ESPN is introducing fantasy women’s basketball this spring as it looks to follow viewership growth trends across the WNBA. Standard leagues will consist of six teams with nine roster spots and feature a head-to-head format in gameplay.
Before the regular season gets underway on Friday, we get you set up with everything you need to know to excel in your league.
How will scoring work?
The standard scoring system for ESPN’s fantasy women’s basketball game is as follows: One fantasy point for each point, rebound, assist and made three-pointer a player records, and two fantasy points for each steal or block a player logs.
Who should you select No. 1?
It wouldn’t be crazy to select any of these three players No. 1 overall:
- Storm forward Breanna Stewart
- Mercury center Tina Charles
- Sun forward Jonquel Jones
Using ESPN’s standard scoring system, Stewart would have finished as the top player in fantasy last year, despite playing only 28 games. She underwent a minor offseason Achilles procedure, but resumed five-on-five action in March and seems poised to replicate her usual dominance again this year. Now in her first full season under coach Noelle Quinn (Dan Hughes abruptly retired after six games last season, giving way to Quinn), Stewart still has room to improve, especially on the perimeter. She attempted a career-high 5.1 three-pointers per game in 2021, but shot a career-low 33.6% from deep. Assuming she maintains her aggressiveness from behind the arc, an improved three-point prowess would make Stewart an even bigger threat on offense and, in turn, an even more viable top pick.
Charles was the league’s leading scorer last year, averaging a career-best 23.4 per game. This offseason, however, she elected to leave Washington and join Phoenix, which is looking to get back to the WNBA Finals. With Mercury star center Brittney Griner’s availability still very much in question, Charles seems poised to have yet another dominant statistical season. Yet because she is joining a new team with a new coach (Vanessa Nygaard now leads the franchise), there is slightly more uncertainty regarding how exactly she will produce. Also, it should be noted the W has not had a back-to-back scoring leader since 2012-13 (Angel McCoughtry).
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Jones, last year’s MVP, could also go No. 1 and no one should bat an eye. In 2021, she averaged 19.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game on efficient 51.5% shooting from the field while leading a dominant Sun team to the league’s best record. If you’re searching for any small nit-picks for her possible statistical case, it’s that two-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas enters the season fully healthy—she played in only two regular-season games last year—and makes what is already the league’s strongest frontcourt even more dangerous. Perhaps due to Thomas’s full return, plus the continued improvement of center Brionna Jones, Jonquel Jones might not be needed to do quite as much and last season’s 31.7 minutes average could decrease, if even slightly. My rankings would be Stewart then Charles then Jones.
The rest of our top 10
4. A’ja Wilson, LV, F: Wilson, who averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in ’21, becomes the undisputed focal point of the Aces’ offense with center Liz Cambage having left via free agency for the Sparks. First-year head coach Becky Hammon will also look to bring the best out of the ’20 MVP in her up-tempo offensive system.
5. Sylvia Fowles, MIN, C: At 36, Fowles remains an impact player on both ends of the floor. Her knack for blocking shots and forcing steals—she averaged 1.8 per game in each category last season—combined with her dominance on the boards makes her a top-five fantasy player.
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6. Skylar Diggins-Smith, PHX, G: Griner’s absence could impact Diggins-Smith’s stats, but the playmaking guard should have ample opportunity to produce this year. She’s looking to build on her already impressive 17.7-point, 5.3-rebound averages from last year.
7. Elena Delle Donne, WSH, F: Delle Donne is poised to have a strong season for the Mystics. Back in February, she told reporters, “I’m moving again like my younger self, but even better and more efficient.” That could spell trouble for opponents of the two-time league MVP, especially since Washington will lean on her with Charles having left for the Mystics.
8. Candace Parker, CHI, F: Parker ranked in the top 15 of rebounds, assists and blocks per game last year. If she’s able to stay healthy, the Sky forward’s versatility on both ends makes Parker a sure-fire top-10 pick.
9. DeWanna Bonner, CON, G/F: Bonner is a do-everything wing for the Sun. Last season, she averaged 15.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game as Connecticut marched through the regular season. Perhaps a healthy Alyssa Thomas will cut into Bonner’s production, but Bonner’s ability to fill out a number of statistical categories helps maintain her fantasy value.
10. Arike Ogunbowale, DAL, G: Ogunbowale was the league scoring champion in 2020 and has continued to show improvement throughout her first three WNBA seasons. If she can improve her assist and rebounding numbers—she averaged only 3.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game last year—she could be the kind of late first-round/early second-round pick that propels teams to a playoff spot.
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Sleepers to target
1. Kelsey Plum, LV, G: No one should be sleeping on Plum, as she is both a former No. 1 pick and the winner of last year’s Sixth Woman of the Year. But Plum might still be available in the middle of your draft purely because of her role on Las Vegas. Nevertheless, she’s one of the league’s best scorers, having put up an impressive 14.8 points per game in only 25.6 minutes of action last season. She also played her best basketball down the stretch last year, scoring 20 or more points in nine of her final 11 combined regular-season and postseason games. Hammon wants to implement an offense predicated on keeping the floor spaced, which could give Plum plenty of opportunities to attack.
2. Chennedy Carter, LA, G: Carter appeared in only 11 games last year for the Dream before she was indefinitely suspended. Now, after being traded this past offseason to the Sparks, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft has been given a fresh start. During her debut season, Carter was among the W’s best scorers, averaging 17.4 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the field. She might be the third scoring option in Los Angeles’ offense, behind center Liz Cambage and forward Nneka Ogwumike, but Carter should also have additional assist opportunities as Los Angeles’ lead ball-handler.
3. Aerial Powers, MIN, G/F: Powers appeared in only 14 games last year due to injury, but she’s averaged double-digit points in four of her five WNBA seasons. With star forward Napheesa Collier sidelined at least for the beginning of the year, and perhaps for all of it, due to the upcoming birth of her child, even more onus will be put on Powers to create for her Lynx teammates.
4. Gabby Williams, SEA, F: Williams opted out of the ’21 WNBA season due to commitments with the French national team. She is returning this year, however, and is expected to slide into a Seattle starting lineup that should provide her with ample opportunities to succeed. Overseas, Williams has made an All-EuroLeague team in each of her past two seasons and she is coming off a EuroLeague Final Four MVP run with Sopron Basketball (Hungary) this winter. There, she averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game. If she can replicate that success with Seattle this summer, she’d make for a stellar late-round pick.
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Rookies to target
1. Rhyne Howard, ATL, F: Throughout her career at Kentucky, Howard was one of college basketball’s best scorers. She averaged 16.4 points per game as a freshman and more than 20 points per game in each of her final three seasons. Now with the Dream, the No. 1 pick in the ’22 draft will be tasked with trying to have her offensive prowess translate to the pro game. “The thing that impresses us the most is her size and her ability to score the ball,” coach Tanisha Wright told Sports Illustrated. “She makes it look very, very easy to do. But the potential of who she can be in our league is super, super special.”
2. NaLyssa Smith, IND, F: The No. 2 pick in the ‘22 WNBA draft, Smith should be able to make an immediate impact on the Fever. She averaged 22.1 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in her last season with Baylor, and while she likely won’t replicate those numbers right away, she will have plenty of chances to stuff the stat sheet on a rebuilding Indiana team.
3. Lexie Hull, IND, G/F: Hull, the No. 6 pick to the Fever, was selected in part due to her ability to stretch opposing defenses. She shot 39.3% from deep last season and attempted more than 125 threes in each of her final three years with the Cardinal. While her role in Indiana is still uncertain, considering the added value of a three-point make in WNBA fantasy, she’s likely worth a late-round look.
