The Women's National Basketball Association's Top 15 Players of All Time were chosen in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

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, and with proper consideration for wikt:fairness, fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" r ...

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leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

, and contribution to the growth of

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large parts via women's college compet ...

; 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.

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 social justice advocate and former professional basketball player. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the "greatest winner in the hist ...

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 Seimone Delicia Augustus (born April 30, 1984) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. She is currently an assistant coach for the LSU Tigers women's basketball, Louisiana State University women's basketball team. She was ...

Ruthie Bolton Alice Ruth Bolton (born May 25, 1967), known as Ruthie Bolton, is an American former professional women's basketball player. Born in Lucedale, Mississippi, she played at the collegiate, Olympic and professional levels of women's basketball. Bolt ...

¹ *

Swin Cash Swintayla Marie Cash Canal (born September 22, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. She played in college for the University of Connecticut and professionally for 15 years in the Women's National Basketball Association (WN ...

* 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. Early life and education Cheryl Ford is the daughter of Bonita Ford and former ...

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). She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007, though she ev ...

¹ * Shannon Johnson¹ *

Taj McWilliams-Franklin Taj McWilliams-Franklin (born October 20, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. A two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx and six-time all-star, McWilliams-Franklin's professional career has spanned ...

* DeLisha Milton-Jones *

Deanna Nolan Deanna Nicole "Tweety" Nolan (; born August 25, 1979) is a retired American-Russian professional basketball player for UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League as well as the Russia women's national basketball team. Her primary position ...

² *

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986), nicknamed "Ace", is an American former professional basketball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA dr ...

* Nykesha Sales¹ * Tangela Smith * 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 The Women's National Basketball Association's All-Decade Team were chosen in 2006 on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the WNBA from amongst 30 nominees compiled by the league by fan, media, coach, and player voting. The team was to comprise ...

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

* Sylvia Fowles * Lindsay Whalen *

Sue Bird Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted first overall pick by t ...

Omitted

* Janeth Arcain * Tamecka Dixon * Jennifer Gillom * Vickie Johnson *

Rebecca Lobo Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American television basketball analyst and former professional women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the cent ...

* Mwadi Mabika * Andrea Stinson

References

External links

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