The following is a list of the players who have scored the most points during their WNBA careers.
Contents
The following is a list of the players who have scored the most points during their WNBA careers.
| ^ | Active WNBA player |
| * | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
All statistics are up to date as of August 17, 2022. [3]
This is a progressive list of scoring leaders showing how the record increased through the years. [4]
| ^ | Active WNBA player |
| * | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| † | Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration [lower-alpha 9] |
| ATL | Atlanta Dream |
| CHI | Chicago Sky |
| DAL | Dallas Wings |
| HOU | Houston Comets |
| IND | Indiana Fever |
| LAS | Los Angeles Sparks |
| MIN | Minnesota Lynx |
| NYL | New York Liberty |
| PHO | Phoenix Mercury |
| SEA | Seattle Storm |
| WAS | Washington Mystics |
| Season | Year-by-year leader | Points | Active player leader | Total points | Career record | Total points | Single-season record | Points | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Cynthia Cooper* HOU | 621 | Cynthia Cooper* HOU | 621 | Cynthia Cooper* HOU | 621 | Cynthia Cooper* HOU | 621 | 1997 |
| 1998 | 680 | 1,301 | 1,301 | 680 | 1998 | ||||
| 1999 | 686 | 1,987 | 1,987 | 686 | 1999 | ||||
| 2000 | Katie Smith* MIN | 646 | 2,537 | 2,537 | 2000 | ||||
| 2001 | 739 | Lisa Leslie* LAS | 2,670 | Lisa Leslie* LAS | 2,670 | Katie Smith* MIN | 739 | 2001 | |
| 2002 | Tamika Catchings* IND | 594 | 3,193 | 3,193 | 2002 | ||||
| 2003 | Lauren Jackson* SEA | 698 | 3,617 | 3,617 | 2003 | ||||
| 2004 | 634 | 4,215 | 4,215 | 2004 | |||||
| 2005 | Sheryl Swoopes* HOU | 614 | 4,732 | 4,732 | 2005 | ||||
| 2006 | Diana Taurasi^ PHO | 860 | 5,412 | 5,412 | Diana Taurasi^ PHO | 860 | 2006 | ||
| 2007 | Seimone Augustus † MIN | 769 | Tina Thompson* HOU | 4,882 | 2007 | ||||
| 2008 | Diana Taurasi^ PHO | 820 | Lisa Leslie* LAS | 5,909 | 5,909 | 2008 | |||
| 2009 | Cappie Pondexter PHO 2009 NYL 2010 | 648 | 6,263 | 6,263 | 2009 | ||||
| 2010 | 729 | Tina Thompson* LAS 2010–11 SEA 2012–13 | 6,413 | Tina Thompson* LAS 2010–11 SEA 2012–13 | 6,413 | 2010 | |||
| 2011 | Angel McCoughtry^ ATL | 712 | 6,751 | 6,751 | 2011 | ||||
| 2012 | Cappie Pondexter NYL | 695 | 7,009 | 7,009 | 2012 | ||||
| 2013 | Angel McCoughtry^ ATL | 711 | 7,488 | 7,488 | 2013 | ||||
| 2014 | Maya Moore † MIN | 812 | Diana Taurasi^ PHO | 6,722 | 2014 | ||||
| 2015 | Elena Delle Donne^ CHI | 725 | Tamika Catchings* IND | 6,947 | 2015 | ||||
| 2016 | Tina Charles^ NYL | 688 | 7,380 | 2016 | |||||
| 2017 | 671 | Diana Taurasi^ PHO | 7,867 | Diana Taurasi^ PHO | 7,867 | 2017 | |||
| 2018 | Breanna Stewart^ SEA | 742 | 8,549 | 8,549 | 2018 | ||||
| 2019 | Brittney Griner^ PHO | 642 | 8,575 | 8,575 | 2019 | ||||
| 2020 | Arike Ogunbowale^ DAL | 501 | 8,931 | 8,931 | 2020 | ||||
| 2021 | Tina Charles^ WAS | 631 | 9,174 | 9,174 | 2021 | ||||
| 2022 | Breanna Stewart^ SEA | 741 | 9,693 | 9,693 | 2022 | ||||
| Season | Year-by-year leader | Points | Active player leader | Total points | Career record | Total points | Single-season record | Points | Season |
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league composed of 12 teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. She was drafted by Phoenix first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2004), three WNBA championships, a historic five Olympic gold medals, one WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2009), two WNBA Finals MVP Awards, five scoring titles, and three FIBA World Cups. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams and fourteen All-WNBA teams. In 2011, she was voted by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and was named by the league to its 20th and 25th anniversary teams, respectively the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021. Also in 2021, she was selected by fans as the league's greatest player of all time. On June 18, 2017, Taurasi became the WNBA all-time leading scorer and on June 27, 2021, became the first player to surpass 9,000 points. On August 3, 2023, Taurasi became the first player to score 10,000 career points. Her penchant for scoring in crucial situations has earned her the nickname "White Mamba", coined by Kobe Bryant. Taurasi is one of 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup, and a WNBA Championship.
Suzanne Brigit Bird 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 by the Storm first overall in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2021, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in Russia, besides dual citizenship with both U.S. and Israel.
Candace Nicole Parker nicknamed "Ace", is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). 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 and two seasons with the Chicago Sky, 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.
Elena Delle Donne is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Delle Donne played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 2009 to 2013. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the second overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft, and led the Sky to the 2014 WNBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Phoenix Mercury. Delle Donne was traded to the Washington Mystics in 2017 and led them to their first WNBA championship in 2019.
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Brittney Yevette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. She was additionally named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
Angel Lajuane McCoughtry is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. McCoughtry completed her college career at the University of Louisville in 2009. She was selected first overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2009 WNBA draft and was considered its franchise player during her tenure with the team. McCoughtry has also played overseas in Turkey, Slovakia, Lebanon, Hungary and Russia.
Tina Alexandria Charles is a former American professional basketball player of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). 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.
Skylar Kierra Diggins-Smith is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diggins was drafted third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. In high school, she was the National Gatorade Player of the Year and the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. She played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and led the team to three consecutive Final Fours and two consecutive NCAA championship appearances. She finished her Notre Dame career ranked first in points and steals, second in assists, and as a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation.
Tiffany Kiara Hayes is an American-Azerbaijani professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Hayes played college basketball for the Connecticut Huskies, playing for the 2009 and 2010 NCAA National Champions.
Chinenye "Chiney" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player 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.
A'ja Riyadh Wilson is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson played for the South Carolina Gamecocks in college, and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2017, and won the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player award. In 2018, she won a record third straight SEC Player of the Year award, leading South Carolina to a record fourth straight SEC Tournament Championship, becoming the all-time leading scorer in South Carolina women's basketball history, and was a consensus first-team All-American for the third consecutive season. Wilson swept all National Player of the Year awards as the best player in Women's College basketball for 2018. In the 2018 WNBA draft, she was drafted first overall by the Aces.
Katie Lou Samuelson is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the UConn Huskies.
Rachel Banham is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Banham played guard for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team, where she set a number of team records. Banham was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 4th pick of the 2016 WNBA draft. Banham was traded to the Minnesota Lynx on February 25, 2020. It was also announced on January 2, 2022, on social media that she and her boyfriend Andre Hollins were engaged at Williams Arena.