6 Players Who Could Swing the WNBA’s Post All-Star Playoff Race
With the All-Star Game decided, it’s time for teams to look toward the rest of the season. For most teams, that means gearing up for a final playoff push or solidifying their spot in the standings.
It should be an entertaining second half of the season. Aside from the Minnesota Lynx, no team currently in the playoff picture has created a ton of separation between them and the team right below them in the standings. There’s still a lot of room for movement. The Golden State Valkyries, for example, are just half a game ahead of the Las Vegas as the two seed, and the fifth-placed Indiana Fever have a slim 2.5-game lead over the eighth-seeded Washington Mystics.
A few players have a chance to help shift the playoff picture during the post All-Star stretch after being out with injuries or potentially finding themselves on the trade block.
Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles Sparks
Kelsey Plum averaged 23.9 points over her first 12 games of the season, but has been out with an injury since. She is expected to return soon, and if she can play as she did to start the season, she could help the Sparks move into the playoff picture. They are currently eleventh with a 10-16 record, and four games behind the Mystics for the final playoff spot. It will be an uphill battle, but missing the playoffs would be a mess for the Sparks, and Plum is their best chance of getting there.
Brittney Sykes, Toronto Tempo
Much like Plum, Brittney Sykes was playing like one of the best guards in the W before an injury took her out after 15 games. Toronto has struggled without her and sits in 10th place with a 10-16 record—the same as the Sparks but with much less pressure to make the playoffs. Still, if Sykes comes back soon and plays well, the Tempo could cause some trouble in the playoff race. Even if they don’t actually end up making the postseason, they could play spoiler for other teams by handing out a few losses that could make a huge difference in the standings.
Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
It’s been a rough season for New York. Breanna Stewart has been great on both ends of the floor, but injuries are once again a problem, and something just doesn’t seem to be clicking for the team. They lost four straight games before winning close matches against the Dallas Wings and Chicago Sky. Sabrina Ionescu was instrumental in both games. If she can play well for the rest of the season, the Liberty should be able to improve on their disappointing seventh-place first-half finish and push some other teams further down in the playoff standings.
Honorable mention: Satou Sabally
At this point, Satou Sabally doesn’t seem nearly as important to the Liberty’s success as Ionescu, but getting her back from injury soon would still be a great boost for New York.
Brionna Jones, Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is in a solid position with a 16-10 record. However, after two consecutive first-round exits and the addition of Angel Reese, there’s a lot of pressure on the team to go on a deeper playoff run. Finishing sixth (which is where they’re sitting right now) in the regular-season standings isn’t necessarily the best way to do that. Fortunately, Brionna Jones just returned from injury and looks ready to give the Dream a boost. If she can help the Dream climb up the standings, it could cause some trouble for the Fever and Wings, who sit right above Atlanta.
Skylar Diggins, Chicago Sky
The Sky’s chances of making the playoffs are slim. However, Diggins may not even be on the Sky’s roster much longer. After a clear rift between Diggins and the Sky over her role on the team and the still-lacking facilities, the Chicago Tribune reported that the organization isn’t actively shopping Diggins ahead of the trade deadline. However, that doesn’t mean it will refuse a good offer from a team hoping to boost its playoff chances.
The Mystics, for example, could make a legitimate playoff push with a veteran point guard—although there’s little reason for the Sky to help the Mystics get better unless they can get rid of the pick swap they owe Washington in the process—and the Sparks could benefit from having a high-level playmaker next to Plum.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, New York Liberty
After a knee injury that cost her the entire 2025 season, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton may not be quite the same player she was during New York’s title run, but it’s still jarring to see her get DNPs on the Liberty’s bench. She could help several teams, like the Dream, Aces, Sparks, or Wings, improve their place in the playoff picture if she is traded.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.