WNBA Power Rankings: Lynx Still Top Dogs After Beating Fever For 10th Straight Win
The Phoenix Mercury's acquisition of Kelsey Plum headlined a relatively tame August 2 WNBA trade deadline. With the picture a bit clearer, the stage is now set for the final two months of the regular season.
The Minnesota Lynx still have a stranglehold on first place, but it's shaping up to be an exciting battle for seeding nonetheless. There's a steep drop-off at the playoff cutline, but if anything is to be learned from the 2025 Las Vegas Aces, be wary of any unforeseen second-half surges.
Here's a snapshot of the WNBA landscape in our first set of power rankings since the All-Star break.
1. Minnesota Lynx (25-6, W10)
Previous Ranking: 1 (--)
The Lynx have easily been the best team in the league this season. They also happen to be on fire right now.
Minnesota claimed its 10th straight win Sunday, defeating the Indiana Fever 108-100. The club now holds a 3.5-game lead over first place.
Star rookie point guard Olivia Miles went toe-to-toe with Kelsey Mitchell on both ends of the floor, posting a team-high 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting. She's undoubtedly forced her way into MVP talks, though Aces center A'ja Wilson still safely owns the inside track. With another MVP-caliber talent in Napheesa Collier back in the lineup, the Lynx boast the most impressive starting five in the league.
OLIVIA MILES TODAY 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) August 2, 2026
• 28 POINTS
• 6 ASSISTS
• 4 REBOUNDS
• 3/6 3PM
• 11/14 FG pic.twitter.com/5klBKxeokS
It's hard to imagine this squad will relinquish its grip on first -- and that applies to both the standings and our power rankings.
2. Indiana Fever (19-11, L1)
Previous Ranking: 3 (+1)
As Women's Fastbreak publisher Robin Lundberg penned over the weekend, "the Fever and Lynx are the two best teams in the WNBA." It's hard to argue with him.
The Fever and Lynx are the two best teams in the WNBA.
— Robin Lundberg (@robinlundberg) August 2, 2026
Indiana's offense -- and particularly the backcourt duo of Mitchell and Caitlin Clark -- makes them a uniquely dangerous team, though not one without blemishes.
The Fever are on pace to post the best offensive rating (115.6) in WNBA history. Offense is rising across the WNBA, but the numbers remain impressive relative to league average.
Pulling up the game now, but worth noting — as I did on Tuesday’s @dunkerspotpod — that the Fever are on pace to log the best offensive rating IN WNBA HISTORY.
— Nekias (Nuh-KAI-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) August 1, 2026
And relative to league average, they’re flirting with a top-10 offense of all-time.
Special things are happening rn. pic.twitter.com/LNpG5Zy4jI
Indiana carried a five-game winning streak into Sunday's battle with Minnesota. They became just the fourth team this season to put up 100 points or more against a Lynx defense that ranks second in defensive rating. Mitchell led the charge with a magnificent performance, racking up a season-best 37-points on 66.7 percent shooting.
Mitchell and Clark account for each of the last three WNBA Player of the Week awards in the Eastern Conference, and will likely pick up a couple more before season's close.
Of course, offense isn't everything. Indiana still has plenty to clean up on the defensive end and doesn't come close to rivaling the depth that Minnesota boasts. The Fever might be the second-best team in the WNBA at present, but the Lynx are the undisputed top dog.
3. Golden State Valkyries (21-9, W2)
Previous Ranking: 2 (-1)
The next two teams on this list both have a compelling case for the No. 2 spot in our power rankings. As recently as July 18, the Golden State Valkyries owned the longest active winning streak in the WNBA, ripping off nine straight wins over the course of 25 days.
Back-to-back losses to the Washington Mystics and Mercury snapped the streak, but the Valkyries rebounded with a pair of double-digit wins over the Toronto Tempo.
Only Minnesota sports a better record than the Valkyries since July 1. Defense is their calling card, but don't sleep on an offense that's become more effective as the season wears on.
Minnesota, Indiana, and Las Vegas have the edge in star power, but Golden State's ability to consistently shut down opposing offenses is the ultimate neutralizer that levels the playing field.
4. Las Vegas Aces (21-9, W1)
Previous Ranking: 5 (+1)
The Aces hit a few roadblocks over the last month. Besides two lopsided losses to Indiana, Las Vegas also came up short in a pair of one-point games against Washington and the Chicago Sky. The Aces are tied for second in the standings, but it's a tightly packed scrum below the No. 1 seed -- and Golden State and Indiana show no signs of slowing down.
Las Vegas looked every bit of the reigning WNBA champions on Monday, defeating the Atlanta Dream 109-87 on the road behind a 28-point triple-double from Jackie Young.
