WNBA 2022 - Ranking the top 25 players in the league

The ability to battle inside and also hit the mid-range-and-beyond jump shot has become the definition of great post play in professional basketball, and the WNBA currently has some of the best to ever do it. So it's not surprising that three league MVPs in their mid-to-late 20s with that skill set lead the way in ESPN's 2022 preseason ranking of the top 25 players in the WNBA.

But longevity is also a defining characteristic in the WNBA, and some of the league's most respected veterans are still hanging tough among the elite.

As the WNBA gets set to start its 26th season on May 6, our ranking comes with a couple of caveats. Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner (detained in Russia) and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (pregnancy) are two players who would have made the list but won't be in action to start the season, so they are left off. Also, we will re-rank players throughout the season, so players who show they have elevated their games or — like Washington Mystics forward Alysha Clark — are coming back from injuries, might make it into the top 25.

In a 12-team league, a player already has to be among the best of the best just to get a roster spot. But here are the very best.

Forward | 6-foot-4 2021 stats: 20.3 PPG, 9.6 RPG

After reestablishing herself as the best player in the world with a dominant performance in the 2020 WNBA Finals, averaging 28.3 PPG as the Storm swept the Aces for a second title in three years, Stewart was a strong contender for MVP before injury ended her 2021 campaign late in the regular season. Back healthy after offseason Achilles surgery, Stewart will be looking to pick up where she left off in the playoffs. Seattle has won the last 10 postseason games Stewart has played, as well as