Some of the best female basketball players in the world have participated in the WNBA throughout the course of its illustrious existence. Some of those players played on prestigious WNBA teams that represented the league’s overall splendour.
Top 25 WNBA Teams of all time
The top 25 WNBA teams, including those who came in second or third, are listed below.
1. Houston Comets (1998)
The 1998 Houston Comets still have the best winning percentage (.900) in WNBA history with a record of 27-3. They come in first on our list for other reasons as well. The season was longer, the league featured 10 teams, and the level of quality was rising. But the 21-1 Comets team didn’t care about that. The Comets participated in the first-ever best-of-three Finals but lost the opening game to Phoenix when it came time to defend their championship. Houston, nevertheless, recovered to defeat the Mercury in overtime. Cynthia Cooper, the 1998 WNBA MVP and Finals MVP, helped Houston accomplish the repeat with a nine-point victory in the pivotal final.
2. Phoenix Mercury (2014)
Talk about being tyrannical. The Mercury, who had previously won the WNBA title twice, had one of the most notable campaigns in the league’s history. Phoenix won 29-5 to set a new WNBA teams record for the most victories in a season. Diana Taurasi (16.2 ppg), Candace Dupree (14.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg), and Brittney Griner (15.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg) all averaged double figures. However, the Mercury’s performance in the postseason may be most notable. Phoenix had a 7-1 record overall in the postseason, with their lone defeat coming against Minnesota in the conference finals. In the Finals, the Mercury defeated the Chicago Sky by an average score of 18.3 in three games.
3. Houston Comets (2000)
The last title was won by a Comets dynasty. Houston defeated the New York Liberty once more to claim the title in 2000.
The Comets started 19-2 and won their final five games to conclude the regular season with a 27-5 record, which is the second-best mark in club history. After that, they went 6-0 in the postseason, but they only defeated the Liberty by a combined 13 points in the two Finals. Sheryl Swoopes was named the league’s defensive player of the year and most valuable player, but Cynthia Cooper earned the WNBA Finals MVP title for a record fourth time. Before the Comets franchise was over, eight more seasons would pass.
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4. Los Angeles Sparks (2001)
The Sparks’ championship was significant since it was the first in the team’s history and it put a stop to Houston’s initial dynasty. These Sparks had the Comets to worry about, but that team’s supremacy was waning as they matched the franchise record of 28-4 from 2000. Coach Michael Cooper led Los Angeles to a league-record 18-game winning run and an undefeated regular season at home, supported by MVP Lisa Leslie. By sweeping Houston in the first round of the playoffs, the Sparks effectively changed the WNBA guard. In the conference finals, they fell to Sacramento in a game, but the Sparks defeated upstart Charlotte to win the championship.
5. Seattle Storm (2010)
All Storm teams continue to want to be like this group. The best record in team history is still its 28-6 mark. The Storm were 13 games ahead of Phoenix in the Western Conference, led by league and Finals MVP Lauren Jackson (20.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg), Swin Cash (13.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and Sue Bird (11.1 ppg, 5.8 apg). Seattle made things appear simple because of those stars and a tonne of confidence. particularly as the postseason approached. The Storm swept Atlanta, the previously mentioned Mercury, and Los Angeles to end 2010 with the franchise’s second WNBA title.
6. Washington Mystics (2019)
The Washington Mystics won the WNBA championship in 2019 after only 22 years in the league. And without a question, this was the greatest squad in franchise history. The Mystics were prepared to advance one season after winning 22 games and losing to Seattle in the WNBA teams Finals. With a league- and franchise-best 26-8 record, Washington won 17 of its last 19 regular-season games behind WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne (19.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 1.3 blocks per game). The playoffs weren’t as simple, with the Mystics requiring all five games against Connecticut in the title game and three to defeat Las Vegas in the semifinals.
7. Minnesota Lynx (2013)
Following their loss in the 2012 Finals, the Lynx mounted a comeback. With a record of 26-8 and eight victories in nine games at the end of the regular season, the 2013 Minnesota club was by far the greatest team in the league.
Then, in the postseason, the Lynx really stepped up their game, going 7-0 against opponents from Seattle, Phoenix, and Atlanta. A three-point winning margin was only achieved in one postseason game. Maya Moore (18.5 ppg), Seimone Augustus (16.3 ppg), Lindsay Whalen (14.9 ppg), and Rebekkah Brunson (10.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg) excelled for a squad that averaged 82.9 points per game and shot 47.4 percent.
8. Minnesota Lynx (2017)
The most recent champions in Minnesota are this group. After failing to win the championship in 2016, the Lynx were determined to make amends. They went 27-4 in their subsequent season and produced four All-Stars in Maya Moore, Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus, and Rebekkah Brunson. The group scored 85.4 points on average. The MVP of the season and Finals was Fowles (18.9, 10.4 rpg). Minnesota exacted some revenge against Los Angeles by coming back from 2-1 down in the Finals after being swept by Washington.
