The Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) scoring title is awarded to the player with the highest points per game average in every given season.
^ | Denotes player who is still active in the WNBA | |||||
* | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||
† | Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration [lower-alpha 1] | |||||
‡ | Denotes player who won the Most Valuable Player award that year | |||||
Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player had been the scoring leader up to and including that season | |||||
G | Guard | F | Forward | C | Center |
Rank | Player | Team | Times leader | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | 5 | 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
2 | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets | 3 | 1997, 1998, 1999 |
Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm | 2003, 2004, 2007 | ||
3 | Tina Charles | New York Liberty (1) / Washington Mystics (1) | 2 | 2016, 2021 |
Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | 2017, 2019 | ||
Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | 2012, 2013 | ||
Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets | 2000, 2005 | ||
Lisa Deshaun Leslie is an American former professional basketball player. She is currently the head coach for Triplets in the BIG3 professional basketball league, as well as a studio analyst for Orlando Magic broadcasts on Bally Sports Florida. In 2002, Leslie made history as the first player to dunk during a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game. Leslie was ranked 5th on ESPN.com's 2021 list of the WNBA's greatest players of all time.
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Taurasi is widely recognized as one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time.
Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw 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 eventually came out of retirement to play with the Atlanta Dream for the 2009 WNBA Season. Holdsclaw was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Tamika Devonne Catchings is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely considered as one of the greatest female basketball players and one of the most decorated players in WNBA history, Catchings has won a WNBA championship (2012), WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2011), WNBA Finals MVP Award (2012), five WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards, four Olympic gold medals, the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2002), and an NCAA championship with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols (1998). She is one of only 11 women to receive an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold and a WNBA Championship. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams, 12 All-WNBA teams, 12 All-Defensive teams and led the league in steals eight times. In 2011, Catchings was voted in by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and would be named to two more all-time WNBA teams, the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021.
Candace Nicole Parker, 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 draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
Sheryl Denise Swoopes is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game. Swoopes has won three Olympic gold medals and is one of eleven women's basketball players to have won an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold, and a WNBA title. She was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2017, she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Tina Marie Thompson is an American former WNBA professional basketball player and coach. Most recently, she served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018 to 2022. Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Cheryl Ford is an American former professional basketball player. As a member of the Detroit Shock, she won the WNBA championship three times.
Natalie Jean Williams is an American basketball executive and former player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Williams was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. She was also an accomplished volleyball player at UCLA. Since 2022, Williams has served as the General Manager of the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces.
Katie Smith is an American basketball coach and former player who is the lead assistant coach for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is the former head coach of the New York Liberty.
Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her WNBA career. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times. She led the Lynx to win the WNBA Championship in 2015 and 2017, and she was named the MVP of the WNBA Finals both times. In 2020, Fowles overtook Rebekkah Brunson to become the WNBA's career leader in rebounds.
Maya April Moore 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 history of women's basketball". Moore was selected for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Courtney Paris is an American basketball coach and former player. She is currently an assistant coach for the Dallas Wings of the WNBA. She last played as a center for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is best known for her accomplishments during her college career at the University of Oklahoma, where she holds career averages of 21.4 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. She holds the NCAA record for most consecutive double-doubles at 112. During her senior season in 2009, Paris received considerable media attention when she announced that she would pay back her tuition to the University of Oklahoma if the Sooners did not win the 2009 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. She would lead Oklahoma to the Final Four before falling short to eventual national runner-up Louisville. Paris was selected with the number seven overall pick by the now-defunct Sacramento Monarchs in the 2009 WNBA draft.
Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft and signed an endorsement deal with Nike soon after. Ogwumike spent 12 seasons with the Sparks and was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year. She was named to The W25, the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.
Tina Alexandria Charles is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Super League and EuroLeague Women for the off season. Originally from Jamaica, Queens, New York City, Charles was drafted first overall in the 2010 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun. In 2009 and 2010, she and teammate Maya Moore led the Connecticut Huskies to two undefeated national championships. She has won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA and was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame at the head of the Class of 2024 - the first female to head a class at any major basketball hall of fame and the first active player ever inducted.
Alysha Angelica Clark is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In college, she led the NCAA in scoring three years in a row. She was drafted in the second round of the 2010 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars. In 2018, Clark won a championship with the Seattle Storm as they swept the Mystics in the 2018 WNBA Finals, and in 2020 won her second championship as the Storm swept the Las Vegas Aces. She won her third WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. She was also the Most Valuable Player in the league in 2018 when her team CCC Polkowice of Poland in the Basket Liga Kobiet Basketball won that league's championship. In 2019, she won a Ligue Féminine de Basketball championship with her French team, Lyon Asvel. Clark is known for her swarming defense and clutch shooting.
Breanna Mackenzie Stewart, nicknamed "Stewie", is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is one of the most accomplished players in basketball history.
ChinenyeJoy "Chiney" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 2020, she became the first Black woman and the first WNBA player to host a national radio show for ESPN. She was one of the first and youngest commentators ever to be named an NBA analyst for the network covering the NBA, WNBA, and variety of sports, while simultaneously playing in the WNBA. Chiney is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in International relations. She played in three Final Fours and finished as the conference leader in scoring and rebounding as of January 3, 2014. As of 2016, Ogwumike was elected vice-president of the WNBA Players Association, and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. In May 2018, Ogwumike signed a multi-year contract with ESPN to become a full-time basketball analyst.
Elizabeth Olatayo Williams is a British-born Nigerian-American basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was the longest standing member of the Atlanta Dream until she signed with the Mystics. After immigrating from Colchester, Essex, England, she played her college career at Duke University. Then, she was drafted by the Connecticut Sun 4th overall in the 2015 WNBA draft, and was traded to Atlanta after only one year with the Sun.
Aliyah Boston is an American professional basketball power forward and center for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was named 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote and the AP Rookie of the Year. She played college basketball at the University of South Carolina.