ESPN Fantasy will introduce Fantasy Women's Basketball next month, the first season-long fantasy game for women's sports. The game will launch in the ESPN fantasy app and on ESPN.com/Fantasy in time for the new WNBA season which begins on Friday, May 6.
Like with other ESPN league manager games, you'll be able to customize league size, scoring formats, player rosters, and public and private league options. ESPN+ Exclusive Leagues will be available only to ESPN+ subscribers. For those who want to just jump in and play, the default scoring system is designed to quickly translate what you see on the court to points for your fantasy team: 1 point each for points, rebounds and assists, an extra point for a three-point made, and two points each for steals and blocks.
Once the game launches, we'll have a full set of rankings, projections and player outlooks in partnership with Rotowire, as well as preseason and daily in-season analysis to help you make the best decisions for your roster. In the meantime, here's a look at the top-10 projected players based on the scoring system.
Fantasy Basketball Top 10 WNBA players for 2022
1. Tina Charles, Phoenix Mercury: In addition to her career and league-best 23.4 points per game, Charles ranked fourth with 9.6 rebounds per game for the Mystics. She improved her shots from beyond the arc, hitting a career-high from three-point range. Charles signed with the Mercury during the offseason and she expected to continue her stellar performance from last season.
2. Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun: In 2021, Jones won the Most Valuable Player Award after opting out of the 2020 season. She recorded a double-double in 65 percent of her games and was the league's leader in rebounds, averaging 11.2 per game, while also ranking fourth in points, averaging 19.4.
3. Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm: During her career, Stewart became the fastest player in league history to record 2,500 points and 1,000 rebounds. Before missing the final two games of last season due to a foot injury, she averaged 20.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
4. A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces: Once again, Wilson led the Aces in points (18.3) and rebounds (9.3), where she ranked sixth and eighth in the league, respectively. In just her fourth season, Wilson scored 10 or more points in 30 of 32 games. The 25-year-old power forward has yet to reach her ceiling.
5. Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx: Last season, Fowles averaged 16.0 points and 10.1 rebounds and shot a league-high 64% from the field. With 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, she ranked second in both. Fowles was named Defensive Player of the Year, her fourth time receiving the award. In early February, Fowles announced that this will be her final season in the league, meaning this will be your one opportunity to draft her.
6. Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury: Diggins-Smith continues to improve with every season. In her career, she became the fastest player in league history to reach 3,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 200 steals. Diggins-Smith averaged 17.7 points and 5.3 assists per game last season and should continue to perform at that level in 2022.
7. DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut Sun: Leadership and toughness are qualities that benefit the Sun with Bonner on the court. She averaged 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds last season. It's the fourth time in her career that Bonner has received an All-Star honor.
8. Elena Delle Donne, Washington Mystics: Throughout her career, Donne has struggled with back issues, but she said back in February that she would be ready for the 2022 season. Donne played in only three games last season, but averaged 13.7 points and 4.3 rebounds. In her career, Donne has averaged 20.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
9. Natasha Howard, New York Liberty: Due to a knee injury, Howard played in only13 games last season. Her contributions were evident on both ends of the floor. Howard averaged 16.2 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game, shooting 49.4% from the field. We can expect similar success over a full 2022 season.
10. Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings For the third consecutive year, Ogunbowale led the Wings in scoring with 18.3 points per game. In the history of the league, she is the third-fastest to reach 1,500 career points. 74 games were all it took Ogunbowale to accomplish this feat. In 2021, she was named the most valuable player in the All-Star Game.
Editor's note: While Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner's talent would dictate her being listed in this top 10, she is being detained in Russia after customs officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage. ESPN will continue to report on this story as it evolves and as further clarity on Griner's situation becomes available.