9. Detroit Shock (2003)
The 2003 team’s performance stands out when reviewing the history of the now-defunct Detroit Shock team. The Houston Comets and Los Angeles Sparks won the first six WNBA championships prior to 2003. The Shock, on the other hand, reversed that pattern by going from worst to first to win the 2003 championship. Detroit finished 9-23 in 2002, with Swin Cash leading the way (16.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, and 3.6 assists per game). A year later, Detroit ended with a league-best 25-9 record in Bill Laimbeer’s first full season as coach, and they prevented the Sparks from completing a triple-double by defeating them in a three-game Finals series. While Cheryl Ford (10.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg) earned WNBA Rookie of the Year, Ruth Riley was awarded Finals MVP.
10. Los Angeles Sparks (2002)
The second of Los Angeles’ two consecutive WNBA championships. After claiming their first championship, the Sparks, led by former Laker Michael Cooper, didn’t slow down. The greatest regular-season record for these Sparks was 25-7. But what really characterised this team’s excellence was the domination that Finals MVP Lisa Leslie and company showed during the postseason. To win the repeat, the Sparks went 6-0 versus Seattle, Utah, and New York in the postseason.
11. Seattle Storm (2018)
The 2018 Seattle Storm became the best club in the WNBA teams with a regular season record of 26-8. The Storm then won the third title for the group by defeating Phoenix in a nail-biting five-game semifinal series and eliminating Washington in three games. The Storm were the only team in 2018 to have less than 10 defeats. Breanna Stewart (24.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg) won the league and Finals MVP titles, Natasha Howard (15.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg) was chosen as the WNBA’s Most Improved star, and legendary star Sue Bird (10.0 ppg, 6.9 apg) proved that age was no barrier to success.
12. Sacramento Monarchs (2005)
The Monarchs, one of the original eight WNBA teams, had a generally successful career from 1997 through 2009, going 224-200. However, 2005 continues to be the franchise’s pinnacle achievement. The Monarchs had a franchise-best 25-9 record under the leadership of WNBA legends Yolanda Griffith, the league MVP, Nicole Powell, Rebekkah Brunson, and Ticha Penicheiro. Sacramento defeated Connecticut in four games to earn the team’s lone WNBA championship after dominating Los Angeles and Houston. After four seasons, the franchise would be cancelled.
13. Minnesota Lynx (2011)
In the first 13 years of the organisation, Minnesota only made three playoff trips before winning the WNBA title. The Lynx finished 2011 as the league’s best team with a record of 27-7. After being forced by San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs to play a maximum of three games, Minnesota defeated Phoenix in the conference finals and Atlanta in the championship game. Despite Maya Moore (13.2 ppg), the league’s rookie of the year, making her WNBA debut, Seimone Augustus (16,2 ppg) and Lindsay Whalen (13.6 ppg, 59 apg) provided the game’s highlights.
14. Seattle Storm (2020)
Seattle’s first-place victory was brought up. It’s now the fourth Storm. In the previous two years, the Storm had won their third league crown. In the COVID-created “Wubble” in 2020, Seattle finished the shortened season 18-4 and tied Las Vegas for the best record in the league. Breanna Stewart, who averaged 19.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game and missed the 2019 season due to injury, helped the Storm overcome Minnesota after securing one of the double-byes into the semifinals. As a result of their three-game Finals victory over the Aces, they became the only teams with four WNBA championships, joining Minnesota and Houston.
15. Houston Comets (1999)
The third championship-winning team from Houston was once more the best in the league. The Comets finished the season 26-6; no other club won more than 20 games. Cynthia Cooper continued to be the league’s top player, although Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson were also strong WNBA players. Houston suffered a fairly shocking playoff loss in the first round but bounced back to defeat Los Angeles in the following two games. The Comets dropped Game 2 of their series against New York in the Finals. But once more, they came together to win Game 3 by a score of 59-47. They did it in memory of guard Kim Perrot, who was instrumental in Houston’s first two championship victories and passed away in August of the same year from lung and brain cancer.
16. Phoenix Mercury (2009)
The Mercury and Minnesota equal for the second-most Finals appearances ever with five. Phoenix won two of its three titles between 2007 and 2009. In 2009, the Mercury won their second title while posting a 23-11 record that was a club high and averaging 92.8 points per game. The latter is the second-highest single-season scoring average in league history, trailing only its own 93.9 points per game from 2010. The Mercury’s 85.5 percent free-throw shooting efficiency also established a league record. Diana Taurasi, a teammate of Tangela Smith, averaged a league-best 20.4 points per game in 2009 and shot 45.2 percent from beyond the arc. Later on, Taurasi rose to the position of top scorer in WNBA history.
17. Los Angeles Sparks (2016)
The only one the Sparks were able to win with Candace Parker along for the ride, and the most recent of Los Angeles’ three WNBA championships. The 2016 Sparks finished the regular season with a record of 26-8, which was second only to Minnesota’s 28-6 mark. Los Angeles regrouped to defeat Chicago in four games to start the playoffs despite finishing 6-7 down the stretch because to Nneka Ogwumike (19.7 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.1 apg), Parker (15.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.9 apg), and Kristi Toliver (13.2 ppg). In one of the league’s most thrilling Finals ever, they defeated the Lynx.
