 2017 championships. She also had a successful stint with the Dream, too, helping lead them to the WNBA semifinals in 2018.
Honorable mentions
Tiffany Hayes, Asjha Jones and Stefanie Dolson didn’t crack the top 10 but certainly deserve mentions here as Nos. 11-13. Jones is one of 11 players in the sport’s history to win an Olympic gold medal, a World Cup title, a NCAA championship and a WNBA championship (Taurasi, Bird, Moore, Stewart and Cash are four of the others). During her time in the league, she was a two-time All-star, earned an ALL-WNBA Second Team nod and won a title with the 2015 Lynx.
Hayes, who this season is making her way back from a MCL tear, has had a standout WNBA career that includes an All-star nod (2017) and both First Team ALL-WNBA and All-defensivesecondteamrecognitionin2018. Dolson, meanwhile, has made a career out of doing the little things that help teams be great and is a two-time All-star in her own right.