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2013 WNBA Blocks Against Leaders

We all know who the best shot blockers were this season. But do we know which players were most likely to suffer the ignominy of getting their shots blocked?

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

There is a statistic that appears in the WNBA box scores but you won't find it at the WNBA.com site or even at any of the media sites run by the NBA.  On the box scores, just to the left of points, you'll find "BA" - "Blocks Against".

For if a player blocks a shot, it stands to reason that some player got her shot blocked. The Blocks Against column counts this litany of woe, every time a player's shot ended up somewhere on the court, or out of bounds, or in the popcorn stand near Row Z.  Undoubtedly, the WNBA doesn't tally this statistic either on its website or in the 2013 WNBA Media Guide under the principle of anonymity.

At Swish Appeal, however, we're not about anonymity.  (Well, mostly.)  What follows is the list of leaders in Blocks Against - during the 2013 regular season, these are the players most likely to get their shots blocked.

2013 WNBA Blocks Against Leaders
Player Team Blocks Against
G. Johnson TUL 43
D. Adams SAS 39
C. Little SEA 37
L. Whalen MIN 34
S. Fowles CHI 33
C. Langhorne WAS 32
P. Pierson NYL 31
E. Larkins IND 30
A. McCoughtry ATL 29
K. Christmas IND 29
E. Delle Donne CHI 28
S. Zellous IND 26
K. Braxton NYL 25
S. Johnson SAS 25
T. Wright SEA 25
K. Bone NYL 24
T. Charles CON 23
N. Ogwumike LAS 23
D. Bonner PHO 23
E. Prince CHI 22
S. Cash CHI 22
E. de Souza ATL 21
R. Brunson MIN 21
L. Cambage TUL 21
M. Currie WAS 21
B. January IND 20
T. Catchings IND 20



Tulsa's Glory Johnson is far and away the WNBA's Blocks Against leader for 2013.  Forty-three of her shot attempts this season were blocked.  Furthermore, she has the most Blocks Against in a game this season with six.  This was on June 20, 2013 in a game where the Chicago Sky were visiting Tulsa.  There were only seven total blocks by the Sky during that game, and five were from Sylvia Fowles, so you can draw your own conclusions.


Oh, by the way - the Shock won that game, 83 to 74, winning every quarter.  Not all blocks are alike - there's a big difference between the standard blocked shot that is simply an interruption of the offense's possession and the "Bill Russell" blocked shot which is done with a light touch and is designed to keep the ball in play, or even better is sent to the hands of a teammate to set up a fast break on the other end.

However, all Blocks Against are (mostly) alike.  A player tries a shot, and fails.  To which Glory Johnson might reply, "Yeah, Big Syl had to make the effort to block my shots.  At least I'm getting near the basket, which means I'm doing something right."