The 2023 WNBA season begins on Friday, May 19. It is the 27th edition of the tournament which is accompanied by the creative campaign More Than A Game “More Passion, More Perfection… More Prime Time” and Koi Lere’s song “Players”.
WNBA stars are ready to showcase their talents and skills. On the one hand, participants include veterans such as Diana Taurasi, who is in her 19th season with Mercury Phoenix, or Candace Parker, who after two seasons with the Chicago Sky joined the Las Vegas Aces, the defending champions (whose team Together they reached the title in 2021). Candace is headed into its 16th season.
On the other hand, there are also new recruits that were announced in the draft that was held on April 10 with Aaliyah Boston as the first pick for the Indiana Fever.
Stars like 2022 season MVP and reigning WNBA champion with the Las Vegas Aces, Aija Wilson, as well as her teammate, Chelsea Gray, who took home the WNBA Finals MVP award, are two figures to follow among a long list Big stars
Big WNBA Stars to Watch in the 2023 Season
Below we list five of the greatest WNBA stars you can expect to see in action when the 2023 season begins on May 19.
Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | Hear
It appears as number one on the historical leaders table in the WNBA. He holds the record for scoring the most points in league history with 9,693. The closest to her mark is former player Tina Thompson with 7,488 points. Taurasi is 40 years old and, since being drafted with the first overall pick in the 2004 draft, has played her entire career with Phoenix, where she returned in 2023 after her injury last year.
Bakri has participated in five editions of the Olympic Games (from Athens 2004 to Tokyo 2020) and has won gold in all five, an unprecedented event.
Taurasi has won three titles with the Phoenix Mercury. He was the MVP of the Finals in 2009 (the same year in which he won the regular season MVP) and in 2014. In October 2021, she was voted by fans as the best player in WNBA history.
What are Diana Taurasi’s achievements in the WNBA?
As of the 2022 season, Diana Taurasi has led not only in points, but in other categories as well, including:
- Season-18
- Games played and games started -503.
- Minutes played – 15,565.
- Points scored 9,693.
- Average scoring -19.27.
- Shots scored – 3,041.
- Shot Throw – 7,121.
- Three pointers made – 1,297.
- 2,314 successful free throws.
- Defensive rebounds – 1,755.
- Assists – 2,152.
- Robbery – 483.
- Championship – three.
Chelsea Gray | Las Vegas Aces | shooting guard.
Chelsea Gray wins the WNBA Finals MVP Award. He led the Las Vegas Aces to their first championship. The guard averaged 18.3 PPG in the Finals; He shot 45 percent from three (31 in the playoffs), where he also averaged seven assists per game.
The title she won with the Las Vegas Aces was the second of her WNBA career, having won a title with the Los Angeles Sparks team in 2016.
Aja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | Center
She earned her second regular-season MVP after her fifth year in the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces and was named to a select list of players with the same honor as Cynthia Cooper, Elena Delle Donne and Candace Parker (two MVPs). The only ones with three regular-season MVPs are Lauren Jackson, Sherrill Swoopes, and Lisa Leslie.
Aja was also named the Defensive Player of the Year after playing in all 36 regular season games, where he posted 19.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Candace Parker | Las Vegas Aces | wing / center
He played two seasons with the Chicago Sky and the team won its first franchise title in 2021. The team also participated in the Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
Two-time WNBA MVP (in 2008 and 2013). Parker averaged 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists. She also has the third-most rebounds (3,370) behind only Sylvia Foulles with 4,006 and Tina Charles with 3,640; Parker is fifth in blocks (with 603), eighth in assists (1,567) and tenth in assists (6,412).
The 2023 season will be Parker’s 16th season in the WNBA and she remains at the top level.
Breanna Stewart | New York Liberty | Alera
She led the WNBA in scoring for the first time with 21.8 PPG and finished second in MVP voting for the second time in three years.
Twice MVP of the Finals (in 2018, when he was also the league’s MVP, and in 2020) with the Seattle Storm, a team with which he won two championships in six years. Breanna Stewart was drafted number one in 2016 by the Storm.
He averaged 20.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in his career (he missed 2019 due to injury).
What are the key dates for the 2023 season in the WNBA?
- July 15: All-Star Game (in Las Vegas).
- August 15: Commissioner’s Cup.
- September 10: End of the regular season.
- September 13: Playoffs begin.
- October 20: Potential last game of the WNBA Finals.
WNBA 2023: Other big stars
We leave you with other names of stars that you should not watch for this 2023 season.
- Brittany Griner. Phoenix Mercury.
- Kelsey Plum. Las Vegas Aces.
- Aliyah Boston. Indiana Fever.
- Erica Weiler. Indiana Fever.
- Nalisa Smith. Indiana Fever.
- Cheyenne Parker. Atlanta Dream.
- Owned by McDonald’s. Atlanta Dream.
- Monique Billings. Atlanta Dream.
- Courtney Vandersloot. Chicago Sky.
- Emma Meesman. Chicago Sky.
- Sabrina Ionescu. New York Liberty.
- Jonkel Jones. New York Liberty.
- Nneka Ogwumike. Los Angeles Sparks.
- Jordan Canada. Los Angeles Sparks.
- Breonna Jones. Connecticut Sun.
- Alyssa Thomas. Connecticut Sun.
- Maddie Siegrist. Dallas Wings.
- Taira McCowan. Dallas Wings.
- Dorka Juhaz. Minnesota Lynx.
- Diamond Miller Minnesota Lynx.
When and what time will the 2023 WNBA season start?
The 2023 WNBA season begins on May 19 with the first game between the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever at 7:00 PM (ET).