Putting together another UNREAL week 🔥
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 4, 2026
A'ja Wilson is your Week 10 Western Conference Player of the Week after stuffing the stat sheet once again!
STATS: 32.3 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 4.7 APG#WNBASeason30 pic.twitter.com/OzxoAdKvhX
Wilson will surely earn her third straight Western Conference Player of the Month award after continuing a dominant 2026 campaign, pacing all players with 28.3 points per game while averaging more than 10 rebounds across seven July games. With the MVP-favorite leading the way, the Aces have one of the higher floors in the league and the ceiling of a title contender.
5. Atlanta Dream (18-11, L1)
Previous Ranking: 6 (+1)
The Dream look more like themselves after enduring a 1-6 stretch from June 24 to July 11. Atlanta closed out July with five straight wins. The high point was an 82-81 victory over the Dallas Wings last Wednesday in which the Dream erased a 15-point second-half deficit. A late surge from Allisha Gray sealed the game and delivered Atlanta's first win against a team in playoff position since June 20.
Las Vegas proved a more challenging foe Monday, holding the Dream to 4-for-24 from distance in the 22-point win. Gray was limited to single figures for just the second time all season, mustering just seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Atlanta still hasn't completely reverted to the dominance they displayed in June, but a favorable second-half schedule leaves them well positioned to pick up steam.
6. Dallas Wings (19-11, W1)
Previous Ranking: 4 (-2)
Dallas returned from the All-Star break with back-to-back losses to Atlanta and Washington before getting back in the win column with an 83-63 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
The Dream outscored the Wings 30-17 in the fourth quarter of last week's comeback effort -- a frustrating stumble for a club that won seven of eight games heading into the break.
Dallas took care of business handily against the Sun, despite a muted effort from Paige Bueckers. It helps that Arike Ogunbowale is enjoying the most efficient stretch of her WNBA career. Ogunbowale sports a 65.2% true shooting percentage over her last eight games, notching 20 points or more in six of those contests.
This current scoring stretch from Arike Ogunbowale has been the most efficient of her entire career.
— Drake (@DrakeKeeler) August 3, 2026
65.2% true shooting percentage over the last eight games. Prior to this year, June-July 2022 was the only time she ever cracked 60% over a stretch of that length. https://t.co/LJBs5oDGei
The best version of the Wings features Bueckers and Ogunbowale scoring at a high clip, efficient shooting from Azzi Fudd, and Jessica Shepard continuing a breakout campaign. That's well within reason for this reimagined Wings squad.
7. Washington Mystics (16-12, W4)
Previous Ranking: 7 (--)
At a glance, the Mystics might seem like the least imposing of the eight teams currently in playoff position. The youngest team in the WNBA this season, Washington doesn't carry the same postseason expectations as its peers.
Yet Washington's managed to put some serious distance between themselves and the non-playoff teams, and of late, they've played a better brand of basketball than the seventh-place New York Liberty.
The Mystics' active four-game winning streak features victories over the second-place Aces, third-place Valkyries, and fourth-place Wings. Washington is 8-4 since June 28, and getting high level performances from its top trio of Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Shakira Austin.
The floor-raiser seems to be Austin, who's a hair shy of averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds since the start of July. As long as the fifth-year center can maintain that production throughout the second half, Washington won't be an afterthought in the playoff picture.
8. New York Liberty (18-13, W2)
Previous Ranking: 8 (--)
New York is safely in playoff position, thanks in large part to an eight-game winning streak from May 27 to June 17, but it's still hard to get a real feel for this team's ceiling.
The Liberty's uneven play can make it easy to overlook that Breanna Stewart is playing her best basketball since her second MVP season in 2023 -- her first year in Brooklyn. The eight-time All-Star is on track for another top-five finish in MVP voting as a shining beacon of consistency for a New York squad that's been anything but.
Injuries disrupted the first two months of Sabrina Ionescu's 2026 campaign, but the star guard has snapped back into form since the start of July. An effective Stewart-Ionescu duo sounds like a pretty good base for a successful winning recipe, but as it's been penned before in previous editions of our weekly power rankings series, talent isn't the issue.
New York has struggled to find sustained success with its current lineup, though this latest 5-1 stretch is at least somewhat encouraging, albeit against lighter competition. Betnijah Laney Hamilton's usage remains a source of contention among fans. Laney-Hamilton hasn't played since July 12, and the decision to hold onto her at the trade deadline raises more questions than answers.
9. Phoenix Mercury (12-19, W1)
Previous Ranking: 11 (+2)
It won't be easy for any of the teams below the playoff cutline to claw their way back into playoff position. But of that group, Phoenix would be the most likely candidate after taking a big swing at the deadline.
