Women’s sports are gay, that’s just a fact. Between soccer, rugby, hockey, and basketball, the women’s leagues are full of our queer players and players who are dating each other.
The WNBA now has more than 40 LGBTQ+ players in the league, and 29 of them are currently competing in the WNBA Championship. There are players competing on rival teams who are dating each other, girlfriends playing on the same team, and sapphic players getting married and having babies.
Paige Bueckers may only be one of the sapphic WNBA players, but she’s already spent the season making headlines. She was the No. 1 draft pick, went viral multiple times when she announced she’s dating UConn star player Azzi Fudd, and was just announced as Rookie of the Year, making her the first LGBTQ+ newbie to take home that title in nearly a decade.
Over the course of the nearly 30-year history of the WNBA, 11 of the No.1 overall draft picks have been gay, and with the addition of Bueckers, now there have been seven queer Rookie of the Years.
But who are all of these queer women who were the best of the best during their rookie season?
Paige Bueckers (2025)
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers was the No.1 draft pick this year and since joining the Texas team she has been making headlines for announcing she’s dating UConn star player Azzi Fudd, and breaking records on the court. In her first year playing for the league she averaged 19.2 points per game and earned a spot of the All Star team, she broke the Wings’ franchise rookie records, finished third all-time in both total rookie points and total rookie assists, and finished tied for second for the most double-digit scoring games by a rookie.
Breanna Stewart (2016)
Breanna Stewart scored the award after her first season with the Seattle Storm, where she led the league in rebounds, set a single-season defensive rebound record, and was a top scorer among all the rookies. She is currently competing in the WNBA playoffs as part of the New York Liberty, after signing a new one-year contract with them earlier this year. Stewart met her wife, former WNBA player Marta Xargay, while the pair were playing professional basketball together in Russia.
Elena Delle Donne (2013)
Elena Delle Donne took home the award after dominating on the court during her first season with the Chicago Sky in 2013, where she led the rookies in scoring and swept the Rookie of the Month honors. She went on to be named MVP in 2015 and 2019, was a six-time WNBA All-Star, received the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award two years in a row, and won the WNBA Championship in 2019 while playing for the Washington Mystics. After an illustrious career, Delle Donne retired in April 2025 after dealing with multiple back surgeries that kept her from playing during the 2024 season. Dell Donne married wife Amanda Clifton in 2017.
Angel McCoughtry (2009)
Angel McCoughtry won the title of Rookie of Year while leading all rookies in points and steals and ranking fifth in assists while playing her first season with the Atlanta Dream. McCoughtry went on to be a five-time WNBA All-Star, earned seven WNBA All-Defensive First Team selections, and holds the WNBA playoffs single-game scoring record. McCoughtry hasn’t played in the WNBA since 2022 because of severe injuries. McCoughtry came out publicly as gay in 2015 in response to her Turkish League club team releasing her after she threw an engagement party with then-fiancée, actress Brande Elise. Since then, she has stated that her sexuality is fluid.
Candace Parker (2008)
In 2008, Candace “Ace” Parker because the first player in WNBA history to win both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player. Her illustrious 16-year-long career included being the first player to ever win WNBA Championships with three different teams, making the All-Defensive Team in 2009 and 2012, scoring the Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, and taking home the ESPY Award for Best WNBA Player in 2017. Parker is married to former Russian basketball player Anna Petrakova, who gave brith to their son in 2022.
Seimone Augustus (2006)
Seimone Augustus was drafted No. 1 in 2006 and became the second player in Minnesota Lynx history to become the Rookie of the Year in a season where she averaged 21.9 points per game, making her the second highest scorer in the league. She was also selected to the WNBA All-Rookie Team, and went on to take home four WNBA Championships with the Lynx, won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA, and was an eight-time WNBA All-Star. She finished out her career with the Los Angeles Sparks before retiring in 2021.
Diana Taurasi (2004)
GOAT Diana Taurasi borke down barriers throughout her career, including being the first queer player to win Rookie of the Year (though she wasn’t out yet) while playing for the Phoenix Mercury. Taurasi may have been Rookie of the Year back in 2004, but she only just retired at the end of the 2024 season after spending 20 years playing for the Mercury. In that time she won the WNBA Championship three times, won six Olympic gold medals for Team USA, was an 11-time WNBA All-Star, and ended her career with a total of 10,646 points, nearly 3,000 more than second-place Tina Charles. Taurasi didn’t come out publicly until 2017 when she got married to her former Mercury teammate Penny Taylor, after keeping their relationship secret for years because Taurasi worried the media would focus on her sexuality and not her game.