Ranking A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and the Top 20 Players to Watch in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs.Giang

Reputations are made and legacies are often cemented in the postseason, and the WNBA playoffs are no different.

The Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson and New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart have long held claim to being the two best players in the league thanks in part to their two titles apiece.

For Jonquel Jones, Stewart’s teammate in New York, along with Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas, Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, winning a first career championship would further affirm their elite status.

Then there’s Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, who is already a top-10 talent in the league and poised to make a major statement in the playoffs.

Ahead of the postseason, here’s a look at the best players from this year’s eight-team field.

No. 20: Skylar Diggins-Smith, Seattle Storm

No. 19: Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury

No. 18: Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever

No. 17: Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream

No. 16: Brionna Jones, Connecticut Sun

Rhyne Howard is a victim of her own success in some regard. She was an All-Star reserve as a rookie, which set the bar pretty high in terms of where she’d go from there. Now three years into her career, the Atlanta Dream are still waiting for the 6’2″ guard to make her breakthrough.

Atlanta is in all likelihood headed for a sweep at the hands of the top-seeded Liberty, but Howard having a standout showing would help set the table nicely for 2025.

No. 15: Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm

No. 14: Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx

No. 13: DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut Sun

No. 12: Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces

No. 11: Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury

Brittney Griner (33) isn’t getting any younger and nothing is guaranteed when it comes to Diana Taurasi’s future past this year. The Phoenix Mercury acquired Kahleah Copper to chase some level of playoff glory with those two legends still on the roster.

In order to make that kind of run, Phoenix needs Copper to be the player who averaged 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals en route to winning MVP in the 2021 WNBA Finals.

No. 10: Ezi Magbegor, Seattle Storm

No. 9: Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces

No. 8: Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty

No. 7: Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle Storm

No. 6: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever

A month in, teams would’ve jumped at the chance to play the Fever in a playoff series. Now, Indiana looks much different with its young roster benefiting from more time together and a less grueling schedule.

The Fever’s hopes of upsetting the Connecticut Sun in the first round will hinge largely on whether Clark remains the same player she has been after the Olympic break. No matter how good they are, expecting a rookie to take over a playoff series like she did to close out the regular season is a lot to ask.

No. 5: Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty

No. 4: Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun

No. 3: Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx

No. 2: Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty

No. 1: A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

Wilson is having one of the single greatest seasons in WNBA history and she’s going to be the MVP by a substantial margin, perhaps unanimously. What was once a close head-to-head battle between her and Stewart for the best player crown now has a decisive answer.

The pressure is squarely on Stewart and Jonquel Jones to deliver in this year’s playoffs, though. The Liberty have three of the 10 best individual players and more roster continuity than they did during their 2023 run. New York has to bring home a title.