List of WNBA annual steals leaders

In basketball, a steal is a "defensive action" that causes the opponent to turn the ball over.[1] The Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) steals title is awarded to the player with the highest steals per game (spg) average in a given season.

The highest league-leading spg was Teresa Weatherspoon's 3.33 spg in the 1998 season. The lowest league-leading spg was 2.21, achieved by Nykesha Sales and Yolanda Griffith in the 2004 season. Teresa Weatherspoon also holds the record for total steals in a season (100) in the 1998 season.

Tamika Catchings has won the most steals titles, with eight. Angel McCoughtry, Brittney Sykes, Jordin Canada, Sancho Lyttle, Sheryl Swoopes, Teresa Weatherspoon, and Yolanda Griffith have each won the steals title two times. Tamika Catchings also holds the record for consecutive seasons leading the league in steals with three, accomplishing this in the 2005 season, 2006 season, and the 2007 season. She accomplished this again two years in a row in the 2009 season, and the 2010 season. Other players that have led the league in steals in consecutive seasons include Brittney Sykes in the 2021 season, 2022 season, and Teresa Weatherspoon in the 1997 season, 1998 season.

Key

^ Denotes player who is still active in the WNBA
* Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
† Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration[a]
§ 1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2025
Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player had been the
assists leader up to and including that season
G Guard F Forward C Center

Annual leaders

Year Player Pos. Team Games played Total minutes Minutes per game Total steals Steals per game
1997 Teresa Weatherspoon* G New York Liberty 28 924 33.0 85 3.0
1998 Teresa Weatherspoon (2) G New York Liberty* 30 1002 33.4 100 3.3
1999 Yolanda Griffith* C/F Sacramento Monarchs 29 979 33.8 73 2.5
2000 Sheryl Swoopes* F/G Houston Comets 31 1090 35.2 87 2.8
2001 Debbie Black G Miami Sol 32 946 29.6 82 2.5
2002 Tamika Catchings* F Indiana Fever 32 1167 36.5 94 2.9
2003 Sheryl Swoopes* (2) F/G Houston Comets 31 1084 35.0 77 2.4
2004 Yolanda Griffith* (2) C/F Sacramento Monarchs 34 1031 30.3 75 2.2
2004 Nykesha Sales G/F Connecticut Sun 34 1096 32.2 75 2.2
2005 Tamika Catchings* (2) F Indiana Fever 34 1174 34.5 90 2.6
2006 Tamika Catchings* (3) F Indiana Fever 32 1071 33.5 94 2.9
2007 Tamika Catchings* (4) F Indiana Fever 21 678 32.3 66 3.1
2008 Alexis Hornbuckle G Detroit Shock 34 747 22.0 79 2.3
2009 Tamika Catchings* (5) F Indiana Fever 34 1084 31.9 99 2.9
2010 Tamika Catchings* (6) F Indiana Fever 34 1068 31.4 77 2.2
2011 Sancho Lyttle F Atlanta Dream 22 577 26.2 52 2.3
2012 Angel McCoughtry F Atlanta Dream 24 718 29.9 60 2.5
2013 Tamika Catchings* (7) F Indiana Fever 30 942 31.4 85 2.8
2014 Angel McCoughtry (2) F Atlanta Dream 31 970 31.3 74 2.3
2015 Sancho Lyttle (2) F Atlanta Dream 24 721 30.0 54 2.2
2016 Tamika Catchings* (8) F Indiana Fever 34 844 24.8 62 1.8
2017 Alana Beard F/G Los Angeles Sparks 34 1048 30.8 71 2.0
2018 Maya Moore* F/G Minnesota Lynx 34 1081 31.8 57 1.7
2019 Jordin Canada^ G Seattle Storm 30 865 28.8 68 2.3
2020 Alyssa Thomas^ F Connecticut Sun 21 689 32.8 42 2.0
2021 Brittney Sykes^ G Los Angeles Sparks 32 939 29.3 58 1.8
2022 Brittney Sykes^ (2) G Los Angeles Sparks 32 921 31.3 65 2.0
2023 Jordin Canada^ (2) G Los Angeles Sparks 38 1237 32.5 86 2.3
2024 Arike Ogunbowale^ G Dallas Wings 38 1466 38.6 81 2.1
2025 Gabby Williams^ F Seattle Storm 44 1391 31.6 99 2.3

Multiple-time leaders

Rank Player Team Times leader Years
1 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever 8 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016
2 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream 2 2012, 2014
Brittney Sykes Los Angeles Sparks 2021, 2022
Jordin Canada Seattle Storm (1) / Los Angeles Sparks (1) 2019, 2023
Sancho Lyttle Atlanta Dream 2011, 2015
Sheryl Swoopes Houston Comets 2000, 2003
Teresa Weatherspoon New York Liberty 1997, 1998
Yolanda Griffith Sacramento Monarchs 1999, 2004

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until she has been fully retired for two calendar years.

References

  1. ^ "Basketball glossary". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.