WNBA Weekly Power Rankings Edition #1

Welcome to the first edition of The Female Playbook’s WNBA Power Rankings! 

These rankings will be published every Monday (I know it’s Tuesday today, but consider it a special edition!) throughout the remainder of the WNBA’s season and will be a ranking of every team in the WNBA based on performance throughout the season up to that point. Although records do have an impact on the team’s ranking, rankings will also be determined by looking at how the team has played overall – for instance, have all of their losses come to the top teams in the league or been within one possession?

Rankings can shift week to week depending on how a team performed that week. However, for this first edition of the power rankings, I instead looked at how each team has performed throughout the season thus far.

So, without further ado, here is the first edition of the WNBA Power Rankings:

1. Minnesota Lynx (17-2)

In my mind, there is no team currently better than the Minnesota Lynx. The Lynx has consistently proved why they are the top dogs, with one of their two losses coming from a game they had lost their best player in – Naphessa Collier — and they still managed to only lose by four points. Although there’s another loss mixed up there against the Seattle Storm by 10 points, let’s face it, those kinds of games are bound to happen in sports. They have bounced back since their Commissioner Cup loss to the Indiana Fever, which, notably, doesn’t count toward the standings, with wins against the Mystics, Valkyries, and Sky. The next best team in the standings is 4 games behind them – imagine that.

Next Game: July 9th at 3:30pm @ Phoenix Mercury

2. Phoenix Mercury (13-6)

I don’t think anyone could have predicted the Mercury would have performed as well as they have thus far after losing the legend Diana Taurasi to retirement and Brittney Griner to free agency, yet, the Mercury have turned up the heat. Let’s put aside those early season losses because the Mercury have been plagued with injuries such as in Kahleah Copper, whose first game back was June 15th. Now, notably, the Mercury had two back-to-back losses against the Aces and Wings recently, but let’s call that an out of character game for them because after, they erupted in a 30 point win over the Wings yesterday, led by Sami Whitomb’s 30+ burger and Alyssa Thomas’s 16th triple-double.

Next Game: July 9th at 3:30pm vs. Minnesota Lynx

3. Atlanta Dream (12-7)

Atlanta has had a monster of a season thus far, wearing a new look since last season in the top third of the standings thanks, in part, to some of their offseason pickups – Brittany Griner and Brionna Jones – who have fit seamlessly into this Dream rotation. In the last four games, the Dream have gone 2-2 with both of their losses being decided by a combined margin of 5 points. Nevertheless, the Dream bounced back with a 90-81 victory over the Valkyries with Allisha Gray, one of the Dream’s all-stars with Rhyne Howard being the other, posting 24 points.

Next Game: July 11th at 7:30pm @ Indiana Fever

4. Seattle Storm (12-7)

The Storm are rising with two back-to-back road wins against the Dream and Liberty, including a tremendous performance from their 19-year-old rookie Dominique Malonga who had 11 points in 10 minutes of playing time in the team’s game against the Liberty on Sunday. The Storm are mastering how to share the ball, having 5 players in double figures in their game against the Liberty and 4 against the Dream. This Storm team is truly a force to be reckoned with and if they keep playing like this, they will keep on rising in the power rankings.

Next Game: July 9th at 11:00am @ Connecticut Sun

5. Indiana Fever (9-9)

Ah yes, the Fever are a complicated one. Aside from a two point loss to the Sparks on Saturday, the Fever have been rolling and killing it without Caitlin Clark, thanks to the dominant duo of Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston, both 2025 all-stars alongside Clark, and the re-signing of Aari McDonald. The Fever are looking so cohesive and truly like a team unit, so you can only imagine what is going to happen when Clark gets back, hopefully to pre-injury form and not that weird period of time form where she went 1-17 from the three point line. The Commissioner's Cup win was only a taste of what this team is capable of, dethroning the top dogs without their top dog.

