5 Greatest Teams in WNBA History

The WNBA is enjoying a surge in popularity this season, thanks in part to a star-studded rookie class.

However, the league boasts a proud history dating to 1997, and it has come a long way in those 27 years. Eleven franchises have won the WNBA championship, and numerous alumni have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, including Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl Swoopes.

The WNBA once might have been viewed as the NBA’s cute younger sibling. But make no mistake: The WNBA has blossomed into a league flush with talent and intense competition.

With all that in mind, Athlon Sports looks back to subjectively rank the top five teams in WNBA history.

5. 2010 Seattle Storm

The Seattle Storm have been one of the most successful WNBA franchises since the team’s inception in 2000 with 18 playoff appearances and four league championships to their credit. Of those four title teams, the closest thing to a perfect Storm occurred in 2010, when Seattle cruised to a 28-6 regular-season record and went 7-0 in the postseason.

Lauren Jackson won her third league MVP award, averaging 20.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Swin Cash added 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, and Sue Bird ran the point to the tune of 11.1 points and 5.8 assists per game.

4. 2001 Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks are the winningest franchise in WNBA history as of this writing, leading the league with 526 victories, 20 playoff appearances and a .577 winning percentage. The 2001 edition of the team earned the first of the franchise’s three WNBA championships, sweeping the four-time champion Houston Comets in the process.

The Sparks went 28-4 in the regular season and 6-1 in the playoffs. Lisa Leslie captured the first of her three career MVP awards, averaging 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. Tamecka Dixon, Mwadi Mabika and DeLisha Milton-Jones also averaged more than 10 points per game as Los Angeles led the league with a 76.3 scoring average — more than 10 points above the league average at the time.

With former Los Angeles Lakers guard Michael Cooper as coach, the high-scoring Sparks repeated as champs in 2002.

3. 2014 Phoenix Mercury

The Mercury are one of three original WNBA franchises still in existence, joining the Sparks and New York Liberty as teams that can trace an uninterrupted history to the league’s 1997 inception.

Phoenix went 29-5 in the regular season in ’14, setting a league record for wins that stood until the advent of the 40-game season in 2023. The Mercury posted a 7-1 postseason mark, including a sweep of the Chicago Sky in the WNBA Finals.

Diana Taurasi led a quintet of Mercury players who averaged double figures in scoring, and Brittney Griner provided imposing defense with a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game.

2. 1998 Houston Comets

The Comets were the original dynasty in professional women’s basketball, capturing the first four WNBA championships behind the Hall of Fame trio of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson.

The ’98 team was the best of the bunch, going 27-3 in the regular season to set a league record for winning percentage (.900) that still stands — and two of those losses came in overtime. These Comets set the standard for the WNBA in its second season, leading the league with 76.2 average points per game while allowing an average of 63.6 points per game, fewest in the league

Cooper led the league with 680 points (22.7 ppg) and captured her second MVP award at age 35. The Comets went 4-1 in the postseason, surviving a threat by the gritty Mercury in the WNBA Finals.

1. 2023 Las Vegas Aces

Perhaps it’s recency bias, but there’s a lot to be said for the Aces’ registering an WNBA-record 34 wins during an era in which the league’s talent pool is deeper than ever. After blazing through the regular season with just six losses, Las Vegas cruised through the postseason, 8-1, to claim the Aces’ second consecutive title.

Superstar center A’ja Wilson ranked third in the league in scoring (22.8 points per game) and second in rebounding (9.5 per game), and three other Aces averaged more than 15 points per game: Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray.

Las Vegas scored a WNBA-best 92.8 points per game — more than 10 points above the league average — and ranked second in team defense by allowing an average of 80.3 points per game.

The Aces look to become the second WNBA team to win three consecutive championships this season, but it won’t be easy .

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