18. Seattle Storm (2004)
The Storm, who made their WNBA debut in 2000, won the league title for the first time in 2004. Seattle lost six of their final nine games, finishing the regular season with a record of 20-14, five games behind Los Angeles in the Western Conference. But when it mattered most, the Storm’s Betty Lennox (11.9 ppg), Sue Bird (12.9 ppg, 5.4 apg), and Lauren Jackson (20.4 ppg) found their form. In five of their six playoff victories, Seattle scored at least ten points. In addition, after losing Game 1 of the WNBA Finals in Connecticut, the team won the next two games to claim the title, making Anne Donovan the first female coach to do so.
19. Indiana Fever (2012)
As previously said, Minnesota had a fantastic regular season in 2012. But the Fever had a really remarkable team that finally brought home the team’s first league championship. The Fever tied a club regular-season record with a 22-12 record, led by two of the best collegiate players of all time in Tamika Catchings (17.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Katie Douglas (16.5 ppg). Indiana outperformed the Lynx despite dropping their first-round playoff matches against Atlanta and Connecticut.
20. Minnesota Lynx (2016)
The 2016 team’s 28-6 record is the best single-season record in Minnesota Lynx basketball history. Despite owning the best record in the league, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Sylvia Fowles, fellow star Maya Moore (19.3 ppg), and a double-bye in the playoffs, the Lynx failed to repeat as league champions. Prior to playing Candace Parker and the rising Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota swept Phoenix in three games.
When Nneka Ogwumike made a quick jumper off the rebound of her own blocked shot with 3.1 seconds remaining in the pivotal Game 5 of the series, the Lynx had already dropped two of three games at home to the Sparks. Ogwumike made a shot that looked to come after the shot clock expired before she performed her heroics, but it wasn’t called. In her news conference following the game, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve vented.
21. Minnesota Lynx (2012)
The first of two consecutive Minnesota teams that were outstanding overall but were unable to claim a WNBA championship. This 2017 team went a league-best 27-7 and seemed ready to defend their WNBA title, powered by Seimone Augustus (16.6 ppg), Maya Moore (16.4 ppg), and Lindsay Whalen (11.5 ppg, 5.4 apg). But the fact that the Lynx required three games to defeat Seattle in the first round of the playoffs ought to have been a harbinger of things to come. After sweeping Los Angeles, Minnesota struggled to overcome an Indiana team with 12 losses that heated up in the playoffs and fell in four games.
22. Houston Comets (1997)
The Houston Comets were the first and, according on some accounts, the only dynasty in WNBA teams history, led by coach Van Chancellor. From 1997 to 2000, the Comets won the league’s first four championships. These four championships are tied for the most in league history and represent an uninterrupted achievement that has never been matched. There were only eight teams in the WNBA’s first season, and the Comets, led by the league’s first superstar and MVP, 34-year-old Cynthia Cooper (22.2 ppg), posted a league-best 18-10 record. They defeated Charlotte and New York by a combined 30 points in two playoff games to win the title.
23. Detroit Shock (2006)
The Detroit Shock were the WNBA’s “It” team from 2003 through 2008. During that time, the team won all three of its WNBA teams championships, with the 2006 squad serving as the second champion. Star players Deanna Nolan and Cheryl Ford led that team, which finished 23-11. Sacramento, the league’s defending champion, was defeated by The Shock in a five-game Finals series. While the winning margins in the previous four games were by double digits, the crucial Game 5 was considerably tighter. In order to win 80-75, Detroit really needed two Katie Smith jump shots in the final two minutes.
24. Connecticut Sun (2021)
In 1999, the Orlando-based Connecticut Sun franchise was founded. It is still looking for that elusive first WNBA championship, though. The Sun made it to the WNBA Finals three times (in 2004, 2005, and 2019), but the finest squad in club history—among the best in the league—might be one that didn’t even make it to the final round. The Sun had a WNBA MVP-caliber season in 2021, finishing with a league-best 26-6 record, a franchise-high winning % of.813, and a 14-game winning streak that carried them into the postseason. Jonquel Jones averaged 19.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. The Sun were defeated by the eventual champion Chicago Sky in a four-game semifinal series. The cumulative score of Connecticut’s three losses in the series was 19.
25. Minnesota Lynx (2015)
A Minnesotan WNBA team that won three titles. Despite suffering 12 regular-season defeats, the Lynx finished first in the Western Conference and had the second-best record in the league (22-12). Minnesota had a 4-6 record at the end of the regular season, but they performed admirably in the postseason, finishing 3-0-1 with just three defeats and three wins by three points or less. Having a 20.6 point per game average, Maya Moore was chosen for the All-WNBA First Team. Averaging 12.6 points and 9.7 rebounds throughout the series, Sylvia Fowles won the award for Finals MVP.
