Did you know that in the entire the history of the WNBA only one player has been at least seven feet tall? Today we’re going reveal the tallest WNBA player in history, as well as the tallest women on WNBA teams today. We’ll also reveal the shortest player in the league, and the height of all 156 players currently listed for the 2023 season.
The tallest WNBA player in history is Małgorzata Dydek at 7 foot 2 inches. The Poland native played Center for three different WNBA teams over her basketball career.
Malgorzata was drafted first in the 1998 WNBA draft by the Utah Starzz (the franchise was subsequently transferred to San Antonio). Then, she was traded to the Connecticut Sun during the 2005 WNBA draft. Later, she signed with the Los Angeles Sparks, following time away from basketball due to a pregnancy.
In 2019, she was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. And is the all-time leader in blocks (877) in 323 games; was the leader in season total blocks nine times; and had the most defensive rebounds (214) in 2001. It turns out height really does help on the defensive end of the court.
At 6 feet 11 inches Han Xu is the tallest WNBA player in 2023. Han was drafted by the New York Liberty 14th overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft. But missed two seasons because of the pandemic. She returned in 2022, and now in 2023, holds the Liberty franchise record for most consecutive field goals made.
Bernadett Hatar is next (the second tallest player) at 6 feet 10 inches, a Hungarian basketball player, who signed a training camp contract with the Indiana Fever. She played five seasons in the EuroLeague A Division for Sopron Basket. The Fever suspended her for the 2020 season due to an unspecified injury, so she didn’t play. But, she was back in 2021 and in 2023 she’s with the Connecticut Sun.
At 6 feet 9 inches Brittney Griner is the third tallest WNBA player. As a member of the Phoenix Mercury, she won the 2014 WNBA Championship. She’s also won WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award twice (2015, 2014). And she was a member of Team USA’s 2016 gold medal team during 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Plus, she’s a two-time gold medalist with Team USA at FIBA Women’s Basketball World Championships (2018, 2014), as well as the MVP of the gold medal game in 2018. And she can dunk.
The New York Liberty have the most players among the tallest players in the league. Here’s the breakdown of the top tallest players in the WNBA in 2023:
The shortest WNBA player in 2023 is guard Crystal Dangerfield of the Dallas Wings, coming in at 5 feet 5inches.
There aren’t too many extremes, so the average is a decent number to look at to evaluate heigh in the WNBA. The average WNBA player is 6 feet 1 inch tall, based on the 156 players listed on 2023 WNBA teams. The median player is also 6 feet 1 inches tall.
Certainly height doesn’t hurt, and by all accounts visible, it helps. So go forth and eat your Wheaties! Up next, learn more about the WNBA Rookie of the Year.
