2022 WNBA Fantasy Basketball Rankings

April 19, 2022

Justin Carter's WNBA fantasy basketball rankings for 2022 drafts. With season-long WNBA fantasy leagues launching this year, he ranks the top 75 WNBA players.

The WNBA season is fast approaching and for the first time, a major fantasy provider is offering season-long fantasy for the league. Thanks to ESPN, you'll be able to join leagues, do drafts and take on your friends in actual, redraft fantasy basketball.

But, with this being a whole new thing, you're going to need some help figuring things out, right? That's why I'm here. I've covered WNBA DFS here at RotoBaller for a few years and have been fairly vocal online about the need for season-long fantasy. Now that it's here, I'm here to give you some help.

That starts today with our 2022 WNBA fantasy rankings. Let's look at my current top 75 for WNBA fantasy, with some analysis of why I have players ranked where I do.

WNBA Rankings - The Top 75

WNBA Rankings Analysis

The Top Three

Alright, now that we've got the rankings, let's talk about them, starting at the top.

I think there's a pretty clear top four: Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Tina Charles and A'ja Wilson. This is a big-heavy league and these are three of the best forwards in the league right now plus Charles, who might have slipped a little but whose raw numbers scream "top fantasy player" and who has the advantage of playing at a position, center, that dries up pretty quickly.

I know ESPN has Charles ranked first overall based on what she did last season in Washington and on the assumption that the Mercury will be without Brittney Griner, who is currently in a Russian prison. I understand that perspective, but the Mercury have a lot of other pieces who can take on scoring duties like Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi, plus new addition Diamond DeShields. Charles taking on the bulk of the post duties will still make her a top fantasy player, but I think Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones both have more upside, as they're the top options on their teams and bring a lot more inside-outside versatility.

Center

Speaking of Charles, let's talk about the center position. ESPN doesn't require you to start a center and instead has three F/C spots, so you don't necessarily have to go out and overdraft the eighth-best center just because there was a run on them. But I also don't want the way ESPN is doing lineups to make you think you should ignore centers, as there are some really good ones.

Sylvia Fowles is my No. 2 center and my No. 5 overall player. The next center in my rankings is way down at No. 18 overall in Liz Cambage. Cambage is a big name, but there are plenty of questions about how she'll adapt to the Sparks, where she'll play beside Nneka Ogwumike in front court that seems—on paper at least—to have a little too much overlap.

My fourth center is Teaira McCowan at No. 26, which is...a bit of an optimistic ranking. Head coach Vickie Johnson is known for having some strange rotations, but she was on the radio this week calling McCowan a "walking double-double," so I expect heavy minutes and a lot of double-doubles for McCowan, who should finally deliver on the promise she showed in Indiana.

The Elena Delle Donne Question

The last time Elena Delle Donne played a full season, she averaged 19.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while being the first WNBA player in the 50/40/90 club.

Unfortunately, that was in 2019. Since then, she's played in three games due to multiple back surgeries. If EDD can be close to her 2019 self and stay healthy, she's a top five fantasy option. But we have to bake those injury concerns into our rankings, which is why I have Delle Donne at No. 17. If I was feeling risky, I'd take her late in the second. If I was feeling risk-averse, I might not take her at all. She's the biggest question mark there is as we head into the regular season.

Where The Rookies Rank

I put NaLyssa Smith at No. 27 overall because there's a clear path to playing time for her in Indiana. The No. 2 overall pick is the only rookie I feel confident about because she's the only one who landed on a team that's in such bad shape that it can afford to give heavy minutes to its lottery pick.

But beyond Smith, I'm not high on the rookies. I put Rhyne Howard at No. 39, but that felt optimisitic, as we don't know if she'll start or not for the Dream. If I'm playing it safe when I draft, I'm grabbing guards I have under her in the rankings like Jasmine Thomas and Natasha Cloud ahead of her for sure.

Other than those two, no rookies cracked my top 75. I considered Emily Engstler, because she should play a lot as a three-and-D player for the Fever. I didn't consider No. 3 pick Shakira Austin, because the Mystics are going to take some time before they give her the minutes she would need to have fantasy value.

The point of this section: be wary of rookies.

Sleepers

I'm going to have a longer sleepers piece in the next few days, but here's a quick preview of some players who I think I might have either ranked too low or could see exceeding my expectations. Again, I'll expand on this in a full piece:

• Kelsey Plum (No. 33)
• Satou Sabally (No. 42)
• Natasha Cloud (No. 43)
• Damiris Dantas (No. 53)
• Ezi Magbegor (No. 66)
• Aari McDonald (No. 68)
• Michaela Onyenwere (No. 72)

All of those players could exceed their rankings based on a variety of factors.

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