WNBA Preseason Power Rankings 2025: Lynx on Mission, Fever a Threat, Aces Slide
The 2025 WNBA season is right around the corner, and it comes with fresh faces, big trades, and a lot of expectations. Whether it is hype around the Indiana Fever's roster revamp, the Minnesota Lynx's revenge tour, or the debut of the Golden State Valkyries, each team has its storylines. Here's how all 13 of them stack up with the preseason upon us.
13. Connecticut Sun
The Sun are in complete rebuild mode after losing nearly all the impact players from last year's roster in the offseason. Marina Mabrey is a proven producer, and Tina Charles was a powerhouse in her prime. But that doesn’t seem to be enough to outweigh the deficiencies in depth, defense, and ability to keep up with the fast-paced style many of the teams in the league are building towards.
12. Golden State Valkyries
The newest team added to the WNBA, the Golden State Valkyries, have built a roster heavily leaning into international talent. But they were very deliberate about their picks, which comes as no surprise, as their new head coach, Natalie Nakase, has coached various international teams. While the Valkyries have a lot of potential for future success, building chemistry as a new team and navigating roster gaps when their overseas commitments overlap with the WNBA season is going to take some time to work out.
11. Washington Mystics
The Mystics have a lot of new faces and will be looking to find cohesion amongst them. Having some of the top talent in the 2025 WNBA draft in Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen can help them in the long run, but Aaliyah Edwards just went down with an injury in training camp and their other top players in Stefanie Dolson and Brittney Sykes won’t be enough to carry them into the playoffs.
10. Dallas Wings
The Wings have been historically bad on defense, never ranking higher than eighth in the league since 2006. Things are looking up as they did add some plus defenders this year and there is a lot of support around No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers, but the team's struggles with rim protection and defensive rebounding cast doubt that a playoff run is in the stars for them this season.
9. Phoenix Mercury
There was a lot of movement on this team this offseason. While Phoenix acquired big names in Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally, there are still a lot of questions to be answered following the departure of Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. And though Sabally has shown flashes of greatness in her career, she is injury-prone. And with the Mercury's lack depth, that is a concern.
8. Chicago Sky
There is a lot of potential on the Sky’s roster this year. Adding veteran leadership at point guard in Courtney Vandersloot and a former All-Star in Ariel Atkins should lead to a big improvement from last season. The main challenge lies in the team’s recent strategy to transition Angel Reese from primarily scoring in the paint to taking on more ball-handling and playmaking responsibilities. While the versatility experiment might take some time, Reese’s relentless work ethic and proven resilience suggest she’s more than capable of rising to the occasion.
7. Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks' big pick-up of Kelsey Plum turned heads this offseason as she brings her scoring acumen to Los Angeles. The addition of Plum could open up the floor for a breakout season from Rickea Jackson and lead to more paint touches for Dearica Hamby. The question lies in LA's defense and whether Cameron Brink will be fully recovered from last season's ACL injury in order to pick up the slack there.
6. Atlanta Dream
The Dream are poised to surprise fans. They have a lot of scoring in Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray and want to run. Adding Britney Griner might seem counterintuitive to this goal, but as she showed in Unrivaled, Griner can still dominate in those quicker environments and adds some much-needed rim finishing to the Dream. Atlanta is the dark horse pick to have a breakout season.
5. Seattle Storm
The Storm are a team full of stars in Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins, but they have yet to find a solution for their weakness in three-point shooting. Their draft pick, Dominique Malonga, has exciting potential (she promised us some dunking!), but will likely need some time to adapt to the WNBA. Ezi Magbegor will shine on defense, and we can expect to see a multitude of Diggins’ classic rainbow arcs filling nets. But the squad still has some limitations that could keep them a notch below the contenders this season.
4. Las Vegas Aces
It’s hard to rank a team with A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray at number four. But the Aces' offseason moves left a lot to be desired. And like a few other teams, they have been bitten by the injury bug as Megan Gustafson was just listed as out indefinitely with a leg injury, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus will also be out to start the season. While Las Vegas' core is elite, depth and durability are concerns
3. Indiana Fever
Probably the most talked about roster overhaul in the WNBA is the Indiana Fever, who injected some much-needed veteran leadership and championship experience into their young core in Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. The Fever's offense was already hard to stop, and the offseason additions balance out the defensive deficiency they lacked last season. Ranking them at No. 3 is being conservative, as Indiana's hunger to contend for a title is convincing. The pieces are there, and it all looks great on paper, but the only question now is how it will all translate once the season tips off.
2. New York Liberty
Fresh off a WNBA championship, the Liberty enter the 2025 season with a target on their backs, and every team will be gunning for them. The offseason addition of Natasha Cloud gives them a playmaker and allows for balance alongside Sabrina Ionescu. With strong bench depth and the ability to attack on both ends of the court, the Liberty remain one of the league’s most complete teams. The only real concerns lie in the recent injury to Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, a crucial two-way player, and how Breanna Stewart will bounce back following her offseason surgery. Still, with their size, skill, and depth, New York is undeniably built to contend again (and possibly repeat) in 2025.
1. Minnesota Lynx
If we learned anything from last season, it’s not to underestimate the Minnesota Lynx. After narrowly falling to the Liberty in a contentious overtime Finals loss, the Lynx return in 2025 with a chip on their shoulder and unfinished business on their minds. The Lynx are stacked with elite three-point shooters, a penchant for beautiful ball movement, and a returning core that gives them a leg up over teams still building chemistry. With continuity, experience, and hunger on their side, the Lynx are locked and loaded to make another serious run at the title behind star Napheesa Collier.
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Rosalina Lee is one of the premiere content creators in the women’s basketball space. She has written for such companies as Red Bull Sports and has teamed up with notable brands such as Madison Square Garden, going behind the scenes with the New York Knicks and Rangers. She is currently offering analysis and fresh takes into the world of women’s basketball on her YouTube channel, and now with Indiana Fever On SI and Women's Fastbreak On SI, keeping fans in the loop with all the latest action!
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