The contribution of players born outside the United States has been a big factor in the growth of the WNBA, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary season. We've already taken a separate, bigger-picture look at the Australian influence. But here are 10 players from other countries who have greatly boosted the WNBA. We rank them in order of career impact and effectiveness. (*Indicates player is still active in the WNBA.)
1. G Ticha Penicheiro, Portugal: Voted recently as one of the WNBA's top 20 players of the first 20 seasons, she played 15 years, averaging 6.1 PPG and 5.7 APG, and was an exceptional defender. She is the league's career leader in assists (2,599) and won a title with Sacramento.
2. G Janeth Arcain, Brazil: A vital part of the Houston Comets' four championship teams, she played eight seasons in the WNBA and impacted all facets of the game. She averaged 10.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.4 SPG.
3. G/F Mwadi Mabika, Congo: She played 11 seasons with Los Angeles, winning two titles with the Sparks; her final season was with Houston. She averaged 10.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG; her top-scoring season (16.8) was 2002, when Sparks repeated as champions.
4. C Erika de Souza*, Brazil: A rookie reserve on the Sparks' 2002 title team, she then left the WNBA until 2007. She has played each season since, including on Atlanta's three WNBA Finals teams. Now with Chicago, her career averages are 10.0 PPG and 7.2 RPG.
5. F Sancho Lyttle*, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Now in her 12th WNBA season, she has career averages of 9.6 PPG and 6.9 RPG. She played her first four seasons in Houston and has been with Atlanta since. She represents Spain internationally.
6. F Sophia Young, St. Vincent and the Grenadines: After an NCAA title at Baylor, Young had a nine-season career, including an appearance in the 2008 WNBA Finals. She became a U.S. citizen in 2011 and retired in 2015 with career averages of 14.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG.
7. C Tammy Sutton-Brown, Canada: Her 12-year WNBA career was capped by winning a league title with Indiana in her final season, 2012. Overall, she averaged 9.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 1.4 BPG in a career split between Charlotte and Indiana.
8. C Margo Dydek, Poland: The 7-foot-2 Dydek averaged 10.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 2.7 BPG in 10 seasons. The No. 1 draft pick in 1998 by Utah, she is the WNBA's career leader in blocked shots (877). She died in 2011 after suffering a heart attack.
9. G/F Iziane Castro Marques, Brazil: In 11 seasons, she averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 1.7 APG. She had a career year in 2010 with Atlanta, averaging 16.9 points as the Dream went to the WNBA Finals.
10. F Svetlana Abrosimova, Russia: The only player on this list who won both a WNBA title (Seattle) and an NCAA title (UConn), she spent seven of her 10 WNBA season in Minnesota, finishing in Seattle. She averaged 9.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 2.1 APG.
Honorable mention: Ann Wauters* (Belgium), Elena Baranova (Russia), Marlies Askamp (Germany), Kamila Vodichkova (Czech Republic).