Think you need to be tall to be a great female professional basketball player? Think again. Here are the 10 shortest players in WNBA history.
Who is the shortest WNBA player right now?
Crystal Dangerfield, who currently plays for the Dallas Wings, is the shortest player in the WNBA this season.
Who is the shortest WNBA player ever?
Beating out Debbie Black by just half an inch, Shannon Bobbitt remains the shortest player in WNBA history at 5-foot-2.
Ranking the Top 10 Shortest WNBA Players of all time
10. Moriah Jefferson
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2016 to present
Teams: San Antonio Stars, Dallas Wings, Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury
Selected second overall in the 2016 WNBA Draft, Jefferson helped lead the Connecticut Huskies – a perennial favourite in the basketball odds for March Madness – to four straight national championships during her college career. A two-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner, Jefferson is still transitioning to the WNBA game but is a key role player for the Phoenix Mercury.
9. Jamierra Faulkner
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2014 to 2021
Team: Chicago Sky
A standout player at Southern Mississippi, where she averaged double-digit scoring totals in all four of her collegiate years, Faulkner would go on to become the 34th pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft. Forced to retire early for medical reasons, Faulkner became a consistent role player in the WNBA after her amazing college career.
8. Dana Evans
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2021 to present
Teams: Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky
Drafted 13th overall by the Dallas Wings in 2021, Evans currently plays for the Chicago Sky. In Chicago, she is enjoying a career-high amount of minutes, which has resulted in a career-high amount of points, rebounds and assists. Evans, who was part of the Sky’s Championship run in 2021, is growing and progressing year by year.
7. Jordin Canada
Height: 5-foot-6
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2018 to present
Teams: Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks
Selected fifth overall in the 2018 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm, Canada had the advantage of learning from the great Sue Bird, whom Canada backed up for several years in Seattle. Already a two-time WNBA champion, Canada was the league’s steals leader in 2019. She is currently a key player for the Los Angeles Sparks, averaging career per-game highs in both scoring (12.6 points) and assists (5.6).
6. Leilani Mitchell
Height: 5-foot-5
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2008 to present
Teams: New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Washington Mystics
Selected in the second half of the 2008 WNBA draft, Leilani Mitchell has proven her WNBA worth time and again. The winner of the league’s Most Improved Player award in both 2010 and 2019, Mitchell, who is not on an NBA roster at this time, has shown that lacking height doesn’t stop her from being effective.
5. Crystal Dangerfield
Height: 5-foot-5
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2020 to present
Teams: Minnesota Lynx, Indiana Fever, New York Liberty, Dallas Wings
The 16th overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, Dangerfield quickly showed the 11 teams who passed over her that they had missed out on a talented guard. The 2020 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Dangerfield is currently the shortest player in the WNBA and has a chance to go down in league history as one of the best 5-foot-5 players ever. During her Rookie of the Year season, Dangerfield averaged 16.2 points per game.
4. Brooke McCarty-Williams
Height: 5-foot-4
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2019
Teams: Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings
The fourth-shortest player in WNBA history, Brooke McCarty-Williams was an undrafted player cut from the Los Angeles Sparks’ 2018 tryouts before making the Dallas Wings roster in 2019. A standout collegiate player at the University of Texas, she averaged double-figure scoring in three of her four seasons with the Longhorns. She currently plays overseas.
3. Tameka Johnson
Height: 5-foot-3
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2005 to2015
Teams: Washington Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Tulsa Shock, Seattle Storm
Tameka Johnson had one of the longest WNBA tenures for a player in her height range. Selected sixth overall in the 2005 WNBA Draft, Johnson would live up to the hype surrounding her by winning the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award with Washington in 2005. She would later go on to win the WNBA championship with Phoenix in 2009.
2. Debbie Black
Height: 5-foot-2½
Position: Guard
Years Active: 1999 to 2005
Teams: Miami Sol, Connecticut Sun
Nicknamed “The Pest” for her relentless defense, Debbie Black was the second-shortest player in WNBA history behind Shannon Bobbitt by just half an inch. Black, like Bobbitt, was chosen 15th overall in her WNBA Draft year. Before joining the WNBA at age 32, Black played for the Colorado Xplosion of the ABL from 1996 to 1998. While playing for Colorado against the Atlanta Glory on Dec. 8, 1996, Black recorded a quadruple-double (10 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 10 steals), becoming the only North American female professional basketball player to achieve that feat.
1. Shannon Bobbitt
Height: 5-foot-2
Position: Guard
Years Active: 2008 to 2011
Teams: Los Angeles Sparks, Indiana Fever, Washington Mystics
Shannon Bobbitt ended her WNBA career 12 years ago, but she still holds the distinction of having been the shortest player in league history. During her college years, Bobbitt was a key contributor for the Tennessee Volunteers, helping that team win two national championships before becoming the 15th overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. While Bobbitt’s WNBA career wasn’t as successful as her collegiate years, playing in the WNBA at 5-foot-2 is a true accomplishment in itself.
