After leading the U.S. women's basketball team to gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart are in search of another piece of hardware.
Collier, the 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, looks to lead the Minnesota Lynx to their record fifth WNBA championship. Standing in her way is Stewart, a two-time WNBA champion and two-time league MVP, and the New York Liberty, who are seeking their first title in franchise history.
While Collier and Stewart are on opposite sides of the 2024 WNBA Finals, they will always be two of the most notable alumnae of Connecticut women's basketball.
Collier and Stewart won the national championship together at UConn in 2016 and are both members of the program's exclusive 2,000 points/1,000 rebounds club, joining other all-time UConn and WNBA greats Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Rebecca Lobo.
Here's a look at the most notable players who left an indelible mark on women's basketball both at UConn and in the WNBA:
Sue Bird
Two-time national champion
2002 women's college basketball player of the year
No. 1 pick in the 2002 WNBA draft (Seattle Storm)
13-time WNBA All-Star (record)
Four-time WNBA champion
All-time assists leader in WNBA history
Swin Cash
Two-time national champion
2002 NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player
No. 32 retired at Connecticut
No. 2 pick in the 2002 WNBA draft (Detroit Shock)
Four-time WNBA All-Star
Three-time WNBA champion
Tina Charles
Two-time national champion
2010 women's college basketball player of the year
No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA draft (Connecticut Sun)
2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year
2012 WNBA MVP
All-time leading rebounder in WNBA history
Napheesa Collier
2016 national champion
Two-time first-team All-American
No. 6 pick in the 2019 WNBA draft (Minnesota Lynx)
2019 WNBA Rookie of the Year
2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year
Four-time WNBA All-Star
Rebecca Lobo
1995 national champion
1995 first-team All-American
1995 women's college basketball player of the year
No. 50 retired at Connecticut
1997 second-team All-WNBA
1999 WNBA All-Star
Maya Moore
Two-time national champion
Two-time women's college basketball player of the year
No. 1 pick in the 2011 WNBA draft (Minnesota Lynx)
2014 WNBA MVP
Four-time WNBA champion
No. 23 retired by Minnesota Lynx
Breanna Stewart
Four-time national champion
Four-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player
No. 1 pick in the 2016 WNBA draft (Seattle Storm)
Two-time WNBA MVP
Two-time WNBA champion
Two-time WNBA Finals MVP
Diana Taurasi
Three-time national champion
Two-time NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player
No. 1 pick in the 2004 WNBA draft (Phoenix Mercury)
2009 WNBA MVP
Three-time WNBA champion
All-time leading scorer in WNBA history
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