WNBA Players Tallest and Shortest: A Comprehensive Guide

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) has featured great basketball athletes of International caliber since its inception in the year 1996. A wide variety of player’s heights is among the factors adding diversity and interest to the game. While corner three creators are short and quick, plus-sized players are banging in the paint. The league included roller coasteering height ranges of its players, bringing in edged techniques and styles. In this article, we’ll discuss the most fascinating opponents in the WNBA — the tallest and shortest players. How did these players influence the way the game was played? What role do they play in the history of basketball?

List Of Tallest Players in the WNBA: Past to Present (2024)

Most of the WNBA reasonably taller players tend to use their height as an advantage for rebounding, blocking, and even shooting over other defenders. Let’s take a look at a few of the tallest players and how they have impacted the league.

Malgorzata Dydek

The 7’2″ Malgorzata Dydek, from Poland, became the tallest player in WNBA history as per WNBA records. She was a giant on the court as a center, and standing six feet, ten did her much good by making her an unstoppable shot-blocker and an unstoppable power in the paint. First overall in the pick by the Utah Starzz in 1998, Dydek then served in several games for teams such as the San Antonio Silver Stars, Connecticut Sun, and Los Angeles Sparks.

But, sure enough, this FIBA Hall of Famer and No. 1 pick still holds the WNBA career record for blocked shots, an incredible 877. Sadly enough for the basketball world, the world lost her too early when she died in 2011 at just 37 years of age; her legacy lives on forever, though.

Bernadett Hatar

Hungarian Bernadett Hatar made her way into the WNBA as a 2021 draftee of the Indiana Fever. Being one of the tallest players in the league today, Hatar’s height gives her a big advantage on both ends of the floor, particularly in the paint, where she can dominate or be the dominant piece on the defensive end and really shoot lights out on the offensive end. Yet, for a player with obvious potential like a force in the league, her WNBA career has gotten off to a slower start.

She played in only seven games last season, as an injury ended her season early, so she didn’t have much of a chance to demonstrate just how capable of wearing multiple titles she is going forward. Having played the majority of her professional career abroad, Hatar remains one of the tallest players in the league, next to only the legendary Malgorzata Dydek, and fans are raring to see if she lives up to the promise that her size and abilities suggest.

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Han Xu

At 6 feet 8 inches, Han Xu is the tallest active player in the WNBA. This one tower is compared to Yao Ming, therefore comparisons are obvious Han Xu has lived up to hype as a standout player for the Chinese national team and helped the team reach a silver medal at the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Han could hardly have faced a more thrilling semifinal against Australia, but a phenomenal performance at least cheered her up with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. Still sidelined with a foot injury, though, Han will have to wait a bit longer for the end of this season to make her comeback.

Brittney Griner

Without question, Brittney Griner is an iconic figure in the game of women’s basketball, as she redefined the center position or rewrote the script on how to play through it. At an unprecedented 6’9″, Griner can stake a claim to unmatched dominance on the floor. Since Griner was drafted number one overall by the Phoenix Mercury in 2013, she has built a truly remarkable career, becoming a multi-time All-Star, WNBA champion, and two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Recognized primarily as the world’s best shot blocker, Griner now matches that with new aspects, such as athleticism, as she led the league in dunks. She claimed two league scoring titles and eight consecutive seasons as the WNBA’s shot-block leader and went down into a building book of accolades. Championships won both at the NCAA and WNBA levels place her stand alongside the all-time greats.

Liz Cambage

Well, Liz Cambage is really the best female basketballer Australia produced, so the hype surrounding her first WNBA season was running high. As talented as she is outspoken, Cambage isn’t ever afraid to speak her mind and often makes waves because of it. But Cambage is still a four-time WNBA All-Star despite not being on an active WNBA roster, and surprisingly she’s also the scoring leader in the league in 2018.

Being the No. 2 overall pick in 2011, no one can deny that Cambage left her marks in the league, one of which is holding the record for the most points in a single WNBA game, and it’s such an incredible one when she scored 53 points in the year 2018. There is no denying that if she’s going to make a comeback in the 2025 WNBA season, she will once again place herself among the top talents of the league.

Maria Stepanova

Russia’s best export to basketball was Maria Stepanova, who spent several seasons in the WNBA playing for the Phoenix Mercury between 1998 and 2001. She took a few seasons away before returning to the Mercury in 2005, averaging the most points per game (10.8) and blocks (2.5) in her career. Stepanova is a three-time winner of both the FIBA Europe Women’s Player of the Year and Russian Player of the Year awards.