The Mercury added the WNBA's third-leading scorer, Plum (23.6 PPG), in a trade with the Los Angeles Sparks, sending second-year guard Monique Akoa-Makani, a 2027 first-rounder, and a 2028 second-rounder back in return.
That's a gutsy package to give up for an incredibly effective but aging veteran, especially given Phoenix's uncertain future. Then again, Plum did make a good first impression Monday. The five-time All-Star guard added 20 points in 21 minutes off the bench, helping the Mercury to a 106-101 win over the Sky.
KELSEY PLUM IN HER MERCURY DEBUT:
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) August 4, 2026
• 20 POINTS
• 4 ASSISTS
• 3/5 3PM
• 6/10 FG
• 21 MINUTES PLAYED pic.twitter.com/F7t04Hw9Ym
The move makes Phoenix the most dangerous of the non-playoff teams and should provide a much-needed spark to a struggling offense. But the Mercury may have dug themselves too deep a hole in the first half. Erasing a 5.5-game deficit is a lot to ask from a team that didn't appear to be one player away from playoff contention.
10. Chicago Sky (11-19, L1)
Previous Ranking: 10 (--)
You'll be hard-pressed to find a better story in the WNBA than the breakout campaign Sydney Taylor is enjoying. The undrafted rookie added to a laundry list of impressive moments in 2026, capping off a 29-point gem Sunday with a game-winning three-pointer to snatch an 84-83 win against Las Vegas.
OH MY, SYDNEY TAYLOR 🤯
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 1, 2026
Sydney Taylor buries the catch-and-shoot triple to WIN IT for the @chicagosky!
LVA-CHI | CBS & Paramount+
Tap to watch: https://t.co/XQsLhOEb55 pic.twitter.com/jxTY7raKJb
Since June 11, Taylor has reached double figures in all but one game. The Sky aren't positioned for a big time second-half surge, even if Skylar Diggins returns to the lineup, but it appears they've found a true game-changer in Taylor.
11. Los Angeles Sparks (11-17, W1)
Previous Ranking: 14 (+3)
The Sparks rising three spots in our power rankings is a reflection of just how poor the bottom half of the WNBA has been the last two weeks. Los Angeles is 3-9 since June 25, but simply winning a game over the weekend puts them in rarified air compared to the rest of this crop.
The Sparks defeated the Portland Fire 106-101 behind a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double from Dearica Hamby. It doesn't look like there will be many wins on the horizon, though, as they're set to face the fourth-hardest remaining schedule in the WNBA.
Los Angeles sits ninth in the standings, but teams hoping to make a late playoff push don't trade a player like Plum, even if she is on an expiring deal. On the bright side, that trade haul from Phoenix could pay dividends down the line.
12. Portland Fire (11-19, L5)
Previous Ranking: 9 (-3)
Somehow, Portland's five-game losing streak is only tied for the third-worst active skid in the league. After treading water until early June, the Fire have now fallen eight games below .500 as they trudge through their worst stretch yet. They've posted respectable numbers offensively in that span, but it's not enough to overcome the second-worst defensive rating in the WNBA.
13. Connecticut Sun (7-23, L5)
Previous Ranking: 13 (--)
The Sun have dropped five straight since July 19, most recently falling by 20 to the Wings over the weekend. They also shipped third-leading scorer Aneesah Morrow at the trade deadline, which only further depletes a group that didn't have much scoring punch to begin with. Connecticut has managed to be plucky, and they still may prove to be a tougher out than expected down the stretch, but there isn't much working in their favor from a roster construction standpoint.
14. Toronto Tempo (10-20, L7)
Previous Ranking: 12 (-2)
The Tempo are not immune to the same summer struggles that have befallen their expansion counterparts in Portland. In fact, it's been a much worse skid for Toronto, with the club dropping seven straight and 11 of its last 12.
The trade acquisition of Morrow couldn't stop the slide, with the Tempo losing 92-81 in their second straight game at Golden State. The Tempo are now 10 games below .500 and seven games back of the playoff cutline. It's just a reminder that the 2025 Valkyries are the exception, not the rule.
15. Seattle Storm (6-26, L9)
Previous Ranking: 15 (--)
The Storm bring up the rear once again, now owners of the league's worst record and longest active losing streak. Seattle's skid extended to nine games Monday with a 95-83 loss against the Liberty. They haven't won a game since July 6, battered by a brutal schedule in which eight of the nine games came against teams in playoff position.
The youth is playing well enough for the Storm to able to turn this around once the schedule lightens up, but they've earned last place in our power rankings for the time being.
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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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