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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PHOENIX, AZ – MAY 14: Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury poses for a partitat at Media Day on May 14, 2018, at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) /

7. Brittney Griner

If she’d done nothing more than remain the player she’d started out as over her first four seasons, Brittney Griner would have been on a Hall of Fame track. But check out her leaps forward in 2017—her PER jumped to 28.7, she registered the best true shooting percentage, defensive rebounding percentage and assist percentage (which doubled from 6.5 to 13.1!) of her career. Defensively, she is like pizza for dinner to the DPOY voters: occasionally you pick someone else, but everyone knows what’s the best choice, and it’s Griner. Were it not for an ankle injury, she had a real case to challenge Sylvia Fowles for league MVP. And she won’t turn 28 until this October.

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