WNBA 30: These are the 10 greatest centers the league has seen
· Yahoo Sports
A’ja Wilson, listed as a center on the Las Vegas Aces’ roster, is hard to put in a box.
“No. She’s a four, sometimes a five,” Aces coach Hammon said when asked if she thinks about Wilson as a center when game-planning for her. “There’s been stretches where I’ve used her as a big three. But I would say mostly a four.”
Visit een-wit.pl for more information.
Position aside, there’s one title that Wilson should be have, according to Hammon: “The greatest player of all time is what I list her as. Whether you want to put her at center, four, wherever. Greatest player of all time.”
Fittingly, the endorsement of Wilson’s legend came during a pregame presser for a game that ended up being all about the centers on the court – and courtside – as the Aces fell to the Indiana Fever 109-75 at Michelob Ultra on July 12.
Everlasting WNBA GOAT candidate Lisa Lesie watched as Fever center Aliyah Boston “put on a clinic against A’ja Wilson,” she told USA TODAY.
Despite Boston’s strong defense, Wilson finished with 20 points and passed Leslie to move into 14th place on the WNBA all-time scoring list, reaching 6,281 career points during the contest.
With the league celebrating its 30th anniversary and with WNBA All-Star weekend officially underway, USA TODAY Sports is counting down all-time best players in league history at every position.
Today, we look at centers. Just don’t ask Leslie for her picks.
“I hate lists,” Leslie, now a CBS Sports analyst, said. “There’s not that many centers, honestly.”
Here’s our list of the 10 best centers in league history:
10. Aliyah Boston
Indiana Fever (2023-2026)
Aliyah Boston is still in the dawn of her career. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick out of South Carolina was key as the Fever pushed A'ja Wilson in the Aces within one game of elimination in the semifinals of the 2025 playoffs before the Aces went on to clinch championship.
Boston's carer accolades include four All-Star appearances (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026). She was selected 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year, becoming the fourth in WNBA history to be unanimously chosen and the first since A’ja Wilson in 2018. Boston went on to make history as the first player in WNBA to lead the league in field-goal percentage as a rookie (57.8%).
9. Tina Charles
Connecticut Sun (2010-2013, 2025), New York Liberty (2014-2019), Washington Mystics (2021), Phoenix Mercury/Seattle Storm (2022), Atlanta Dream (2024)
Tina Charles, the Sun’s No. 1 overall pick in 2010, retired from the league in May with nothing to prove. She’s the only MVP in WNBA history to never win a championship but she also boasts an illustrious career outside of the league that includes three Team USA Olympic gold medals and two NCAA titles with UConn.
From winning MVP two years into her career to hanging up the laces as eight-time WNBA All-Star, Charles resume and longevity is impressive. She retired as the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder (4,262 career rebounds) in 2026.
8. Jonquel Jones
Connecticut Sun (2016-2022), New York Liberty (2023-2026)
The New York Liberty wouldn’t be champions without Jonquel Jones, who won Finals MVP when they won their first league title in 2024. Jones, the sixth overall pick out of George Washington University in 2016, had received plenty of league recognition before then. Her trophy case includes WNBA MVP (2021), Commissioner's Cup MVP (2023), Sixth Player of the Year (2018) and Most Improved Player (2017). Jones is also a two-time first-team All-Defense selection.
7. Brittney Griner
Phoenix Mercury (2013-2024), Atlanta Dream (2025), Connecticut Sun (2026)
Since taking the league by storm as the Phoenix Mercury’s first overall pick in 2013, Brittney Griner has remained a defensive force. The 6-foot-9 Baylor alum is the league’s all-time blocks leader. In addition to winning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2014 and 2015, she has led the league in blocks eight times. Griner has made nine All-Star appearances and won a WNBA championship with the Mercury in 2014.
6. Taj McWilliams-Franklin
Orlando Miracle (1999-2002), Connecticut Sun (2003-2006), Las Vegas Aces (2007), Washington Mystics (2008), Detroit Shock (2008-2009), New York Liberty (2010), Minnesota Lynx (2011-2012)
At 6-foot-2, Taj McWilliams-Franklin is a two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx. Another athlete whose playing career spanned before the league’s inception, she's a six-time WNBA All-Star before she retired from the WNBA after the 2012 season. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
5. Yolanda Griffith
Sacramento Monarchs (1999-2008), Indiana Fever (2009)
Yolanda Griffith’s legacy is cemented as the only player in WNBA history to win both regular-season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in her rookie/first season (1999). Even more interesting: her journey before the league included a deferred commitment to the University of Iowa after the learned he was pregnant, so she opted to play in community college and overseas while parenting before she joined the Sacramento Monarchs and made her stamp on the game. Griffith retired a seven-time WNBA All-Star, twice having led the league in rebounding and steals.
4. Sylvia Fowles
Chicago Sky (2008-2014), Minnesota Lynx (2015-2022)
Sylvia Fowles was selected second overall in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky after a dominant collegiate career at LSU. After joining the Minnesota Lynx in 2015, she helped lead the franchise to WNBA championships in 2015 and 2017, earning Finals MVP honors both times. She also earned the league's Most Valuable Player award in 2017 and was named WNBA Defensive Player of the Year four times (2011, 2013, 2016, and 2021). Fowles was an eight-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA.
3. Lauren Jackson
Seattle Storm (2001-2012)
Lauren Jackson only knew Australia’s Women National Basketball League until the Seattle Storm made her the first overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft. The eventual seven-time All-Star was the piece they needed to contend for a title as Jackson led the organization to its first two WNBA championships in 2004 and 2010. Along the way, she won three WNBA MVP awards (2003, 2007, 2010), snagged the 2010 Finals MVP and earned the 2007 Defensive Player of the Year award.
2. Lisa Leslie
Los Angeles Sparks (1997-2009)
Lisa Leslie is the first player to dunk in a WNBA game in 2002. But if that wasn’t enough for you, she was drafted seventh overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the inaugural 1997 WNBA Draft out of USC. Leslie was one of the league’s first superstars, attracting eyes as she led the Sparks to back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002. Leslie earned Finals MVP honors in both title runs. She also won three league MVP awards (2001, 2004, and 2006), was selected to eight WNBA All-Star Games and claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors twice (2004 and 2008).
1. A'ja Wilson
Las Vegas Aces (2018-2026)
A'ja Wilson was selected first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2018 WNBA Draft after a legendary career at South Carolina. In 2025, she became the first player in history to win a championship, Finals MVP, WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season. Wilson is also the only player to score 300 points in a single WNBA postseason and set the league's single-season rebounding record in 2024. She's won an unprecedented four WNBA MVP awards (2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025), three WNBA championships (2022, 2023, and 2025), two Finals MVP awards (2023 and 2025) and three Defensive Player of the Year awards (2022, 2023, and 2025). A eight-time All-Star, Wilson has a resume its hard to imagine any player could rival. Even if we put her on the forwards list.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA 30: These are the 10 greatest centers the league has seen