Ah, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! The sun is out longer, the flowers are blooming, Dawn Staley won another national championship, and the world is talking about women’s basketball. As we get ready for the WNBA draft tonight, you might be wondering — who are all the gay WNBA players, anyway? What percent of the WNBA is gay? And more importantly, where do I find them online? My friends, I have you covered.
When Autostraddle first published this list, we had 15 out players. Today we counted 34 gay players in the WNBA! And yes, we could wax nostalgic about how great it is that the league and society at large has come such a long way for players to feel able to come out and not only be comfortable in their gay skin, but be celebrated for it! And seriously, that is great. But I’m going to keep it 100 with you! I first started getting into the W because someone finally sat me down and showed me how insanely hot these players are. So I’m going to cut right to the chase and pay it forward.
Here is every out gay WNBA player that I could find, and the hottest picture of them available on their Instagram… for reasons. We’re all grown here. Enjoy. And if you know of more (confirmed!) openly gay WNBA players, drop them in the comments.
* Many of these players are partnered, engaged, married, with babies on the way. So! To any actual WNBA wife (unlike me, a purely fantasy WNBA wife) who happens upon this post, please know that we come to thirst in peace! It’s a sign of your excellent taste, presented with nothing but honor and respect upon your household.
34 Gay WNBA Players to Follow (And Thirst After) on Instagram This Season
AD Durr, Atlanta Dream
Aerial Powers, Atlanta Dream
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
Congratulations to Alyssa Thomas, who got engaged to her Connecticut Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner last summer!
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Breanna and her wife welcomed a new baby this winter.
Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
DID YOU HEAR THAT BABY BG IS ON THE WAY!?!? Incredible congrats to Brittney and Cherelle!
Brittney Sykes, Washington Mystics
Candace Parker, Las Vegas Aces
Candace and her wife are expecting another baby this Spring!
Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces
Chelsea Gray and her wife welcomed their new baby this past winter. The WNBA baby boom is in full effect.
Courtney Vandersloot, New York Liberty
Courtney Williams, Minnesota Lynx
Crystal Dangerfield, Dallas Wings
Danielle Robinson, Atlanta Dream
DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut Sun
As mentioned already, DeWanna is engaged to Alyssa Thomas (who’s also on this list).
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
DiJonai Carrington, Connecticut Sun
Emily Engstler, Washington Mystics
Emma Cannon, Dallas Wings
Erica Wheeler, Indiana Fever
Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm
Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty
Jonquel got engaged last summer! And the photos are to die for.
Jordan Horston, Seattle Storm
Jordin Canada, Atlanta Dream
Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercurcy
Kahleah also got engaged over the fall.
Kierstan Bell, Las Vegas Aces
Layshia Clarendon, Los Angeles Sparks
NaLyssa Smith, Indiana Fever
Natasha Cloud, Phoenix Mercury
Natasha Howard, Dallas Wings
Natisha Hiedeman, Minnesota Lynx
Sami Whitcomb, Seattle Storm
Stefanie Dolson, Washington Mystics
Sug Sutton, Phoenix Mercury
Sydney Colson, Las Vegas Aces
Sydney’s Instagram won’t embed into the post, so please enjoy this screenshot. But also follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok not just for the thirst, but for the jokes. Syd’s got one of the WNBA’s biggest personalities and she’s unapologetically gay. They don’t call her “the face of the league” for nothing!! (PS: You can read my interview with her for Autostraddle right here.)
Victoria Vivians, Seattle Storm
While assembling research and crunching numbers for this post, I learned some other fun facts that you might enjoy! Such as:
Which WNBA Team Has the Most Gay Players?
The Phoenix Mercury is the WNBA team with the most gay players, in 2024 there will be five gay WNBA players suiting up in Phoenix. The Las Vegas Aces, Atlanta Dream, and the Seattle Storm will have four gay players each, leaving them in a three-way tie for second place. The Chicago Sky is statistically the most straight team, with no out gay players that I could find (they are also rebuilding this year, so expect a lot of movement). As of right now, The Los Angeles Sparks have only one out gay player.
Are There Any Trans or Nonbinary WNBA Players?
Yes, there are two nonbinary players in the league this season! AD Durr of the Atlanta Dream, and Layshia Clarendon of the LA Sparks!
What Percentage of the WNBA Is Gay?
As of right now, there are 34 out gay players in the WNBA for the 2024 season. If all those players make it out of training camp and into final roster spots, that will mean that roughly 23.6% of the WNBA is gay (34/144 total players, then divide and multiply by 100. You understand how statistics work). This would be right on track with the last two seasons. Research in 2022 found that 20% of the league was gay, and our reporting last year had the league at about 25% gay. Two players from last year’s list — Tiffany Hayes and Jasmine Thomas — retired after last season. A small handful of others are exploring free agency, but haven’t yet landed on a roster.
Will Any of the Players in the WNBA 2024 Draft Be Gay?
I don’t know! What is college if not a wonderful time of exploration of oneself? But if any of those newly minted draftees do any gay shenanigans in the near future, you can trust that I’ll have you covered! For the last few years, draft night has become a real showcase of butch fashion — and though I expect tonight to lean femme heavy, it’s still going to be a lot of fun to watch.Who doesn’t love getting misty eyed watching someone live out their dreams after years of hard work and dedication?
If you’re like me and came to this post for the thirst, but are new to the league and would like to learn more — let me close us out by saying, I have a post for that too and you might enjoy it: WNBA 101: Everything You Need to Know About the Gayest Sports League 🧡
Yall not to comment on my own post, but I just realized this was my 700th one 😭
That’s amazing Carmen! So grateful to have you here!
Izzy Harrison and Tash Cloud are dating! Jasmine Thomas! Lou Lopez Senechal (though we technically haven’t seen her play yet).
Lily! Lou Lopez Senechal is definitely a name that comes up a lot (she was mentioned in a comment on a previous version of this post as well), but I can’t find any concrete confirmation anywhere? If you’ve seen any, definitely drop a link. But I have looked into it! And I haven’t seen anything yet beyond like 2nd hand chatter.
Ditto, I looked into Isabel Harrison! But I hadn’t heard she might be dating Natasha Cloud, so I’m going to deep dive again! Thank you!
Erin!!! Thank you!!
No Rhyne Howard?
No Courtney Vandersloot?
Courtney is on the list! I have yet to find public information about Rhyne Howard’s sexuality, but if that changes we will update the list accordingly!
I always look forward to this post every year!
Candace Parker being on this list still feels surreal even though it’s been official for a couple years now! I love her response to Syd Colson’s post lol. Thank you Carmen for putting this together, I’ve really appreciated the NCAA and WNBA coverage on here lately!
(sorry this message is late but), I feel the exact same way!!!!
Thank you for the journalism! I hope all the draftees are gay too! (Just kidding, live your lives gals!)
This is truly an excellent post, and I love to see so much representation here! The amount of hot athleticism and hot hotness is just…yes yes yes!
I also wanted to out that there are a minimum of 21 out / queer players on the 6 teams of the PWHL (based on a quick google search) — can we get some three sport action up here?! Sports!
Don’t forget Delle Donne!!
I am sorry to be the one who has to tell you this, but she’ll be sitting out this season unfortunately. I don’t think she’s decided on a permanent retirement tho, just some contract things with the Mystics, so we should hopefully see her again next season!