WNBA Power Rankings: Aces Supplant Lynx While Liberty Tumble Continues
The WNBA playoff picture is beginning to take shape, with half the berths already secured while five teams vie for the remaining four spots.
One of the league's biggest stories remains the Las Vegas Aces, who picked up their 12th consecutive victory to close out a dominant month of August. That's contributed to a shake-up at the top of our weekly power rankings.
1. Las Vegas Aces (26-14)
Change: +1
It was going to take a blistering stretch for any team to supplant the Minnesota Lynx on the power rankings, but that's exactly what the Aces have done.
Wednesday's 81-75 win over the Atlanta Dream marked their 12th straight win, tying a franchise record. The two squads remain tied for second place, but Las Vegas has secured a series sweep and the critical tiebreaker with just four games left to play. A'ja Wilson led all players with 25.5 PPG in August, and it translated to a meteoric rise up the standings. The Aces are 15-3 since the All-Star break and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The No. 1 seed is out of their grasp, but Las Vegas makes a convincing case as the WNBA's best team right now -- and they might have the best player, too.
2. Minnesota Lynx (32-8)
Change: -1
Lynx fans need not worry about a shift atop the power rankings. Minnesota is still a force to be reckoned with.
A 93-79 loss to the Seattle Storm on Thursday marked Minnesota's third loss in five games, but they rebounded confidently with a pair of dominant wins against the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings. A tilt against Las Vegas this Thursday is a good benchmark to see how the two stack up, but the Lynx have by far the most comfortable situation of any team in the WNBA. The Aces can win out, but they still won't sniff the No. 1 seed.
Napheesa Collier has looked sharp since returning from a three-week injury absence, posting a game-high 25 points on Monday night. Safe to say, a healthy Collier is more consequential for Minnesota's postseason success than their win-loss record in the final few weeks.
3. Atlanta Dream (26-14)
Change: --
Wednesday's loss to Las Vegas stings, but the Dream still have a clear path to the No. 2 seed. With a 93-76 win over the Sun on Labor Day, Atlanta draws even with the Aces once more. Las Vegas owns the tiebreaker, but the Dream have the easiest remaining schedule in the WNBA -- the prospect of outpacing the Aces in the final four games is certainly on the table.
Since August 1, Atlanta has the highest plus-minus in the WNBA, outscoring opponents by 10.8 points a game. That was largely without elite defensive guard Jordin Canada, who went down with an injury on August 10. Canada made her return Monday night, notching 15 points in just 20 minutes off the bench. The Dream are finally at full strength, and it couldn't come at a better time.
4. Phoenix Mercury (25-14)
Change: --
The Phoenix Mercury have secured a playoff berth and remain in contention for the No. 2 seed, a win short of the Aces and Dream with a game at hand. Saturday's 80-63 victory over New York marked Phoenix's fourth straight win. It's a stretch in which the Mercury have won nine of 12, the only three losses coming against Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Their big three of Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper is on full display, and it's translating to some of their best basketball all season.
5. Golden State Valkyries (21-18)
Change: +3
A week ago, I questioned whether or not the Golden State Valkyries could truly hang with the upper echelon of the WNBA. While the jury is still out, the verdict ultimately hinging on the outcome of an upcoming stretch that features two battles with the Lynx, the Valkyries are drawing me back in again.
Golden State shot a season-best 63.2% from distance against the Indiana Fever on Sunday, draining 12 of their 19 three-pointers in a 75-63 win. Only the Fever have had a more efficient performance from beyond the arc this season, shooting 65.0% against the Lynx on August 22.
When Golden State is at their best, they're taking -- and making -- a lot of three-pointers. It's a reassuring sign heading into a challenging 5-game slate that grades out as the second toughest in the league.
6. New York Liberty (24-16)
Change: -1
With an 80-63 loss to Phoenix, the Liberty have dropped six of their last 10 games. Breanna Stewart is back, but New York remains on the injury carousel, now afflicting Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones.
