Top 20 WNBA players countdown, ranked for the 2018 season: Part 1

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Renee Montgomery #21 of the Minnesota Lynx protest the ball against Alana Beard #0 of the Los Angeles Sparks in Game Three of the 2017 WNBA Finals on September 29, 2017 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photos by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Renee Montgomery #21 of the Minnesota Lynx protest the ball against Alana Beard #0 of the Los Angeles Sparks in Game Three of the 2017 WNBA Finals on September 29, 2017 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photos by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT- May 7: Skylar Diggins-Smith #4 of the Dallas Wings reacts on the bench during the Dallas Wings Vs New York Liberty, WNBA pre season game at Mohegan Sun Arena on May 7, 2018 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT- May 7: Skylar Diggins-Smith #4 of the Dallas Wings reacts on the bench during the Dallas Wings Vs New York Liberty, WNBA pre season game at Mohegan Sun Arena on May 7, 2018 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images) /

12. Skylar Diggins, Dallas Wings

Last season, two seasons removed from her knee injury, Skylar Diggins returned to the superstar level she’d reached before the malady. Her Player Efficiency rating, 24.9 in those nine pre-injury games in 2015, down to 13.9 in 2016, bounced back up to 21.3. Her assist percentage? From 32 down to 22, back up to 31.3 in 2017. She made 35 percent of her threes, and helped lead a very young Dallas team into the playoffs. With that injury even further behind her, and a frontcourt duo of additions in Liz Cambage and Azura Stevens, seeing what Diggins will do with all her new toys at age 27 is going to be one of the treasures of the 2018 WNBA season.