As we approach the All-Star break in this 2025 season of the WNBA, I’d like to share my All-Ballers Team, before Trump and his ICE goons disappear the league for being too woke.
The W is awesome. Not only is the basketball fantastic but it also has a soul and social conscience that is unique.
On its own terms, the WNBA is great basketball: It’s got physicality, incredible skills, knock-down shooting and defensive toughness. Last season’s WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx was one of the best playoff series I’ve ever seen, from Sabrina Ionescu’s logo bomb in game three (and Ryan Ruocco’s iconic commentary of that play on the broadcast) to the controversial foul call on Alanna Smith in overtime of game five. High level hoops, big play after big play back-and-forth between two evenly matched teams taking it down to the wire.
Comparatively, the W has a diversity of playing styles that makes for a more aesthetically pleasing watch than the monotonous threes-and-dunks gameplay we see in many NBA games. Players like Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu have infinite range from beyond the arc, but there’s still room for high-level post play from the likes of Team USA stalwart Brittney Griner and the incomparable A’ja Wilson, and mid-range snipers like Napheesa Collier and the emerging Paige Bueckers.
My All-Ballers Team is a purely subjective exercise; my squad is not ranked according to who I think are the best players, but on who I see as straight-up ballers, players that a hardcore hoops fan can appreciate. I enjoy watching each of these players because they bring a unique style of offensive flare, defensive toughness and impact on team chemistry to their respective squads.
Here’s my 2025 WNBA All-Ballers Team, in no particular order:
After torching Team USA for France at last year’s Olympics, Williams is having a stand-out season with the Seattle Storm. She’s Scottie Pippen-like at the defensive end, shooting passing lanes and getting strips of blind-side double-teams to lead the W in steals. Equally Pippen-esque as a small forward is her ability to create off the dribble as well as being a knock-down shooter from beyond the arc. She’s the perfect compliment to the offensive scoring firepower of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins, and the defensive prowess of Ezi Magbegor on a Storm team that has upped the ante in 2025.
On an Indiana Fever team on which the overwhelming attention falls on Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell is a flat-out baller. With bounce in her step and blinding speed, Mitchell is a massive offensive weapon in transition and on her high-arching catch-and-shoot threes from curl actions around off-ball screens. She’s good off the dribble too, whether getting all the way to the rim, hitting pull-up mid-range jump shots with the trailing defender on her hip, or hitting Aliyah Boston rolling off screens or Lexie Hull for the corner three. Mitchell is the energiser for this Fever team and has provided great on-court leadership this season during Caitlin Clark’s injury absences.
I may be an Australian partisan here, but I love watching Smith play as the glue-girl in the starting lineup of the high-powered Minnesota Lynx team. She’s lethal as the screener on the high pick-n-roll, whether freeing up Courtney Williams or Kayla McBride for open shots, popping off the screen as knock-down shooter from range, or rolling to the rim. She’s a fantastic distributor of the high post and provides great entry passes to her All-World teammate Napheesa Collier off the high-low. Smith is strong on the glass and takes the toughest frontcourt defensive assignment each game. In a team that is stacked for talent, Smith is the intangible piece.
Absolutely tough-as-fuck, Reese plays with an intense physicality and is a rebounding demon. In her second year in the league, she’s developed a more sophisticated offensive game in the low post, adding more refined footwork to her bully-ball post moves along with reliable finishing with her non-preferred right hand. She’s an under-rated passer too, hitting cutter off the post, weak-side shooters, or her frontcourt partner Kamilla Cardoso in high-low actions. Unquestionably the spiritual leader of this young Chicago Sky team, there isn’t really another player like Angel Reese in the W.
In her barrage of nine made three-pointers earlier in the season, Howard showed off the effortless shooting stroke that makes her such a weapon from deep. Whether wide open or with a hand in her face, she’s a knock-down shooter as well as being silky smooth off the dribble, with shooting and handles reminiscent of Stephen Jackson. A strong wing defender as well as streaky scorer, she’s a perfect complement to the commanding frontcourt presence of Brittney Griner and scoring punch of Allisha Gray in the backcourt, in a re-tooled Atlanta Dream squad that looks like it could go deep this post-season.
For better WNBA analysis than mine, see:
Edge Dwellers Café 