{"id":787419,"date":"2026-07-08T17:34:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/787419\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:34:17","slug":"which-under-the-radar-wnba-players-are-shining-this-season-start-with-these-four-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/787419\/","title":{"rendered":"Which under-the-radar WNBA players are shining this season? Start with these four | WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are 180 players in the WNBA. That\u2019s not a lot. I often say it\u2019s one of the toughest jobs to land (and keep) in the country. In any given year, about<\/a> 400,000 girls play high school basketball. Only 1.2% of them will go on to play Division I basketball, and of those, only 0.8% of the top players are expected to make a professional team, according to the NCAA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I talked about parity a few weeks back, and how there is so much movement in the league standings this season because the teams are evenly matched and the talent pool is vast. Well, it\u2019s time to shine a light on the players you don\u2019t always see in the headlines. Here are some names who deserve a little more recognition:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddfd Rebekah Gardner, New York Liberty<\/p>\n

The Liberty won the Commissioner\u2019s Cup title over the Las Vegas Aces last week, the first team to repeat as champions. Breanna Stewart won MVP and Sabrina Ionescu made some clutch three-pointers down the stretch. But Gardner stepped up huge in her minutes for New York. She tallied seven points in 12 minutes and shot 60% from the field.<\/p>\n

The UCLA product was a 31-year-old undrafted rookie in 2022, after balling out overseas in Turkey, Romania and Spain. She burst on to the scene with the Chicago Sky, earning a spot on the All-Rookie team. Now, she\u2019s playing a significant role off the bench for a deep Liberty squad; she takes on the toughest defensive assignment, is efficient with her shot selection (50.7% on the season), and has stayed healthy \u2013 something the Liberty desperately needs.<\/p>\n

\u2660\ufe0f NaLyssa Smith, Las Vegas AcesIn the absence of superstar A\u2019ja Wilson, NaLyssa Smith has stepped up for the Aces. Photograph: Ethan Miller\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

After Smith was traded to the Aces from the Dallas Wings midway through last season, she says<\/a> she \u201cfell in love with the game again\u201d. This season, she\u2019s playing like a champion, starting alongside four-time MVP A\u2019ja Wilson and showcasing some of the best basketball of her career. Through 21 games, Smith has the highest<\/a> field-goal percentage in the league at nearly 66%. In the overtime win against the Sky last Friday, she posted a season-high 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting \u2013 without Wilson, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury. \u201cShe\u2019s truly our glue,\u201d Wilson said<\/a> of her teammate. \u201cShe does all the little things.\u201d Smith has been tasked to step up in the superstar\u2019s absence, and she\u2019s more than proved she can answer the call.<\/p>\n

\u2694\ufe0f Kaila Charles, Golden State ValkyriesKaila Charles will be an important player for the Valkyries come the postseason. Photograph: Lachlan Cunningham\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Charles has been in and out of the league since 2020, and it seems she\u2019s finally found a home in Golden State. Her scoring stats may not be the flashiest (6.0 points per game off the bench), but it\u2019s everything else she contributes to the Valkyries. Her 4.7 rebounds per game are the fifth-best among guards. Plus, she consistently gets defensive stops in crunch time, knocks down timely three-pointers and embodies the hard-nosed identity Golden State have set out to claim. The University of Maryland product is an unsung hero and will come up huge in the postseason for this squad.<\/p>\n

\u2601\ufe0f Madina Okot, Atlanta DreamIt\u2019s hard to believe Madina Okot has only been playing basketball for six (!) years. Photograph: Icon Sportswire\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

