There’s never really a bad time to talk about the WNBA, but right now? It feels especially right. The league is buzzing in a way that’s hard to ignore, stars are breaking through beyond the box score, conversations are spilling into pop culture, and players are becoming names you hear even if you didn’t grow up watching women’s basketball.

Popularity in the WNBA isn’t just about points and wins anymore; it’s about presence, influence, and the way certain players are shaping how the league is seen and talked about. That’s what makes this moment the perfect time to zoom in on who’s capturing the spotlight, and why.

How Are WNBA Popularity Rankings Determined Going Into 2026?

Recent All-Star fan vote leaders: 

In the WNBA, fans have real power in the All-Star process. Fan voting makes up half of the final decision, with players and media each accounting for 25 percent. And the growth has been massive. All-Star voting jumped by more than 600 percent from 2023 to 2024, which says a lot about how engaged the audience has become. To put that in perspective, not a single player even cracked 100,000 fan votes in 2023.

Metrics for social media (X, Instagram, TikTok): 

Social media numbers are one of the clearest ways to tell who fans actually care about. Platforms like X, Instagram, and TikTok track real engagement in real time. Followers, likes, comments, shares, and video views all show how much attention a player is pulling. Stars who are always trending and who create their own off-court brands are the most popular in the WNBA.

National TV exposure and highlight frequency: 

When you start looking at which games pull the biggest TV numbers and which players keep popping up on national broadcasts and highlight shows, it tells you a lot about who fans are actually paying attention to. After all, supply cares about demand.

Team success and playoff visibility:

When teams win and make deep postseason runs, their players get more exposure, which includes extra TV games, talking points in media coverage, and a bigger spotlight during must-watch moments.

Also, social science research on sports fandom points to something called “basking in reflected glory,” where fans get a real psychological lift from being tied to winning teams and star players. When a team is rolling, fans lean in harder. They buy more merch, tune in more often, and proudly rally around the players driving that success.

We have compiled the list based on these factors, and going forward, you will get quite a sneak peek into how they have made a name for themselves.

Top 10 Most Popular WNBA Players Heading Into 2026

10. Brittney Griner (Atlanta Dream)

Instagram (@brittneyevettegriner): 741K | TikTok: 8739 (@thebg, recently created account)

Griner has established her place in the WNBA lore thanks to her insane blocks, 2014 championship, 10x All-Star selections, 2x DPOY, and so on. However, besides that, she has become a voice for many.

As an openly gay woman who’s pushed through bullying, backlash, and being made to feel like an outsider, she’s become a real source of inspiration, especially within the LGBTQ+ community, for living openly and unapologetically. She also signed Nike’s first-ever endorsement deal with an openly gay athlete in 2020, a “big-time” deal in a sports landscape historically hostile to LGBTQ+ visibility.

And after being labeled “wrongfully detained” in the careful language of international diplomacy, Griner ended up representing something even bigger.

In February 2022, Griner’s detention in a Russian penal colony catapulted her from elite athlete to international symbol of injustice. TIME Magazine featured her on its cover as “Brittney Griner’s Fight for Freedom,” and her ten-month detention sparked national conversations.

When she was released in December 2022, her homecoming became a watershed moment for the WNBA. Suddenly, women’s basketball was discussed in geopolitical terms, and Griner’s face became synonymous with resilience. Her 2024 memoir, Coming Home, further cemented her as a voice beyond basketball.

9. Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm)

Instagram (@skylardiggins): 1M | TikTok: N/A

We do not need to tell you about Skylar Diggins’ on-court resume. She has delivered on promise year after year, and remains among the league’s elite players in her mid-30s while competitors have retired. However, she is a trendsetter even off the court.

After sitting out the entire 2023 season for maternity leave, Diggins signed with the Seattle Storm as a free agent in 2024 and promptly won AP Comeback Player of the Year. The story of a mother returning to professional sports at an elite caliber, rather than fading into background roles like how society expects, resonated with audiences far beyond basketball demographics and contributed to broader cultural conversations about women, motherhood, and career longevity.

Beyond that, she has been a vocal advocate for youth basketball and mental health, gender equality, racial equality, better maternity benefits, player protections, and equal pay in sports.

She’s also a fashion icon in the truest sense. She’s been delivering jaw-dropping tunnel walks for years and is consistently ranked among the WNBA’s best-dressed players by Sports Illustrated, CNN, Who What Wear, and major fashion outlets.

She employs what she calls “method styling” or “thematic dressing,” like business-core looks embellished with metallics and futurism in recent seasons, now pivoting toward chic, polished high-fashion pieces. And well, we love it.