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Teaira McCowan

Teaira McCowan, selected third overall by the Indiana Fever in 2019, is certainly one of the best bigs playing in the WNBA. The star in the Turkish league, who was absent from the start of the current WNBA season due to overseas commitments, already has three double-doubles for the Dallas Wings this 2023 season.

Jonquel Jones

Jonquel Jones was one of New York Liberty’s biggest offseason signings, joining Breanna Stewart in one of the 2023 WNBA’s two superteams. The player, who once filled the scoreboard with 44 points and snatched 22 rebounds in a EuroBasket game, is one of the best bigs of these days in the WNBA. Jones is still the 2021 MVP from the WNBA league. This season can be the time that she will win her first WNBA championship.

Known for rebounding, defense, and three-point shooting, Jones is the Sun’s 2021 MVP. Her ability to play great on the perimeter and also guard multiple positions makes her a notable player in today’s game.

Sylvia Fowles

Sylvia Fowles, also known as “Sweet Syl” and by several other nicknames-most notably “Baby Shaq”-recently announced that she will be retiring from the league at the end of the season. She is likely to be one of the game’s very top players in history. Fowles was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the WNBA Draft of 2008. Fowles lists three career performances, including two WNBA championships, two WNBA Finals MVPs, and the 2017 league MVP.

Perhaps the most successful player of her career, the WNBA’s Sylvia Fowles has been defined by a lifetime of awards and accolades. Winning both Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards, Fowles brings an incredible height to the league at 6’6″, leading the charge in rebounds and defense for many years with her team.

Mercedes Russell

A product of the 2018 WNBA Draft, second round, Mercedes Russell is still developing the game and still searching for her fit in the league. A standout player in the WNBL, she indeed boasts skills that would eventually translate consistently to the WNBA level.

List Of Shortest Players in the WNBA: Past to Present (2024)

While the tallest WNBA players have their own strengths, the shortest of these basketball players have proven that there is also a limit in height. With such fast and agile movements and highly adept basketball knowledge, these slight girls stand tall on the court for every game position.

Shannon Bobbitt

Shannon Bobbitt shares the tied record for the shortest WNBA player ever recorded at a height of 5 feet 2 inches. She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks with the overall 15th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft and also played with the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics.

Before joining the WNBA, Shannon played for two years at Trinity Valley Community College and two years at the University of Tennessee, where she won back-to-back titles in NCAA Division I and was the shortest player ever signed with the Lady Vols.

Tina Nicholson

Tina Nicholson stands tied with 5 feet 2 inches as the shortest WNBA player ever recorded. Tina played one season for the Cleveland Rockers in the WNBA. Tina was drafted from Penn State as the 20th overall pick from the 1997 WNBA Draft. Tina racked up 48 points, 42 assists, 10 rebounds, and 11 steals in 24 games played for the Cleveland Rockers.

Debbie Black

Debbie Black was at 5 feet 2.5 inches tall, one of the shortest WNBA players in league history. In 2001 she became the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, a yearly award given to the league’s top defensive player from a pool of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Nicknamed “The Pest” for her tenacious defense, Debbie was selected 15th overall by the Utah Starzz in the 1999 WNBA Draft. She spent one season with the Starzz before playing several seasons with the Miami Sol and finished out her tenure with the Connecticut Sun. Before coming to the WNBA, Debbie spent years playing for Australia’s WNBL and a season in the ABL.

Temeka Johnson

Temeka Johnson, drafted 6th overall in the 2005 WNBA draft by the Washington Mystics, is one of the league’s shortest players at 5 feet 3 inches tall. The WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2005 also played seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Tulsa Shock, and Seattle Storm. Temeka, who won a WNBA Championship with the Phoenix Mercury in 2009, had a highly decorated playing career at the NCAA level with LSU, where she broke the school’s record for career assists and led her team to two Final Fours and an Elite Eight.

Brandi McCain

Brandi McCain is 5 feet 3 inches tall. She was selected as the 24th overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft to play one year for the Cleveland Rockers. McCain was a collegiate ball player for the University of Florida and was both an All-American first-team and a first-team All-SEC Conference selection. Brandi averaged 6.0 points per contest as Team USA brought back a silver medal in the World University Games in 1999.

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Conclusion

The WNBA has featured players who varied in their height from the giant centers to the diminutive guards. Of course, height has helped a few players, but the more exciting evidence is that often skill, determination, and flexibility come along with it. Tall players use their size well to hammer opponents in the paint, while short ones use speed and agility to outpace the opponent. Together, they make the WNBA really a very dynamic league to watch.

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