Best Centers in the WNBA Right Now

The WNBA is filled with great players and big stars right now, but who are the best centers who have been tearing up the league this season? 

The following are powerful, skillful centers with all the attributes to dominate their rivals on the court. 

Jonquel Jones – The Connecticut Sun

The versatility that Jonquel Jones possesses means that she can slot in easily as a forward or center and makes her a potential favorite in the WNBA odds 2022 for MVP. 

She was born in the Bahamas and moved to the US at the age of 14, but represents Bosnia and Herzegovina at the international level. Jones has been in the WNBA since joining the Connecticut Sun following the 2016 draft.

She started as their backup center before claiming the starting spot in her second season, with a performance against Chicago Sky where she got 23 points and 21 rebounds marking her breakthrough as a genuine star of the women’s basketball scene.     

Her stats with the Sun have been getting increasingly impressive and she’s the current MVP in the league. Marketing opportunities have been slowly arriving for her, so you might see more of her soon, but her relatively low profile confirms the work that’s still needed to promote the WNBA. 

Tina Charles – The Seattle Storm

One of the big basketball stories of this summer was Tina Charles making an unexpected move from the Phoenix Mercury to the Seattle Storm. As the leading scorer in the WNBA in 2021, this was a huge move that should increase the chances of Seattle winning the Playoffs, although they’re currently not regarded as one of the favorites but could surprise a few people. 

Before that, she was a national champion in her college years with the UConn Huskies and has helped Team USA to collect three Olympic gold medals over the years as well. Her time in the pro league began back in 2010 when the Connecticut Sun picked her in the 2010 draft as the number one overall pick.

She quickly made an impact in the pro league, becoming the Rookie of the Year in 2010 as she set league records for rebounds and double-doubles. Charles has set a number of WNBA records since then and joined the New York Liberty and then the Washington Mystics before a short spell at Phoenix, where she seems to have been disappointed with the lack of success achieved by the team.

Candace Parker – The Chicago Sky

Parker recently joined Tamika Catchings in fourth place in the all-time rebounding list, with a totals of 3,316. This has been achieved during a long pro career where her versatility has seen her play as center and also as a forward. She was the first pick in the 2008 draft, joining the Los Angeles Sparks following her college career at the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, where she was listed for the forward, center, and guard positions.  

During her college career, Parker made the headlines as the first female player to dunk during an NCAA tournament, and she also became the first player to do it twice in the same college game. Following that, she was the second player to dunk during a WNBA game. She led the Sparks to the Finals title in 2016 and then did the same in 2021 with the Chicago Sky.

Among her achievements, Candice Parker has twice been named as the most valuable player in the WNBA and has a couple of Olympic gold medals in her collection. Her move to Chicago as a free agent after 13 years in Los Angeles raised some eyebrows in the game, but it let her move closer to where she grew up and seemed to have given her a new edge to her game at the same time.

Teaira McCowan – The Dallas Wings

Following a highly successful college career with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Teaira McCowan joined the Indian Fever as the third overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. Her first season saw her post excellent figures that put her in second place in the league in terms of rebounding and earned her a spot on the All-Rookie Team.

Like many of the top WNBA players, McCowan has also played overseas, with Galatasaray of the Women’s Basketball Super League in Turkey. With Dallas, she’s recently made her way into the starting line-up and has climbed to second in the league for rebounding and free throw attempts since them. 

Her recent efforts have helped push the Wings towards the Playoffs, and they look to be in a strong position to have a chance of winning the Finals this year. A look at the WNBA Finals odds shows that Dallas is among the outsiders, behind favorites like the Chicago Sky and the Las Vegas Aces. However, the wings will be hoping that McCowan can guide them to an unlikely victory.