Top 5 WNBA players with Chicago ties

It is well known that the Chicago area has produced some high-caliber NBA talents. However, this fact is not gender specific. A number of current and former WNBA stars have come out of the city as well. Take Notice. Here are the Top 5 (In no particular order):

1) Candace Parker. Candace played high school ball in Naperville, IL at Naperville Central. Here she was a three time winner of the Illinois Miss Basketball title and led her team to state championships in 2003 and 2004.

One of the most recognizable names and faces in the WNBA, Candace Parker has helped to revolutionize the game. She is one of the leaders of the “new school”, which consists of more athletically gifted womens basketball players that can do a number of different things on the court. Parker was the first woman to win a Slam Dunk contest. Doing so at the PowerAde Jamfest, a part of the McDonald's All-American festivities. She was the first woman to dunk during an NCAA  tournament game, and the second to dunk in a WNBA regulation game (Lisa Leslie). 

Candace is currently a forward for the Los Angeles Sparks approaching her 3^rd season in the WNBA. Her first two were spent playing alongside Lisa Leslie, a super star in her own right. With Leslie retiring after last season, Parker is now the face of the franchise and will garner even more attention from defenders. With career averages of 16.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg and 2.2 bpg, she should have no problem handling this.

2) Cappie Pondexter. The self-proclaimed “DWade of the WNBA”  (Twitter), Pondexter attacks the basket with reckless abandon just as the NBA superstar and fellow Chicagoan  does. Playing at John Marshall High School in Chicago, she was the first player to win Illinois' Miss Basketball twice in 2000 and 2001.

To say that Cappie is a handful to guard one-on-one would be a gross understatement. If you get her off the dribble or in the open court you can forget about it. The first player in the league to win Player of the Week three consecutive times, the All-Star guard helped lead the Phoenix Mercury to two WNBA titles.

This season Pondexter will begin a new chapter in her life and career as she and her 19 ppg were recently traded to the New York Liberty. Her mere presence instantly makes the Liberty a more talented and exciting team. As the focal point of the offense, Cappie Pondexter is coming for that #1 spot.

3) Tamika Catchings. Catchings only played two years of high school ball at Stevenson in Lincolnshire, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago, before moving to Texas. But while she was here she managed to win Miss Illinois Basketball and the Class 2A state championship.

With career averages of 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for the Indiana Fever, Tamika is known as one of the best all-around players in the WNBA. She can score, rebound and defend with the best of them. She truly plays both ends of the floor equally hard the entire time that she is in the game.

Tamika Catchings has a number of accomplishments to speak of in her career. The forward has been the Rookie of the Year and a three time winner of the Defensive Player of the Year. She also led the Fever to the WNBA finals last season. The way that she plays, no one would be surprised if Catchings and the Fever were right back in the title game this year and actually won it all.

4) Cynthia Cooper. Born in Chicago, Coop is one of the pioneers of the WNBA. She was there at its inception as a member of the now defunct Houston Comets. The Comets were truly a dynasty in the WNBA, winning the league’s first four championships thanks in large part to prolific scorer Cynthia Cooper.

5) Yolanda Griffith. Like Cooper, Griffith is one of the pioneers of the WNBA. Her game is a template for rebounding and post defense. Born in Chicago, she played for George Washington Carver High School and was named in Parade Magazine's All-American basketball team.

Yo spent most of her career playing for the Sacramento Monarchs where she won WNBA MVP, defensive player of the year, and was a seven-time All-Star. Including the inaugural All-Star game in 1999. Griffith also won a WNBA championship with the Monarchs in 2005. She decided to call it quits after ten remarkable seasons in the league.

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