Context Matters When Naming The Best WNBA Players

We celebrate my birthday by ranking the WNBA’s best scorers, two-way stars, playmakers, and rebounders using clear factors that go beyond hype. I share my locks, my rotating “fifth spot” debates, and the names I know you’ll want to argue about. 
• Scoring factors like defensive focus, dominance, and efficiency 
• Top bucket getters led by A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, and Kelsey Mitchell 
• Rotating fifth scorer debate with names like Marina Mabrey and Kelsey Plum 
• Two-way standards built around never being a liability and guarding top-tier talent 
• Two-way list featuring Wilson, Collier, Gabby Williams, Stewart, Jackie Young, and Alyssa Thomas 
• Playmaking rules using assist-to-turnover ratio, assists volume, and team impact 
• Chelsea Gray as the top playmaker with Jordin Canada and Alyssa Thomas close behind 
• Why turnovers keep certain high-assist guards off the list 
• Rebounding criteria focused on hustle plus physical tools 
• Rebounder locks like Angel Reese, Wilson, Jonquel Jones, and Nneka Ogwumike with a tough fifth spot 
But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. 

Transcript

Birthday Intro And House Rules

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show, it's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, Trey, and as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're gonna talk about, well, some top positional players in the WMBA. And it's for my birthday. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. Trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. And if you wonder where you heard this before, that's because you've been listening with me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate your support. Now, like you heard, ladies and gentlemen, today is my birthday. And I was trying to figure out what topic do I want to do. Should I talk about my favorite player all time? Should I talk about my favorite team all time? And I'm gonna just stick with who are the top scorers in the WNBA, who are the top two-A players in the WNBA, who are the top playmakers in the WNBA, who are the top rebounders in the WNBA. And keep in mind, too, that 2A kind of encompasses who's the best players defensively in the WNBA. But, you know, maybe that list might change just a little bit because we're also encompassing defenders who can get a bucket. But we got a couple of areas to talk about. So let's let's talk about those areas along with my factors, which help lead to the reasons and rationales why context matters, right? So we're gonna start

Top Scorers And Why Context Matters

SPEAKER_00 1:18

it off. It's called get a bucket, right? So let's start it off with the top bucket getters, the get a bucketeers, if you will. So off top, my factors, right? Something like points do matter. They they they kind of focused on like we're gonna focus on them a little bit, they weigh in a little bit, just a little bit, right? The defensive focus, meaning the opposition, right? Do do do they throw good defenders at you, or do they kind of just let the average defenders start off on you? That's what we're trying to figure out, right? Like what's the what's what's your opponent's doing against you? Then we got dominance. Because yes, there's a skill factor, okay? But how dominant are you also matters too. Again, if you're a one-trick pony, but you dominating, that's a bucket. That's a bucket. And also efficiency. Things like that do matter. So my top scoring players, right? My top bucket getters in the WNBA to get a bucket are as follows: Asia Wilson, Brianna Stewart, Nafisa Collier, Kelsey Mitchell, and then we can say Marina Mabury, Kelsey Plum, like that fifth option, that fifth scorer, we could we could rotate them a little bit. Like some days I might think even Paige Becker's could be number five. John Quell might look a little hot one day. Courtney Williams can even get a little hot. That fifth one is a rotating cast, but one through four, Asia, Stewie, Fee, and Kelsey, a lot. Pencil them in. Them's the top bucket getters in the WNBA for sure. Asia Wilson currently averaging 26 points a game. And for her career, she's doing 22 points on 50 from the field, 38% from three, 82 from the free throw line. That's not bad at all. Like, I might have even thought that Brianna Stewart was the more skilled player. And I still kind of think that, right? But with Asia's numbers and splits, it's very tough to make that case. Now, Stewie got a case for herself, right? You we could we could make a case for her being number one. 21 points this season and 21 for her career on 47, 34, 84 splits is not bad. It's not bad at all. And again, they both get good defensive focus. They both are fairly dominant. I think Asia's been more dominant and she has more efficiency. I may throw Asia number one, Stewie number two. If you want to put Fee number two, I hear you as well, too. Like last season, she was averaging 23 points per game. We had to say last season because she has not played yet this season. She will come back and let's see what happens with the links, right? But for her career, she's averaging 18. I think Fee has been known to be more of a defender. But as of late, you know, she's come on more of a scorer, so people are gonna actually resonate with this statement. But 49% from the field, 34% from the three-point line, 84% from the free throw line. Top-notch score. She don't shoot that many threes, but when she does, she can knock down the shot for sure. But again, Brianna Stewart, Nafisa Collier, if any one of these players took a three, no one's gonna be upset with them taking the three. So despite their three-point percentage not being that high, like Asia's is at 38, they still are going to be viewed as two of the best scores in the WNBA. Kelsey Mitchell, 23 points for her for the season, 18 for the career. On 44, 38, 83 splits. Ladies and gentlemen, she's a bucket. She just had 10 straight 20-point games. Alright. Like she is an effect, she is an efficient and effective bucket. And keep in mind, she only 5'8. Like Asia Wilson, Brianna Stewart, Nefisa Collier, they're all 6'3 ⁇ . 6'2 plus, I'm sorry. But Kelsey Mitchell, the only one that's 5'8. So kudos to Kelsey. Because, bro, it's tough being a short scorer. It really truly is. If you can actually make the argument that maybe she's the best scorer on this on this list just because of her height. And then, just saying. And then Marina Mayberry, we got to throw up here because she just tied the record for most points in a game. In one single game. And that was 53 points. So we got to consider Marina Maybury. Kelsey Plum can get a bucket for sure. She's averaging 20 points for this season, right? We've been seeing her be able to score before for sure. So again, we can throw people like Marina Maybury, Kelsey Plum. Again, Paige Becker's is doing pretty well from a scoring perspective, right? She can score on three levels. We can include Paige Becker's for sure. Neka Gumake is pretty good at putting the ball in the bucket. That's for sure. We have a couple of players that we can list. But the top four, ladies and gentlemen, y'all heard my four with a rotating fifth. Alright, but we're going to slide on down because we got more people to talk about.