Next Game: July 9th at 12:00pm vs. Golden State Valkyries

6. New York Liberty (12-6)

The Liberty, like the Fever, is another complicated tale. The defending champs started their season like they were going to be making another run, going 9-0. However, after losing Leonie Fiebich, who was out for a month in EuroBasket, the Liberty fell to the Indiana Fever, who handed them their first loss of the season on June 14th. Since their dominating start, the Liberty have not yet gotten back to their prime. The Liberty have dealt with their most notable loss of the season in Jonquel Jones, the 2024 Finals MVP, who first injured her ankle on June 5th and then reaggravated it on June 19th. Her absence, along with Fiebich, has been notable for the Liberty, who have gone 2-3 since June 19th and 3-5 since June 5th. Fiebich is back, but it looks like Jones won’t be back until after the All-Star break at the earliest, according to head coach Sandy Brondello. 

Next Game: July 8th at 8:00pm vs. Las Vegas Aces

7. Golden State Valkyries (9-9)

The Valkyries are a team whose record shows exactly how their season has gone – great and bad with ups and downs and highly variable. In many preseason power rankings, news outlets had the WNBA’s newest team, the Valkyries, towards the bottom of those rankings and standings, but, the Valkyries have proved many wrong. Their coach, Natalie Nakase, has been a name circulating the coach of the year talks in the league, and Kayla Thornton has absolutely dominated and led this team. The Valkyries are a team who will get two wins in a row and then lose two in a row, but they are also a team who has shown great moments of elite play and cohesiveness, a surprise when a team is made up of completely new players who, for the most part, have never played together. 

Next Game: July 9th at 12:00pm @ Indiana Fever

8. Las Vegas Aces (9-9)

If someone said in 2023 that the Aces would be battling for a playoff spot, I think they would have been called crazy. But, here we are, and look at how things have shaken up in the league. The Jewell Lloyd addition seemed to be a great choice in the offseason, but things haven’t quite panned out as the Aces would have liked. In some recent games, it has been the A’ja Wilson show. In their loss to the Fever on July 3rd, Wilson had 29 points while everyone else on her team had 6 points or less. Evidently, you need more than one person to win a basketball game. Nevertheless, the Aces have shown some promising signs with recent victories against the Mercury (84-81) and Sun (86-68). 

Next Game: July 8th at 8:00pm @ New York Liberty

9. Washington Mystics (9-10)

In a season that was certainly a rebuilding season, with the Mystics having three of the first six picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Mystics have had some strong outings, especially led by their two star rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who were recently named the only two all-stars from the Mystics. Washington had a promising victory against the Sky earlier today to get back on track after an almost 20 point loss against the Lynx. Against the Sky, the Mystics had four players in double figures – Citron and Iriafen as well as Shakira Austin and Britteny Sykes, an all-star snub in the eyes of many (including mine)!

Next Game: July 10th at 7:30pm vs. Las Vegas Aces

10. Los Angeles Sparks (6-13)

The Sparks haven’t quite found their spark just yet. Although they have had impressive showings against the Fever recently, beating them in Gainbridge on June 26th and July 5th, the list ends there. Despite the addition of Kelsey Plum, who was recently named an all-star, the Sparks have yet to get on a run. Perhaps it could start once Cameron Brink returns, although that timeline is up in the air.

Next Game: July 10th at 3:00pm vs. Minnesota Lynx

11. Dallas Wings (6-14)

Many thought the Dallas Wings would have a stronger showing, specifically because of the addition of Paige Bueckers to the team, but it looks like the Wings might have to wait till next season to book their seat in the playoffs. Their most recent loss was a 30 point blowout against the Mercury, just a few days after beating them in Dallas on July 3rd. The Wings will look to bounce back against another struggling team tomorrow, the Chicago Sky.

Next Game: July 9th at 8:00pm @ Chicago Sky

12. Chicago Sky (5-13)

Angel Reese has gotten back into it for the Sky and has been one of the bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season. Reese has notched 9 double-doubles in the team’s last 11 games, including 6 consecutive double-doubles within the last 6 games. However, once again, it takes more than one person to win a basketball game, and despite Reese’s strong performances, the Sky have come up short on 13 different occasions.

Next Game: July 9th at 8:00pm vs. Dallas Wings

13. Connecticut Sun (2-16)

I don’t think it comes as much of a surprise that the Sun are at the bottom of the WNBA standings – losing your entire starting lineup sort of has that effect. The Sun have not won a game in over a month and have continued to face blow-out losses after an almost 20 point loss to the Aces on Sunday and a 39 point loss to the Lynx on June 29th.

Next Game: July 9th at 11:00am vs. Seattle Storm