NORFOLK, Va. -- After being named one of 60 nominees for the WNBA Top 20@20 presented by Verizon last week,Ticha Penicheiro was honored in an announcement made today as one the 20 greatest and most influential players in the history of the WNBA. Penicheiro is the WNBA’s all-time assist leader with 2,599 assists, won a title in 2005 with the Sacramento Monarchs, and went to four All-Star Games during her career, earning her a spot on the WNBA’s Top 20@20.
The announcement was made today to honor the date of the league’s inaugural regular-season game played on June 21, 1997, when the New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 67-57, at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Ca.
“The 20 women honored today are an extraordinarily accomplished group both on and off the basketball court,” said WNBA President Lisa Borders. “On the court, they represent the absolute best in women’s professional basketball and are in so many ways larger than life. Off the court, they represent their teams, hometowns and communities in which they live and work with the utmost professionalism. And most importantly, they represent the hopes and dreams of generations of young girls all over the world – the future of the WNBA.”
The WNBA Top 20@20 presented by Verizon includes nine current players: Seimone Augustus, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Cappie Pondexter, Diana Taurasi and Lindsay Whalen. Eleven former players are also among the honorees: Cynthia Cooper, Yolanda Griffith, Becky Hammon, Lauren Jackson, Lisa Leslie, Deanna Nolan, Ticha Penicheiro, Katie Smith, Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Teresa Weatherspoon.
Voting for the WNBA Top 20@20 presented by Verizon was conducted by a 15-member committee comprised of Carol Blazejowski and Ann Meyers Drysdale (women’s basketball pioneers and members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Hall of fame); Michael Cooper and Cheryl Reeve (current WNBA head coaches); Van Chancellor and Anne Donovan (members of the Naismith HOF and WBHOF, and former WNBA head coaches); media members Doug Feinberg (Associated Press), Mel Greenberg (womhoops.blogspot.com; also a member of the WBHOF), and Howard Megdal (Excelle Sports editor); Doris Burke, LaChina Robinson, and Pam Ward (ESPN basketball broadcasters); Mechelle Voepel and Michelle Smith (espnW.com writers); and Melanie Jackson (espnW.com editor).
The WNBA Top 20@20 presented by Verizon:
Seimone Augustus — Minnesota Lynx (2006-Current)
Sue Bird — Seattle Storm (2002-Current)
Swin Cash — Detroit Shock (2002-07), Seattle Storm (2008-11), Chicago Sky (2012-13), Atlanta Dream (2014), New York Liberty (2014-Current)
Tamika Catchings — Indiana Fever (2002-Current)
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke* — Houston Comets (1997-2000, 2003)
Yolanda Griffith* — Sacramento Monarchs (1999-2007), Seattle Storm (2008), Indiana Fever (2009)
Becky Hammon* — New York Liberty (1999-2006), San Antonio Stars (2007-2014)
Lauren Jackson* — Seattle Storm (2001-12)
Lisa Leslie* — Los Angeles Sparks (1997-2006, 2008-09)
Maya Moore — Minnesota Lynx (2011-Current)
Deanna Nolan* — Detroit Shock (2001-09)
Candace Parker — Los Angeles Sparks (2008-Current)
Ticha Penicheiro* — Sacramento Monarchs (1998-2009), Los Angeles Sparks (2010-11), Chicago Sky (2012)
Cappie Pondexter — Phoenix Mercury (2006-09), New York Liberty (2010-14), Chicago Sky (2015 Current)
Katie Smith* — Minnesota Lynx (1999-2005), Detroit Shock (2005-2009), Washington Mystics (2010), Seattle Storm (2011-12), New York Liberty (2013)
Sheryl Swoopes* — Houston Comets (1997-2000, 2002-2007), Seattle Storm (2008), Tulsa Shock (2011)
Diana Taurasi — Phoenix Mercury (2004-2014, Current)
Tina Thompson* — Houston Comets (1997-2008), Los Angeles Sparks (2009-11), Seattle Storm (2012-13)
Teresa Weatherspoon* — New York Liberty (1997-2003), Los Angeles Sparks (2004)
Lindsay Whalen — Connecticut Sun (2004-09), Minnesota Lynx (2010-Current)
*Former WNBA players