In 2013, Diggins became the first female athlete signed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports and even officially added “award-winning broadcaster” to her titles after getting her first Emmy for the Phoenix Suns’ 2021-22 season.

8. Kelsey Plum (Los Angeles Sparks)

Instagram (@kelseyplum10): 1.2M | TikTok (@kelseyplum10): 119.8K

Kelsey Plum is the first female athlete with a signature cigar line, and this singular thing distinguishes her from many.  In 2024, she partnered with Kingmakers Cigars to create a limited-edition 6 x 52 toro featuring a Connecticut wrapper with a Nicaraguan blend.

Her endorsement portfolio spans Nike, Under Armour, Google, Skims (Kim Kardashian’s line), Target, and LegalZoom. Thanks to that, she was ranked among the top 10 WNBA athletes for sponsorship deals by Marketing Brew in 2025. More importantly, she built a name for herself while maintaining a good reputation for unfiltered authenticity.

She has been publicly vocal about learning disabilities, drawing from her own experience, and thus striking a chord among many. Besides that, she has been a key figure of the WNBPA and has put her straightforward approach to good use in the ongoing CBA negotiations.

7. Cameron Brink (Los Angeles Sparks)

Instagram (@cameronbrink22): 1.3M | TikTok (@cameron_brink): 552.8K

Steph Curry’s god-sibling, Cameron Brink, got off to a rocky start in the WNBA. But even after missing nearly her entire rookie season, she still managed to stay relevant, not in a forced or superficial way, but by genuinely leaning into things that mattered to her and following what truly caught her interest.

In May 2025, Cameron Brink appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, a milestone she described as a “dream come true.” And she did that while offering a comforting space to many, as she spoke openly about body image issues that women are taught to cradle since a young age.

And just like Diggins, she is a fashion icon, always experimenting with her looks. Also, beyond the court and runway, Brink co-hosts “Straight to Cam” with Sydel Curry-Lee, Steph Curry’s sister. The podcast has extended her influence into the content-creation space where WNBA fans are most engaged.

Her comeback story in the 2024-25 season was also a big headliner.

6. Hailey Van Lith (Chicago Sky)

Instagram (@haileyvanlith): 1.3M | TikTok (@haileyvanlith): 576.6K

Van Lith’s college journey through three schools in four years told a story of resilience and ‘finding yourself’ that fans found compelling. She is also a pre-WNBA celebrity and is on her way to garnering more fans, as she has also been vocal about her own mental health struggles, trying to destigmatize the narrative.

Also, in January 2020, NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna “Gigi” Bryant attended a women’s basketball game in Cashmere, Washington, where they watched Louisville women’s basketball commit Hailey Van Lith play. Van Lith scored 35 points in that game, and a photo of her with Kobe and Gigi was widely shared online and helped raise her profile among fans.

5. Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty)

Instagram (@sabrina_i): 1.4M | TikTok (@sabrina_ionescu20): 424.2K

In September 2023, Ionescu became the first female basketball player to launch a unisex signature shoe with Nike, an achievement that became a statement about inclusion. Then, in May 2025,  Ionescu made her Met Gala debut in a custom Sergio Hudson look with a white bra top paired with a black blazer and black maxi skirt. Beyond the Met, Ionescu attended Paris Fashion Week in a custom Dior look for the Fall/Winter 2025-2026 menswear show.

She keeps creating these kinds of cultural moments, the ones that stick, and they’ve kept her firmly in the spotlight ever since. Oh, and also, she loves to talk about food. Now, who doesn’t love that?

4. A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)

Instagram (@aja22wilson): 1.4M | TikTok (@aja__wilson): 448.4K

4x MVP, 3x DPOY, 3x WNBA champion, and TIME magazine’s 2025 Athlete of the Year tells one enough about the pull A’ja Wilson has.

Beyond her on-court dominance, in 2024, Wilson launched Burnt Wax, a candle company she co-founded with her mother, Eva Rakes Wilson. And we cannot forget about her Nike shoes, can we?

Wilson launched the Nike A’One this year, only the 13th signature shoe in WNBA history, and it quickly became a statement. The shoe sold out in merely five minutes on its launch date.

She has also published a book titled “Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You,” which immediately achieved New York Times bestseller status. She chose the publisher with much thought and consideration, making her even more adorable to fans throughout.

She has also extended into the celebrity circles like no one else. Her hug with Beyonce, or Cardi B name-dropping her in her song, these are just a few examples of how far-reaching her influence is.

3. Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings)

Instagram (@paigebueckers): 3M | TikTok (@paigebueckers): 3.9M

In 2022, Opendorse estimated that a social media post from Bueckers was worth $62,900. So, you can only imagine the numbers now. And when the Supreme Court’s 2021 NIL ruling opened athlete marketing to college players, Bueckers became the first college basketball player to sign with Gatorade.

Since then, she’s signed deals with Nike, DoorDash (as first-ever athlete creative director), StockX, Cash App, Chegg, Bose, Good Sports, and Wingstop. However, what distinguishes her portfolio from that of typical celebrity athletes is intentionality.

When negotiating with Chegg, she ensured the company would support pop-up markets in Connecticut. With Bose, she required product donations to support programs for young people of color. Through Good Sports and Gatorade, she donated $50,000 during the California Wildfires.

Thanks to her strategic NIL partnerships, Bueckers has donated over $65,000 in sports equipment and apparel to underserved youth programs. And thanks to that, fans love her for her authenticity and genuine philanthropic efforts.

2. Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)

Instagram (@angelreese5): 5.2M | TikTok (@angelreese10): 6M

Just two years into her pro career, Reese has already turned herself into one of the WNBA’s most recognizable stars. She’s rolled out a signature sneaker with Reebok, walked the runway at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, popped up in Netflix’s disaster thriller A House of Dynamite, and even landed on select covers of NBA 2K26.

All of that off-court momentum showed up on the balance sheet too. In December 2025, Forbes ranked Angel Reese No. 15 on its list of the world’s highest-paid female athletes, with total earnings reaching $9.4 million.

In 2024, Reese launched her podcast “Unapologetically Angel,” part of Playmaker and Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Podcast Network, featuring weekly unfiltered conversations with celebrities, athletes, and cultural figures. Within the first month, the show amassed 270,000 followers across social platforms.

In 2023, Reese attempted to trademark the name “Bayou Barbie,” her LSU-era nickname that had become central to her identity, but Mattel denied the request due to intellectual property conflicts. That moment initially positioned her in conflict with a global brand.

By 2025, though, the narrative had inverted: Mattel and Reese partnered directly, with her featuring as a speaker at Barbie Dream Fest (December 2025). That evolution, from competing with Barbie to being a Barbie cultural ambassador, said something larger: Reese had become significant enough that Mattel wanted to align with her rather than protect against her.

She even turned a term people used to mock her into her own brand. So, basically, Angel Reese is everywhere.

1. Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)

Instagram (@caitlinclark22): 4M | TikTok (@caitlin.clark22): 857.8K

Well, do we need to say anything at all?

Before Caitlin Clark ever suited up for the Indiana Fever, her commercial value had already been established at an unprecedented level. In April 2024, she signed an eight-year, $28 million contract with Nike, the most lucrative endorsement deal in women’s basketball history.

This wasn’t a foregone conclusion. When her agents informed competing brands that winning Clark would require a minimum of $3 million annually, Puma immediately dropped out of negotiations. Adidas offered $6 million over four years. Under Armour (backed by Stephen Curry in their pitch) offered $16 million over four years. Yet Nike ultimately secured her with a deal that nearly doubled Under Armour’s offer and included a signature shoe.

On April 15, 2024, Caitlin Clark made history before stepping on a professional basketball court. Dressed head-to-toe in Prada for the WNBA Draft in Brooklyn, she became the first basketball player, NBA or WNBA, ever dressed by the luxury Italian house for a draft event.

In 2024, Clark’s arrival helped the Fever shatter franchise attendance records, drawing a total of 340,715 fans at home games, the most ever back then for a WNBA team in a single season. Her name, even as she was limited to just 13 games, pushed Indiana into the league’s top attendance tier again in 2025, with the Fever averaging 16,560 fans per home game, second-highest in the WNBA.

Honestly, there’s only so much you can say. Clark didn’t just get people talking; she flat-out, single-handedly shoved the WNBA into the spotlight.

Which young future WNBA stars are rising fast in popularity?

Beyond what they’re doing on the court, several future WNBA stars are quickly building serious buzz through their off-court moves.

Flau’jae Johnson has turned her growing profile into real business power, landing more than 40 NIL deals with brands like JBL, Oreo, Experian, Samsung, and Powerade, while also securing an ownership stake in the Unrivaled 3×3 league and using her platform to promote financial literacy among young athletes.

Azzi Fudd has followed a similar path, partnering with brands such as Chipotle, Bose, and Buick, joining Unrivaled’s 2025 NIL class, and launching her own podcast, Fudd Around and Find Out, expanding her presence.

Olivia Miles is also part of that Unrivaled NIL group, and so is Lauren Betts. Together, these four names headline the next wave of growth in the WNBA.

And thanks to those who came before, those who are to come have the best stage possible.

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