The Women's National Basketball Association's Top 15 Players of All Time were chosen in 2011 on the occasion of the fifteenth season of the WNBA from amongst 30 nominees compiled by the league by fan, media, coach, and player voting. The group was to comprise the 15 best and most influential players of the first fifteen years of the WNBA, with consideration also accorded to

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to o ...

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

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leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

, and contribution to the growth of women's basketball; only players to have competed in the WNBA were eligible, but extra-league achievements were considered. The Top 15 players were announced at halftime of the

2011 WNBA All-Star Game The 2011 WNBA All-Star Game was played on July 23, 2011 (3:30pm EDT on ABC) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, home of the San Antonio Silver Stars. The game was the 10th WNBA All-Star Game, which has been held annually since 1999 except ...

Players selected

*''Note: all information only pertains to the first fifteen years of the league's existence.'' *The inaugural WNBA All-Star Game took place during the 1999 season, and the game has been contested yearly since, although the 2004 edition was supplanted by a game between WNBA players from both conferences and the 2004 United States Olympic team and the 2010 edition was a game between WNBA players from both conferences and the USA National Team. For the purposes of this article, appearances in the 2004 and 2010 games for both participating teams are considered All-Star appearances. This differs from the WNBA's practice, which does not count Team USA players in 2004 and 2010 as All-Stars, even though all members of Team USA except for

Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greatest ...

in 2010 were WNBA players at the time of the two games. There was no All-Star Game held in 2008. *Players who were voted to start in all-star games but were unable to play due to injury are nevertheless considered to have been starters; players voted as reserves who started in place of other injured players are nevertheless considered to have been reserves.

Other finalists

* Seimone Augustus * Ruthie Bolton¹ *

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 (WNBA). She currently serves as vice preside ...

* Katie Douglas *

Cheryl Ford Cheryl Ford (born June 6, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. As a member of the Detroit Shock, she won the WNBA championship three times. Personal life Cheryl Ford is the daughter of Bonita Ford and former NBA player ...

² *

Chamique Holdsclaw Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw (born August 9, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) most recently under a contract with the San Antonio Silver Stars. She announced her retir ...

¹ * Shannon Johnson¹ * Taj McWilliams-Franklin *

DeLisha Milton-Jones DeLisha Lachell Milton-Jones (born September 11, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player and head coach of Old Dominion. Milton-Jones played college basketball for the University of Florida. She was a first-team All-American ...

* Deanna Nolan² *

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). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Ang ...

Nykesha Sales Nykesha Simone Sales (born May 10, 1976) is an American assistant coach at the University of Georgia. She is a former professional basketball player in the WNBA, as well as playing in the Bosnian league for the ZKK Mladi Krajisnik club. Her prim ...

¹ *

Tangela Smith Tangela Nicole Smith (born April 1, 1977) is a retired American basketball player in the WNBA. Smith played the bulk of her career for the Sacramento Monarchs and the Phoenix Mercury where she won two WNBA Championships. She's currently an assis ...

* Penny Taylor * Natalie Williams¹ ¹ Retired at time of Top 15 Team announcement.
² Not playing in the league at time of Top 15 Team announcement.

Top 15 Players vs. All-Decade Team

All ten members of the WNBA's All-Decade Team were included in the Top 15 Team. There were some players that were nominated for the Top 15 Team that were not nominated for the All-Decade Team and vice versa. Below are lists of players that were either added to or omitted from the Top 15 Team nominations, in respect to the All-Decade Team nominations.

Added

* Seimone Augustus * Sylvia Fowles * Lindsay Whalen * Cappie Pondexter *

Omitted

Janeth Arcain Janeth dos Santos Arcain (, born April 11, 1969 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a retired Brazilian professional women's basketball player. She played in the United States for the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ...

* Tamecka Dixon * Jennifer Gillom *

Vickie Johnson Vickie Johnson (born April 15, 1972) is an American former basketball player and head coach of the Dallas Wings. Johnson is the former head coach of the San Antonio Stars. Upon the sale and relocation of the Stars, Johnson was hired by head coach ...

* Rebecca Lobo * Mwadi Mabika *

Andrea Stinson Andrea Stinson (born November 25, 1967) is a retired professional basketball player from the United States, playing from 1998 to 2005 for the Charlotte Sting and the Detroit Shock. Early life Andrea went to North Mecklenburg High School in Hunt ...

References

External links

Official announcement
on WNBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:top Lists of Women's National Basketball Association players 2011 WNBA season