We’re less than a month away from the halfway point of the WNBA season, and it has been a wild couple of weeks. Sabrina Ionescu has put the Liberty on her back as they’ve gone from bottom-feeders to a potential playoff squad. And then you have the great Sue Bird officially announcing that this will be her final season in the WNBA. With the upcoming retirements of all these greats and the looming expansion of the league, it’s a fun time to follow the W. Anyways, getting back on track, here are my WNBA power rankings.
- Las Vegas Aces (12-2)
The NBA messed up and let Becky Hammon leave the league without a head coaching gig, their loss has been the Aces blessing. LV is playing unbelievable ball with a record of 12-2 while having the best NET rating in the league at +12.5. The Aces have won nine of their last ten and are led by one of my two MVP front-runners in A’Ja Wilson, who is averaging 18.1 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 2.5 BPG. The Aces don’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon, their only true weakness is a lack of depth, so if an injury were to occur they could be in some trouble, until then, I have them as the top dogs in the league.
2. Connecticut Sun (11-4)
Coming in at #2 I have the Sun, who are the only team who so far that I can confidently say have a real chance vs the Aces. The Sun are led by last year’s WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones who is averaging a respectable 15 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.1 BPG. Connecticut is the deepest team in the league in my opinion and that will help them down the stretch, the biggest key for this team is Courtney Williams. If Williams can get back to her old self the Sun are definitely favorites for coming out of the eastern conference.
3. Washington Mystics (10-6)
I’m not too sure how many people had the Mystics being this good at the start of the season, I for sure didn’t. But here we are, the Mystics are 10-6 and they’ve proven to be less reliant on the great Elena Delle Donne than I once thought. Ariel Atkins is leading the team in scoring at 15.3 PPG with Donne right behind her at 14.9 PPG and rookie Shakira Austin has had a really solid start to her career, posting averages of 9.1 PPG and 6.4 RPG. While I’m not too confident in this team as contenders, they have earned a top 3 slot on this list.
4. Seattle Storm (9-5)
The Storm and the WNBA community received some tough news earlier today as Sue Bird announced that this will indeed be her final season, so no better way to honor her career than to finish it off with a championship. My pre-season title picks have won 8 of their last 10 and have the best starting 5 in the W, highlighted by MVP front runner Breanna Stewart who is averaging 22.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.4 SPG. I really like how this Storm team is built and I believe they’ll only get better as the season progresses.
5. Chicago Sky (9-4)
Maybe I’m just a hater, but I just don’t see the Sky living up to their expectations as the reigning champs, but nonetheless, they are still a good squad. This Chicago team is really well-rounded with five players averaging over 10 PPG with another two right behind that mark. They are a clear step behind the Sun out east, but they can definitely fight for that #2 slot.
6. New York Liberty (5-9)
Do not tell me I’m jumping the gun on New York, I know I am and I do not care. Ever since the Liberty got a true PG and let Sabrina Ionescu be more of a 2-guard, she has really unlocked herself and is playing the best ball of her career. I am so high on this team simply because of how good Sabrina is, she can single-handedly take this team to new heights.
7. Atlanta Dream (7-7)Ā
The Dream have hit a real cold streak as of late, losing 4 out of the last 5 and seemingly forgetting how to score, but they’re still at .500 despite all that, and most can expect to see Rhyne Howard and co. get back on track at some point. Going back to Howard, she is the ROTY lock already, and rightfully so, posting averages of 16.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.4 SPG.
8. Phoenix Mercury (6-9)
I am still quite surprised with how much the Mercury have been struggling. Yes, they have dealt with the ongoing issue with Brittney Griner being wrongfully detained in Russia which would surely affect a team. But even then, it’s just weird to see a squad with Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, and Skylar Diggins-Smith struggle so much. They have a really good 4-headed attack with the three players previously mentioned and Diamond DeShields, but really nothing outside of that. If the Mercury wants to even have a chance of making a playoffs run without Griner, they are going to need more players to step up.
9. Dallas Wings (6-8)
The Wings have lost four in a row and are falling fast because of it, this team is playing uninspired basketball and the injury to Satou Sabally certainly doesn’t help. throughout this losing streak the team’s most notable moment was Arike Ogunbowale being ejected for kicking a ball into the stands, so yea, this team needs to shake things up before it’s too late.
10. Los Angeles Sparks (5-8)
At the beginning of the year, there was some serious noise being made about the Sparks being contenders again, flash forward a couple of weeks and all they have t show for it is the firing of Head Coach Derek Fisher and a media nightmare with Liz Cambage, who was the topic of discussion for racist comments made towards the Nigerian national team, unless something changes rather quickly, the Sparks big off-season swing looks to be a brutal miss.
11. Indiana Fever (4-13)Ā
Everyone knew this was a rebuilding team entering the year, and they’ve really shown that with the two five-game losing streaks. While the Fever may still have a few years to go before they enter relevancy, they have some bright young players to watch in the meantime, NaLyssa Smith has lived up to the hype as the #2 overall pick so far, averaging 13 PPG ad showcasing a newly found outside game, and then you have a few other solid rookies in Queen Egbo, and Emily Engstler. Fever fans should be looking towards the 2023 draft and Aliyah Boston.
12. Minnesota Lynx (3-12)
As a Lynx fan, this season has been horrible. Tank for Paige Bueckers, bring her home. the 2024 WNBA draft looks to be the best we’ve seen in a long time and she is the best player in it.
