The WNBA standings have become incredibly top-heavy, with the undefeated Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty both chasing the record for best start all-time. But the middle of the pack has plenty of fringe contenders lurking, including the fading Aces, expansion Valkyries, surprising Dream and the Indiana Fever — who will be welcoming Caitlin Clark back soon.
1. Minnesota Lynx (9-0)
It's getting harder and harder to rank these two top teams as they continue to bulldoze through the WNBA. The Lynx get the edge this week after rising to 9-0 in the standings. In the past week, they beat Phoenix and Dallas, continuing their undefeated start to the 2025 season. This week, they will face Seattle and LA with a chance to reach 11-0. They are creeping up to their own franchise's league record of 13-0 to start the season, which they achieved in 2016 when the team was led by Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles.
2. New York Liberty (8-0)
Just barely in second is the New York Liberty, who are only second in the standings because they haven't played as many games as the Lynx. The Liberty also only played once this week, defeating the Washington Mystics 86-78 on the road. This week, they'll play the Chicago Sky and then the Indiana Fever on the weekend, hoping to extend their record to 10-0. They've already broken a franchise record to start the season, but now they hope to beat another contender in Indiana this weekend and further prove their dominance.
3. Phoenix Mercury (6-4)
The Mercury edged out the Atlanta Dream for the third spot, only because the Dream had one game over the past week, and lost to the Connecticut Sun. Phoenix went 1-1 in their games over the past week, losing to Seattle but winning against the Golden State Valkyries. Ultimately, in today's WNBA, a loss to the Sun is worse than a loss to the Storm and a win against Golden State. The Mercury have been able to find some undrafted and international gems this season to pair with their Big 3 of Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper, and despite two of those three stars not playing much due to injury, are holding up well.
4. Atlanta Dream (5-3)
As mentioned above, the Dream had one disappointing game this week, losing 84-76 to the Connecticut Sun. That causes them to slip from their top-3 spot in the power rankings, but they can redeem themselves this week. They'll play a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever team on Tuesday, as the star is still out recovering from that quad injury. After that, they'll face Chicago, boding well for a team continuing to establish themselves as a threat in this league.
5. Seattle Storm (5-4)
Seattle went 2-0 this week in games against the Dallas Wings and then the Phoenix Mercury, as the team continues to be up and down in their play. Regardless, Gabby Williams is having a fantastic season, averaging a career-high stats with 15.2 points per game shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 48.9 percent from 3f, along with 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals on 34 minutes per game. As they continue to figure out their lineup more, they seem to be getting stronger, and with Williams opting out of EuroBasket this month to stay with the team, they will continue to build on that.
6. Indiana Fever (4-4)
The Fever are trying to stay above water while Caitlin Clark recovers from injury, and in the past two weeks without her, have gone 2-2. Unfortunately for them, they will be without her again on Tuesday against the Atlanta Dream, and there is no confirmation if she will play against New York on Saturday. They have struggled to maintain a strong offense without her, and sorely miss her playmaking ability. When you include ongoing defensive issues, they are just hoping their star is back as soon as she can be.
7. Golden State Valkyries (4-5)
The Golden State Valkyries have had a fantastic week, blowing out the Las Vegas Aces and then beating the LA Sparks in overtime on Monday. Their loss against Phoenix does not even seem that bad when sandwiched between those two wins. The Valkyries beat the Aces 95-68 at home, by far the best game of their inaugural season. A roster that sparked some confusion at the start of the season, more because it was built with players that don't have much WNBA experience, they now seem like a team that loves being the underdog.
8. Las Vegas Aces (4-3)
Truly, what is going in Las Vegas? The once ruler of the league has fallen from their top spot this season, demonstrating a frustrating lack of defensive power, while also struggling to get back to the juggernaut offense that won them back to back championships. Wilson is averaging 22.0 points (99th percentile) and 9.9 rebounds (98th percentile) per game, while leading her team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Meanwhile, as a whole team, the Aces are shooting 39.2 percent from the field. Wilson can't win a championship on her own, and making her carry this load definitely is not sustainable either.
9. Washington Mystics (4-6)
Out of all the younger teams in the WNBA, the Mystics are maybe the most fun. It's not so much about wins and losses for this team, but they are still getting wins. Maybe not in this past week, when they went 0-3, but for a team that was expected to be bottom of the barrell this season, they are impressing. It's all about the rookies in DC as well, with May's WNBA Rookie of the Month Kiki Iriafen and No. 3 overall pick Sonia Citron thriving with starting minutes.
10. Los Angeles Sparks (3-7)
The Sparks went 1-1 over the past week, winning against the Dallas Wings but losing in overtime at home to the Valkyries on Monday night. Unfortunately victims of the injury bug, not have Rae Burrell and Cam Brink back yet means their depth isn't as expected. Still, despite being on the losing end of some close games, there is a lot of upside to this building Sparks team. Kelsey Plum leads the team with 21.8 points per game, while Azura Stevens averages a team-high 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
11. Chicago Sky (2-5)
Since the Sparks won back to back games a few weeks ago, they haven't been able to win again. Now they have lost their veteran point guard, as Courtney Vandersloot tore her ACL over the weekend and will miss the remainder of the season. They have not played since, and it's still unclear what direction the team will go in now without her. This week they play New York, Atlanta, and Washington, and it would be optimistic to say they could come out of the week with one win. It's time for the young stars to shine in this new chapter for the Sky.
12. Connecticut Sun (2-7)
The Sun got their second win of the season this week, edging out the Atlanta Dream 84-76. On a young team, victories like this are what really help players grow and develop in their skill and experience, and it was nice to see them accomplish a win against a great team like Atlanta. While one win isn't enough to catapult them out of the lottery, it was still a fun night for fans.
13. Dallas Wings (1-9)
This week, the Wings were on the losing end of game against Minnesota, LA and Seattle. They may be heading towards another No.1 overall draft pick situation as they can't seem to play a cohesive 40 minutes of basketball. It's getting to the point where something has got to give for this team in the next month — whether that is a coaching change, a trade, or a roster shake-up. In a league that often doesn't pull the trigger on these mid-season changes, it will be interesting to see if the Wings decide to stay the course or blow it up.