The Women’s National Basketball Association may not be quite as big as the men’s equivalent, but the league has taken great strides in recent years – off and on the court – to become more high profile. Games are played in front of thousands of adoring fans and the players show their incredible skills on a daily basis, while remaining role models for millions of young girls around the world.

The Las Vegas Aces have just taken the 2022 championship – the first in franchise history – and California betting sites will already be offering markets on next year’s season. Sue Bird, regarded as one of the best players of all time, retired this year after 20 years in the league. But here are some of the other stars that have graced the WNBA over the years.

Lisa Leslie

This three-time WNBA MVP and four-time Olympics gold medal winner with Team USA, Lisa Leslie is – for many – the face of the league. She was there right from the start after being taken by her hometown Los Angeles Sparks in 1997. She was the first player to dunk in the league and was a fearsome defender.

But she was also pretty effective at the other end of the court and became one of the biggest players in the WNBA when it began. She was the first to reach a multitude of milestones as her Sparks team made the finals on a number of occasions at the turn of the century. One of the true greats of the game.

Tamika Catchings

Taken third overall in the 2001 WNBA Draft, Tamika Catchings played for the Indiana Fever for her entire career and became a legend of the game, known for her defensive prowess. Four Olympic medals were won along with countless other awards with the Fever.

Although Catchings was incredible on the court, she was also a star off it. As well as serving as President of the WBNA Players Association towards the end of her career, she also founded the Catch the Stars Foundation. With a mission to help motivate at risk youth, Catchings showed what a true hero should look like.

Sheryl Swoopes

With a name like that, Sheryl Swoopes was surely always going to be a WNBA star. She was just about synonymous with the league for a while, as she won title after title and picked up MVP awards along the way. She was the first player to win a NCAA Championship, a WNBA title and an Olympic gold.

As a way of proving just how successful Swoopes was – and how more mainstream she made the WNBA – she was also the first player to have a signature shoe. Swoopes was one of the most well known players in the WNBA when it was first taking off and the league should be forever grateful for that.

Diana Taurasi

The only player on our list still playing, Diana Taurasi was nicknamed the White Mamba by Kobe Bryant himself. So we think that she deserves her place among the greatest. Still going strong, Taurasi is the player you would turn to if you needed a crucial shot taken at the buzzer.

Now the proud owner of five Olympic gold medals, Taurasi is also the WNBA’s All-Time leading points scorer – and the first ever to surpass 9,000 points. She has won three championships with the Phoenix Mercury, as well as starring for some of the top teams all over the world.

Cynthia Cooper

Slightly older than some of the other players profiled here, Cynthia Copper had already played in Italy and Spain for around ten years when the Houston Comets came calling. She swiftly became one of the real stars of the WNBA and completely changed how people thought about the league.

Her points-scoring technique and abilities are legendary – and she helped the Comets win the championship in each of the first four years of her time in Houston. She then began a successful coaching career and even found time to earn a bachelor’s degree while coaching at Prairie View A&M University.