The 5 most underrated players in the WNBA, explained

When you think of the WNBA’s best players, who comes to mind?

A’ja Wilson, who has won four MVP awards in the last six years, is probably on the list, as are the 2024 and 2025 No. 1 overall picks, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers. Some WNBA players have established themselves as household names, while others continue to fly under the radar.

But who are the league’s most underrated players?

It’s a tricky question because the concept of a player being underrated can be interpreted in several ways; a player might be considered underrated because they’ve been flying under the radar (think low name recognition), or they might be considered underrated because they do get a lot of attention, but the general public still doesn’t realize how good they actually are.

With both of those criteria in mind, here are my picks for the WNBA’s most underrated players at the moment.

The Lynx had three All-Stars this season — Natasha Howard, Courtney Williams and Olivia Miles — and now they have Napheesa Collier, too, a perennial MVP candidate.

But McBride has been the player on the Lynx who often is most overlooked. She’s currently averaging 17.8 points per game while shooting 46% from the field and 40.3% from three. She has the 4th-highest plus-minus in the entire WNBA, and was Minnesota’s leading scorer for 8 consecutive games last month.

McBride is 34 years old, so she’s been around for a long time. Maybe that’s part of why her greatness is sometimes overlooked. But the Lynx would not be where they are right now without her.

Everyone talks about the Washington Mystics’ duo of elite sophomores, Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, and rightfully so — both have been spectacular.

But Shakira Austin has been incredible, too. Austin, who for years dealt with a myriad of injuries, is averaging 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. She’s the Mystics’ second-leading scorer, leading rebounder, and leading shot blocker. Austin has appeared in all but one game this season and has been a major reason Washington is currently in the playoff mix.

Kiah Stokes’ stats don’t jump off the page, but when you watch the Valkyries play, it becomes clear that she has been absolutely critical to their success on the defensive end. Stokes has filled in for Iliana Rupert as Golden State’s starting center, and while she’s only averaging 3.7 points and 5.2 rebounds, her real impact has been on the defensive end.

Stokes has the best defensive rating on the team — a 96.3 — and Golden State has looked like a different team on that end in her 22.3 minutes per game. Stokes is one of those players you have to watch a whole lot of in order to truly appreciate.

This one might surprise some readers, since Reese is one of the most popular and well-known players in the WNBA. Reese is a three-time All-Star and has received lots of recognition for her rebounding prowess. But there’s still a popular notion that Reese isn’t actually a great basketball player, and that her off-court gigs (modelling, podcast, etc) are why she’s famous.

The truth couldn’t be further from that, and it’s very clear when you watch Reese play. The 24-year-old is an elite defender, and she plays with a motor few — if any — WNBA players rival. She’s averaging 15.8 points per game (19th-most in the WNBA among players with at least 15 games) and 11.6 boards per game (second-most). She’s the best offensive rebounder in the league, grabbing 5.1 o-boards per game.

Her +4.2 net rating is the 18th-best in the league. Reese deserves to end up on an All-WNBA team this season, and she has way outperformed her No. 7 draft spot.

Like Reese, Natisha Hiedeman is known for more than just basketball. The 29-year-old Storm guard makes up one half of the Studbudz, the popular Twitch streaming duo that’s taken the WNBA world by storm (no pun intended). But Hiedeman is also a hooper, and she’s in the middle of by far the best season of her WNBA career.

The 5’8 guard is averaging 16.4 points per game on 45.7% shooting, while hitting 34.6% from beyond the arc. For reference, previously, her career-high in points per game was 9.1, set last year in a big-time season for the Minnesota Lynx.

Hiedeman signed a two-year, $1.525 million contract with the Storm in the offseason, and some considered that an overpay. But she’s been absolutely balling for Seattle, and if the Storm were winning more games, more would probably realize.

Which WNBA players would you consider to be underrated?