Two-Way Players Who Do Both

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Like the top two-way players in the WNBA, ladies and gentlemen, right? Here's my factors. One, you're not viewed as a liability. I want to say ever. I could say rarely, but I I kind of want to lean with ever. You're guarding top-tier players consistently. And then you're also guarded by top-tier players consistently. I think those are I think those are fair factors, right? So when I think of those, my top two way players are as follows Asia Wilson, Nafisa Collier, Gabby Williams, Brianna Stewart, Jackie Young, and Alyssa Thomas. And keep in mind, I tried to list this as top five, and it's tough, bro. Because Asia, right? Combination of strength and mobility, you gotta keep her in here. Like she's averaging 26 points and then given like 1.5 steals, 2.2 blocks. Like that's the definition of two-way, ladies and gentlemen. Like if we're just not even thinking about eye test, just looking at stats alone. Asia gotta be on this list for sure. Nafisa Collier, if if you don't know, you don't it I don't know what to tell you. That means you have not been playing bad, or at least watching basketball. But she is arguably the most versatile defender in the league. Like she can guard, point guard, shooting guard, one through five, she can guard, perimeter in the paint. Nobody is nobody's punking Nafisa Collier personally. Sure, can someone get the best of her for a game? Yeah. But for a series, she's she's probably gonna win that matchup. So again, most versatile defender, ladies and gentlemen. We gotta we gotta consider her for this list. Gabby Williams. I think it's fair to say she is the best perimeter defender in the league. I understand Ryan Howard is leading the league and steals with 2.5 or something around that, or something around that measure. Gabby Williams, best perimeter defender. I think she's a little bit better on the perimeter than Nafisa Collier, but Nafisa might be better on the perimeter and interior collectively. So that's why I say the most versatile for Nafisa Collier. Gabby got the perimeter on tech in on lock. Because again, she's about 6'2, 6'3, lanky, mobile, quick. It's very tough to get past that. It really truly is. So again, I gotta get Gabby on the best perimeter defender, and that's why she's on this list. Brianna Stewart, her height and mobility definitely help her out. Now, we're not when I'm looking at some of these other defenders, I might lean some of these other defenders. But again, from a two-way perspective, because we got to factor in scoring, I think Brianna Stewart is a little bit better scorer than some of these players. So that does help her out defensively. And it's not like she's far behind defensively. So again, Brianna Stewart, we got to consider on this list. Because remember, ladies and gentlemen, this is top two-way players. So they can definitely score up here, but the defense matters as well, too. Like Jackie Young, her versatility is the reason why I have her up here. She's their team's best perimeter defender and second best scorer. And keep in mind she's probably the second best playmaker, too. So that's a lot of versatility. She's very important and impactful on the team, easily their X Factor. So, ladies and gentlemen, I gotta consider her for a top two-way player. And then also finally, Alyssa Thomas. Again, she may be the vote, she may have the most versatile play style, right? She can score, she can get a bucket, she can playmate, she can defend. Now, from a guard perspective, I don't necessarily want her guarding guards, but she could, though. She could guard guards. So, ladies and gentlemen, I like this list. These are the top two-way players, but I'm curious if you all think I missed somebody. Even the same thing for the scores. Let me know. Again, I didn't talk about the scores as much because on this from this angle, only because I said that that fifth is a rotating cast. So I would love to hear your thoughts on who that fifth should be. I don't think you can change the top four. And then on the two-way players, did I miss anybody? Should I have taken somebody off this list? I'm curious of your

