WNBA All-Decade Team

The Women's National Basketball Association's All-Decade Team were chosen in 2006 on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the WNBA from amongst 30 nominees compiled by the league by fan, media, coach, and player voting. The team was to comprise the 10 best and most influential players of the first decade of the WNBA, with consideration also accorded to sportsmanship, community service, leadership, and contribution to the growth of women's basketball; only players to have competed in the WNBA were eligible, but extra-league achievements were considered.
Nine of the first team selections won Olympic gold medals with Team USA, and eight won league championships, including three—Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson—who won four consecutive titles with the Houston Comets. Of the ten first-team honorees, only Cooper, who, having retired in 2000 to become head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, played four games during the 2003 season before finally ending her playing career, was not an active player when the team was announced. Swoopes, Thompson, and Lisa Leslie were the only three first team selections to have been drafted in 1997 and to have played in each of the ten seasons of the WNBA. Thompson and Leslie were among the six players who only played on one team their entire careers.

Players selected

^	Denotes player who was still active in the WNBA at time of award
~	Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

All-Decade Team

Note: all information only pertains to the first ten seasons of the league's existence.

Player	Nationality	Position	Team played for	College attended	Olympic medals	League titles	League awards	Women's National Basketball Association [All-Star Game\|All-Star Games]
Sue Bird^		PG	Seattle Storm	Connecticut	2004 Summer Olympics\|2004] gold	2004	-	2002–2006
Tamika Catchings^		SF	Indiana Fever	Tennessee	2004 gold	-	DPOY ROY	2002–2006
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke		SG	Houston Comets	USC	1988 gold 1992 bronze	1997–2000	MVP Finals MVP	1999, 2000, 2003
Yolanda Griffith^		C	Sacramento Monarchs Seattle Storm Indiana Fever	Florida Atlantic	2000 gold 2004 gold	2005	MVP DPOY	1999–2001, 2003–2006
Lauren Jackson^		C	Seattle Storm	N/A	2000 silver 2004 silver	2004	MVP	2001–2003, 2005, 2006
Lisa Leslie^		C	Los Angeles Sparks	USC	1996 gold 2000 gold 2004 gold	2001, 2002	MVP DPOY Finals MVP WNBA [All-Star Game MVP Award\|ASG MVP]	1999–2006
Katie Smith^		SF	Minnesota Lynx Detroit Shock Washington Mystics Seattle Storm New York Liberty	Ohio State	2000 gold 2004 gold	2006	-	2000–2006
Dawn Staley^		PG	Charlotte Sting Houston Comets	Virginia	1996 gold 2000 gold 2004 gold	-	KPSA	2002–2006
Sheryl Swoopes^		F	Houston Comets Seattle Storm Tulsa Shock	Texas Tech	1996 gold 2000 gold 2004 gold	1997–2000	MVP DPOY ASG MVP	1999, 2000, 2002–2006
Tina Thompson^		F	Houston Comets Los Angeles Sparks Seattle Storm	USC	2004 gold	1997–2000	ASG MVP	1999–2004, 2006

Honorable mention

Each woman, save Lauren Jackson, won her Olympic medal competing for the United States.
The inaugural WNBA All-Star Game took place during the 1999 season, and the game has been contested yearly since, although the 2004 edition was supplanted by a game between WNBA players from both conferences and the 2004 United States Olympic team. Appearances in the 2004 game are still considered All-Star appearances.
Players who were voted to start in all-star games but were unable to play due to injury are nevertheless considered to have been starters; players voted as reserves who started in place of other injured players are nevertheless considered to have been reserves.

Other finalists

¹ Retired at time of All-Decade Team announcement.