The list, which came out Tuesday and is published in the latest magazine that includes LeBron James on the cover, also features Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, who moved to Houston at 18 years old to train with Simone Biles.
The 35-year-old Ogwumike is in her 15th season in the WNBA and has been an All-Star 10 times. The 6-foot-2 forward, who is averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for the Los Angeles Sparks, is just 28 points away from tying Houston Comets legend Tina Thompson for the No. 4 spot on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list and two rebounds away from being fourth on that ranking as well.
However, it’s what Ogwumike has done as president of the WNBA players’ union that earned her a spot on the list. Serving as president since 2016, Ogwumike helped negotiate an historic deal for the players earlier this year. The league came to an agreement in March that raised the WNBA average salary to $583,000 from $120,000 in the previous season with the supermax salary rising from $250,000 to $1.4 million.
Chiles, who grew up in Vancouver, Washington and finished her college career at UCLA this year, was part of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also is still fighting for her individual floor exercise bronze medal, which was stripped from her when it was ruled she didn’t challenge a scoring error in time. Earlier this year, a court in Switzerland ruled in Chiles’ favor, declaring that an arbitration court had to re-hear her case.