Stewart called out the level of play after Saturday's loss, challenging her squad to bring the right mindset and translate it to the court. That's not exactly what you want to hear when the postseason is just four games away.
It would take an utter collapse for New York to fall out of playoff contention, but their slide down the standings continues. A healthy big three of Stewart, Ionescu, and Jones can cover up a lot of issues, but concern is warranted after an ugly month of play.
7. Indiana Fever (21-19)
Change: +2
The Fever picked up a pair of impressive wins this week, besting the Storm by 20 and defeating the Sparks thanks to a terrific effort from hardship guard Odyssey Sims. A masterful shooting performance from the Valkyries stopped the winning streak at two games, but Indiana nonetheless continues to champion a next-man-up mentality.
Sims and Aerial Powers have proved to be worthwhile additions to a mangled backcourt, the latter of whom contributed 17 points off the bench in Sunday's loss. Caitlin Clark's timetable remains an unknown, but the Fever have once again proven themselves more than capable of keeping afloat.
8. Seattle Storm (22-20)
Change: -1
Seattle had a chance to put the final stamp on a terrific week, one that included a thorough 93-79 defeat of Minnesota. Instead, it ends on a sour note. The Storm fell to the Los Angeles Sparks 91-85 on Monday night, outscored 23-12 in a costly fourth quarter.
Despite earning decisive wins over the Lynx and Chicago Sky, it goes into the books as a 2-2 week. The Storm are in eighth place, and squandered an opportunity to put some separation between themselves and Los Angeles.
Seattle has just two games left on the schedule, a pair of home games against New York and Golden State. The Sparks, meanwhile, have five games left on their slate and trail the Storm by just 1.5 games for the No. 8 seed -- and they own the series tiebreaker. If Seattle ends the season on the outside looking in, losses like Monday night's will be a big reason why.
9. Los Angeles Sparks (19-20)
Change: -2
Wins in back-to-back days over the Storm and Washington Mystics have kept Los Angeles' playoff hopes alive. As detailed in Seattle's write-up, the Sparks trail the eighth-place cutoff by 1.5 games with five contests left on the slate.
It won't be easy, though. Four of the five battles come against the Dream, Aces, and Mercury. It's been an inconsistent stretch for the Sparks, one that doesn't instill a lot of confidence that they can go on a big run to catapult them into the playoffs. That said, these last two wins showed a lot of gumption, and perhaps could be the spark (pun intended) they need for a strong final push.
10. Chicago Sky (9-30)
Change: +2
The Chicago Sky have lost four straight and nine of their last 10, but they've actually been the most competitive team of the four eliminated from postseason contention.
This past week, the Sky lost by just five to the red-hot Aces and battled with the Mercury before falling 83-79. With Angel Reese healthy and producing, Chicago is the most likely candidate to pull off an upset win in the final two weeks.
11. Connecticut Sun (10-30)
Change: --
Connecticut got the better of Dallas on Wednesday before a pair of lopsided losses against Minnesota and Atlanta. A season-ending injury for Bria Hartley won't help the Sun keep things close in the final four games, but on the bright side, rookie guard Saniya Rivers is stringing together some solid performances.
12. Washington Mystics (16-25)
Change: -2
Two weeks ago, the Mystics were fighting for a playoff spot. Now the bottom has completely fallen out, with Washington dropping their seventh consecutive game on Sunday night. The rookies are still producing, but it's evident they just didn't have enough juice for a playoff push.
13. Dallas Wings (9-32)
Change: --
Only one team has a worse active losing streak than the Mystics. That would be the Dallas Wings, who lost their eighth consecutive game in a 25-point blowout at the hands of the Lynx on Monday. Perhaps it's not all for naught. The Wings now have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft at 40%.
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Lou Orlando is a Fordham University alum, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. At Rose Hill, he covered women's basketball for the university newspaper, the Fordham Ram. In addition to calling games on 90.7 FM. The Brooklyn native enjoys bagels and thinking about random early-2010s athletes, that is when he isn't penning stories for Women's Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI.
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