Top 20 WNBA players countdown, ranked for the 2018 season: Part 2

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Candace Parker #3 of the Los Angeles Sparks plays defense against Maya Moore #23 of the Minnesota Lynx 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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TARRYTOWN, NY – MAY 15: Tina Charles #31 of the New York Liberty poses for a head shot during Media Day on May 15, 2018, at the Knicks Practice Center in Tarrytown, New York. 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 2018 NBAE (Photo by Steve Freeman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

9. Tina Charles

Leave aside the early exits in the WNBA playoffs and consider the following: exactly how has Tina Charles managed to lead the Liberty to home playoff games each of the past two years? Her game keeps improving—witness her extending range beyond the three-point line, simultaneously improving her efficiency and New York’s spacing—but look at her surrounding team. To be clear, New York has more talent. But stars? It really begins and ends with Charles. Last season’s top four teams? Lynx, Sparks, Sun, Liberty. The other three teams all had multiple all-stars, multiple members of the league’s elite. The year before? Lynx, Sparks, Liberty, Sky. That was Elena Delle Donne’s Sky, by the way, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley, too. Tina Charles’ second bananas are Epiphanny Prince and Sugar Rodgers, who are both excellent players, but not in the league’s elite. Charles elevates her teams. It’s hard to imagine anyone arguing otherwise.

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