(Editor’s Note: This is Part 3 of a five-part series, featuring the top five rookie campaigns from each decade over the first 30 years of the WNBA)
While there might not have been a more exciting decade than the 2000s, due to the WNBA announcing its arrival with rookie talent nobody was aware were that good, the paradigm shift was in 2010.
And overall, it was the 2010s that saw a seismic shift, as the skill level went up, with a new rookie class coming in and bringing more eyes to the league.
When 2013 rolled around, Brittney Griner (Baylor), Elena Delle Donne (Delaware) and Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame) were taken with the first three picks, signaling how much talent went up across the board, to where every team began benefitting from much more than the traditional powers of UConn and Tennessee.
The 2011 WNBA Draft class produced seven eventual All-Stars, led by Maya Moore.
In 2014, the first round alone produced eight eventual All-Stars out of the first 12 picks.
It was clear that people were pouring into the sport at a higher rate than ever before, and there was more money because of the college football championship. Conferences had extra money to spend because of college football, and women’s basketball was a beneficiary of that.
And, there was more interest. The streak of winning Olympic gold medals started in 1996, and it didn’t let up. The momentum was building from a grassroots level for women’s basketball.
Maya Moore postseason tough shotmaking pic.twitter.com/P9sX4l3FwM
— Pitless (@pitlessball) July 22, 2025
Week 3: THE 2010s
A difficult decade to rank, as all 10 Rookies of the Year had spectacular years, but there were also No. 1 picks who had tremendous first-year campaigns, but didn’t win the top rookie award. Others who didn’t get drafted until late in the opening round even had stellar first seasons. We could have easily had an honorable mention for this decade, as the pool of talent ushered in a brand new era.
Here is our 2010s’ top five rookies:
1. MAYA MOORE, Minnesota Lynx (2011)
Moore took off her UConn uniform after an impressive run with the Huskies and was one of the rare rookies who immediately looked like a franchise cornerstone. Moore was an artist who painted beautiful portraits of basketball every time she stepped on the court. She made the sport look effortless. There were times when you wanted somebody to zoom in and see if she was actually perspiring, because she made it look so easy. Many rookies excelled in one area, but everything Moore did had a feel for watching amazing choreography in a ballet or on Broadway. Every move: defense, offense – it was artistry and breathtaking.
Her talent fit perfectly with the Minnesota Lynx, who already featured Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen and Rebekkah Brunson. And as the Lynx embarked on a championship season in 2011, Moore never looked overwhelmed, making on-the-spot decisions while rarely forcing bad shots. She played with the poise of a veteran, finishing the season with modest numbers of 13.2 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Though there were other rookies on this list with a better stat sheet, Moore helped the Lynx to their first WNBA title, the first of four she’d win in seven seasons.
2. TINA CHARLES, Connecticut Sun (2010)
Charles came into the league with something nobody had seen before, and that was the baby hook. It was that shot that led her to a Hall of Fame career. Why nobody else, besides Brittney Griner, has really folded a hook shot into their game is baffling. It is an unstoppable shot, and Charles perfected it. Her skill level was impressive immediately. She brought the grit of New York City to the league and played with a tenacity that was just palpable. She grabbed you by the shirt collar through the TV and was probably the most tenacious rookie we had seen since Teresa Weatherspoon. And for as hard as she played, she had some of the softest hands.
Charles averaged 15.5 points and 11.7 rebounds in her first season to easily win Rookie of the Year. She also finished third in voting for Defensive Player of the Year and seventh in the MVP voting. You could tell as a rookie that she had the potential of being an MVP. The only thing missing from her decorated resume – which included an Olympic gold medal and an MVP – was a championship ring.
3. BREANNA STEWART, Seattle Storm (2016)
Stewart met the moment with the heavy expectation of being the first to four-peat on her way out of college, signaling she was ready to wreck every WNBA record that got in her way. And if Candace Parker was the blueprint of the stretch-four, Stewart was 2.0 of CP3. Arguably, Stewart was one of the most coveted first-round draft picks we had seen to that point. With Seattle having the No. 1 draft pick, Stewart was united with Sue Bird, who had already won championships with Lauren Jackson. And Stewart was a more lethal scoring threat than Jackson. So Bird, like a master puppeteer, with amazing marionettes, always manipulated the offense to make sure that Stewart was put into a position to succeed.
The 6-foot-4 forward won Rookie of the Year after averaging 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in her first season. The other thing that made Stewart special, as tall and lean as she was, she immediately withstood the punishment the league offered, with opponents bouncing off of her. There’s always been an intestinal fortitude in Stewart, with a fire burning in her belly. She doesn’t talk a lot, either; she lets her game do the talking. The arms race for the stretch-four began when Stewart came into the league.
4. A’JA WILSON, Las Vegas Aces (2018)
What might have been most impressive about Wilson was her decision to go to South Carolina, because it was there she would impress WNBA scouts and bring eyes to Columbia, all while alerting GMs and head coaches she was ready to wear the heavy crown. Wilson came into the WNBA as somebody who wanted the responsibility, who wanted to be the leverage of change, of direction for a franchise from bad to good. Not many players want all of that, and can be overwhelmed when it happens. But from a very early age in South Carolina, Wilson demonstrated what we were destined to see with how she moved and dominated.
There aren’t many college basketball players who give WNBA front office personnel the confidence to say, ‘We can put all of our chips on this player and be just fine.’ Wilson did that, and then backed it up with hunger. She played with ferocity as if possession of the basketball on a rebound actually impacted her ability to breathe. There was a ferocity that was so intimidating, unlike another player who was able to turn it on and off. When her game face came on, she wanted to take your lunch money and your teammates’ lunch money. She wanted to get your coach fired. And as a big, she was already trained to pour into her guards. She knew if her guards couldn’t get her the basketball, she wasn’t going to eat. She took ownership of the weight and responsibility of turning a franchise’s fortunes around. Wilson won Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in 2018.
5. NNEKA OGWUMIKE, Los Angeles Sparks (2012)
This is a woman who was ready for her breakthrough moment at Stanford, after taking teams to Final Fours, met superior competition, but always came up empty. She wanted to be the person to help Tara VanDerveer get her third NCAA championship, and she really wanted to do it with her sister, Chiney, in tow. When that didn’t work out, she wanted to prove that her Stanford career was not going to define her success at the next level. She hit the ground running. She and Wilson both brought to the table as more conventional fives – not stretch-fours – the ability to rim run. They set the tone of nobody’s gonna beat me down the floor.
Ogwumike wanted to be the first one down the floor on offense, the first on defense, the last line of defense and a rim protector. It was one of Ogwumike’s best qualities. And she’s still doing it to this day. Rim running has been established by the greats in the WNBA, and the rim running really is the hallmark of Ogwumike and Wilson. The other intangible she brought to Los Angeles from Stanford was her leadership qualities. She was always on the Pac-12 leadership councils for student athletes, the same stuff we see her doing 14 years later as Madam President for the WNBPA. It all started in her rookie season as a natural-born leader. After finishing with 14.0 points and 7.5 rebounds, Ogwumike was named Rookie of the Year.
W.G. Ramirez is a veteran sports writer from Las Vegas and a Senior Staff Writer at Ballislife.com. Follow him on X at @WillieGRamirez.
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