South Carolina fans were keeping their fingers crossed that Okot would even make the Dream\u2019s roster after she was selected with the No 13 pick in this year\u2019s draft. Not only did she make the team, but she\u2019s made an immediate impact for the Dream this season. Atlanta\u2019s All-Star center, Brionna Jones, has been out indefinitely due to injury, so when the opportunity arose for the rookie to absorb her minutes, Okot took advantage. She\u2019s been solid on the offensive end (5.7 ppg in 9.5 minutes of action) and has had to guard the gauntlet of bigs throughout the league. The best part, though? Okot has only been playing basketball since 2020. Just six years! In that span, she competed in college in her home country of Kenya, reached the NCAA national championship game with South Carolina and even started a game as a WNBA<\/a> rookie. I\u2019m getting whiplash just thinking about it.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac Quoted<\/p>\n

double quotation markThe harassment, the hate. None of that is OK.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever guard<\/a><\/p>\n

Almost two weeks later, we\u2019re still talking about Alyssa Thomas\u2019s Flagrant 2 foul on Clark that led to Thomas\u2019s one-game suspension. Thomas has publicly stated that she and her family have received death threats and have been the center of social media toxicity. Clark came under fire for failing to respond, but in a statement on Friday, condemned the hatred being spewed at players online. Fever coach Stephanie White had chimed in a few days prior: \u201cI think for the league as a whole, there\u2019s been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia \u2013 straight up hateful nonsense, and it is absolutely unacceptable.\u201d The WNBA also had to release a statement<\/a> on how \u201cunacceptable\u201d it is for fans to send death threats to players. This is all \u2026 a lot.<\/p>\n

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Read more: The eternal whirring of the Caitlin Clark conspiracy machine has shifted into a new gear<\/a><\/p>\n

\u23ea From the archiveGeno Auriemma and Robin Roberts were a top broadcasting duo in the early years of the WNBA. Photograph: Robert W Stowell Jr\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

On 23 June 1997, Robin Roberts and Geno Auriemma were on the call for ESPN\u2019s first nationally televised WNBA broadcast. The New York Liberty defeated the Sacramento Monarchs 73-62. The two would call many WNBA games together for ESPN in the league\u2019s early years.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday night, Roberts (now co-anchor for Good Morning America) and Auriemma (UConn\u2019s head coach) returned to the booth for a special one-night-only reunion 30 seasons later as the Liberty hosted the Wings in Brooklyn. The game featured three of Auriemma\u2019s brightest alums: Breanna Stewart for New York and Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd for Dallas. Bueckers and Fudd, who won a championship with Auriemma in 2025, got the upper hand as the Wings won 88-77.<\/p>\n

Geno Auriemma and Robin Roberts, reunited for the WNBA\u2019s 30th anniversary season. Photograph: Catalina Fragoso\/NBAE\/Getty Images\ud83d\udcf8 Tunnel picks: let the Sun shineOlivia Nelson-Ododa | Aaliyah Edwards | Aneesah Morrow Composite: Photo by Erica Denhoff\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | Photo by Brian Babineau\/NBAE via Getty Images | Photo by Erica Denhoff\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Connecticut Sun may be last in the standings, but their fits are first-place worthy.<\/p>\n

Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Connecticut Sun: I\u2019m sorry, is this the Oscars red carpet or a WNBA tunnel fit? Nelson-Ododa has gone full glam with her looks this season, and I love it. It\u2019s as if she\u2019s auditioning to be a runway model each game. Here, she\u2019s wearing an incredible swoon-worthy Christopher Esber baby blue satin gown.<\/p>\n

Aaliyah Edwards, Connecticut Sun: It was a UConn reunion in Mohegan Sun Arena when Dallas came to town, and so this former Husky decided to pay homage to one of the greats, Diana Taurasi, with a custom No 3 jersey dress.<\/p>\n

Aneesah Morrow, Connecticut Sun: As a short girlie, I am afraid these boots would come up to my eyeballs, but on Aneesah, they complement this leather look perfectly. The all black screams \u201cI mean business,\u201d and in this game, her Sun got the 29-point victory over the Chicago Sky.<\/p>\n

This is an extract from WNBA 30, where Jordan Robinson covers the biggest stories in the league on and off the court each week. Subscribe for free here<\/a>.<\/p>\n