Playmaking Standards And Tough Omissions

SPEAKER_00 9:57

thoughts. But ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna slide on down to the next one, which is the top playmakers. Now, this one factor-wise is is easy for me. You gotta have at least no no, yeah, at least a two-to-one since turnover ratio. I prefer above, but at least a two-to-one since turnover ratio, at least six assists. You know what I'm saying? That that would be nice, and then positive impact on your team. And we are decent, we try to round up around here, but you know, sometimes it gets a little tricky. Now, off top, right, top playmakers. Chelsea Gray, Jordan Canada, Alyssa Thomas, Paige Beckers, Jackie Young, and Sabrina Ianescu. Now keep in mind, right? Chelsea Gray, I think, is number one. This is the point guard that we're talking about, right? Has a 2.38 assist of turnover ratio. Can't be mad at that. And her impact to the team is quite positive. We know that for sure. She also gives you seven assists, so that's that six plus assist, ladies and gentlemen. She's been the finals MVP. Chelsea Gray, top playmaker for me. She has one of the best decision making. She has she's one of the best decision makers in the game. Jordan Canada. I think people sleep on Jordan. We gotta remember, right? She was studying under Sue Bird. She was playing alongside Sue Bird. She's given 7.7 assists. Okay, 3.5 assists to turnover ratio. That's the best assist turnover ratio we have listed here right now. The reason why I don't have her as the best playmaker, because Chelsea Gray is that special. Alright, but I do have Jordan Canada number two. I was flip-flopping between her and Alyssa Thomas. Alyssa Thomas is giving me 8.1 assists, 3.5 turnovers, thus giving me a 2.3 assist to turnover ratio. So Jordan does have better, a much better assist turnover ratio. This is the league company that we're in right now, ladies and gentlemen. I do like Jordan over Alyssa. Even though Alyssa's giving more assists, she gives more turn. She also had brings more turnovers. I think Jordan's more of a point guard than Alyssa is. Alyssa gets to playmake for sure, and that's why I have her number three because she's been leading the league in assists for quite a few years now. She's been one of the top ones for sure, at least number two, and no lower than. So I gotta leave Alyssa where she is. But Jordan is is pretty good at playmaking. Uh Paige Beckers comes in for me at number four, right? 6.2 assists to two turnovers, giving me a 3.1 assist to turnover ratio. Positive impact on the team. Ladies and gentlemen, I I would I I would I would vaulter higher if it weren't for these three ladies above being over spec overly special, right? Like Chelsea Gray, point God. Like the reason why I don't have Paige Beckers over these three is just because of time. Like as time goes on, I'm expecting Paige to be a little higher on this playmaking list. But keep in mind, for her second season, number four ain't bad. And again, the decision making is quite stellar. I really wanted to consider, I've considered moving her up to number three, even as high as number two. I just can't quite yet. But again, that's more so with time. Now, it was phenomenal that I actually put her ahead of Jackie Young, right? Jackie Young's giving 6.6 to 2.3 turnovers. His turnover ratio is at a 2.86. That ain't bad, ladies and gentlemen. It's not at all. And her, like I told you earlier, her impact on her team is positive from a multitude of ways. She gets the spell for Chelsea Gray in playmaking. And then when she doesn't have to playmake, she can get a bucket and she can defend her impact is very valuable for sure. So I almost wanted to put Jackie ahead of Paige until I realized, well, no, that's more so as an overall player. We're just talking about playmaking. And I think the assist to turnover ratio between Paige and Jackie, because that leans Paige, I put Paige over Jackie for me personally. But if y'all want to flip that, I understand too. But those are the top five rounding up for the honorable mention who you could say is questionable. But I put as Sabrina Ionescu, because again she gets 5.8 assists, 2.8 turnovers. I know what you're saying. That's not six plus assists. That's why I said we round up here because her assistant turnover ratio is a 2.07. Not mad at it at all. So again, ladies and gentlemen, I view these to be the top playmakers. Sabrina Inescu coming in at number six, that honorable mention. I wanted to put her in there. I think she has a case for it. But again, I do lean Jackie over someone like Sabrina. I understand people are going to have a gripe that I put I did not put Caitlin Clark on this list at all. I considered her, but her turnovers are fairly high. We're still looking at a 4.6 turnover ratio or 4.6 turnovers to like 7.7 assists. That's not going to get the job done for assist to turnover ratio, ladies and gentlemen. And sometimes she is a negative impact on her team. So again, I did not include her as a top playmaker, even though she can playmake pretty decently. It's just a decision making. I lean a little higher with these other ladies. But if y'all think I left somebody out outside of Caitlin Clark, let me know. I'm curious what your thoughts because I had a couple question marks around the listing. I'm fine with my listing for sure. I'm sold on my listing for sure. But I did have some other players that I might have considered to bring in. But yeah, that five to six, quality for me. So let's move on to the final one, ladies and gentlemen.

Rebounders Locks And Fifth Spot Debate

SPEAKER_00 15:15

Top rebounders, okay? Factors are as follows consistent hustle or effort, and then your physical tools and abilities, right? Somebody that I wanted to throw up here off top. But I'm just gonna listen. So we got Angel Reese, Asian Wilson, John Quell Jones, Natko Gulmakay, and then we got players like Jessica Shepard and Shakira also, right? We got a rotating fifth woman cast. You could throw someone like Brittany Greiner against 6'9, Camilla Cardozo against 6'6. Like, if you even want to say Dominique Malonga, I hear you, right? Like we can we can make arguments and cases for WNBA players for sure. But I think Angel Reese is a lock. Double-double machine since she's gotten in the league for sure. Asia Wilson, if you know, you know, right? Like she's been getting double-doubles for the longest time, too. John Quell Jones, again, one of the better defenders and rebounders in the game. We can say the same thing for NECA Gumake in terms of rebounding and scoring, right? Now, here are the here here are the here are the new ones. Because Jessica Shepard, I think she's leading the WNBA in rebounds right now. And then Shakira Alston, she's like top five in rebounding. But she's been a quality rebounder for quite some time, too, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to throw someone else in there, I hear it. But I think again, Angel Reese is a lock, Asia Wilson's a lock, John Queel Jones is a lock, NECA Gumake is a lock, and then the fifth one, it's very tough to throw out Jessica Shepard because she, again, she is leading the WNBA in rebounds. And Shakira Alston, when I talk about consistent hustle and effort, there's very few people that out-hustle her. So again, ladies and gentlemen, these are my rebounders, my top rebounders of the WNBA. This one's a little bit easier to list. And again, when I talk about the physical tools and abilities, all of these ladies have quality physical tools and abilities to get a rebound. Brittany Grinder is like one of the people who I'm finding a tough time, having a tough time to find a place on this list. And she is 6'9, ladies and gentlemen. And I want to throw BG on here for sure. But these ladies have made it very tough to do so. Again, Angel Reese, arguably the best rebounder in the WNBA. Yeah, people give her some crap because, oh, they call her me bounds, because most of her rebounds are coming from her missed shots. Heard you. Get that. But she's still one of the best rebounders in the game. Even if you factor out those rebounds, I think she was like number two her rookie season in rebounds. So that's still kind of scary, right? Asia Wilson, again, we've already stated that. John Quell Jones, 6'6. Specifically this season, she's been getting a lot of rebounds, actually. Manning the paint down a little bit. I've been very impressed with John Quail Jones holding down the fort for the New York Liberty. And I'm really hoping that they can get back healthy because imagine her just focusing on rebounding, defending, and then getting a bucket. That's what she normally like that that's her game. So rebounding is one of her strengths. And she's showcasing it this season, especially with all the height that they have, not there as much. She gets the rebound even more. So that again, I'm glad that she gets to showcase her rebounding talents even more. So NECA Gumake, one of the older, one of the older vets in the game, but still can get a rebound out here better than most of the league. And I'm happy that she's being able to showcase her talent for sure. Again, on my sparks, yeah, it would be nice if we could get a little more wins. But again, NECA, 6'2, giving me nine rebounds. I could put front someone like Nafisa Collins. She's not playing. I know I did, I put her in in the two-way players, right? But I think her versus NECA, that's a jump ball, that's a wash for me. So I gotta lean someone like NECA as a top rebounder. And then again, I told y'all why I put Jessica and Jacaria in the listing for sure. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, thank you all

Wrap Up And Listener Challenges

SPEAKER_00 19:09

for listening. This was a good one. I I appreciate y'all just letting me vibe out real quick and talk about the different type of top players to focus on, right? We got scorers, we got playmakers, we got two-way players, we got rebounders. I greatly appreciate y'all for listening. I could have talked about top shooters. I could have, but we're gonna talk about that another time for another day. Because I'm gonna let y'all sit and marinate on these lists. But I'm curious what you all think of the listing. Do you all agree? Do you disagree? Was there a player that I left off that you think I should have listed? Please let me know. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. Thank you all. I'm about to go have fun and enjoy the rest of the day. Because again, it's my birthday, so I appreciate y'all. But please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone one, about the WNBA, and two, about my show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Good of Bucket. I hope you're all having a good one. Take care.