With stars like Caitlin Clark, Chelsea Gray, and Sabrina Ionescu set to make headlines this WNBA season, backcourt play could be the biggest difference-maker in the championship race. From proven duos to bold new pairings, we’re ranking every team’s guards — and a few surprises might shake up the league’s power balance.
1. Indiana Fever
When Caitlin Clark is on your team, your backcourt automatically shoots into the top ranks. Clark has the necessary traits of an excellent point guard: court vision, passing ability, and, of course, she can shoot the ball like no other. Beside her on the Fever is Kelsey Mitchell, mixing Clark's energy with Mitchell's experience and steadiness. In 2024, this pair led the WNBA in minutes played together, and had an offensive rating of 105.2.
2. Las Vegas Aces
The Point Gawd has that name for a reason. Chelsea Gray is a tried and true point guard who brings grit and toughness to both sides of the ball. When she gets going in a high-pressure situation, there is not stopping her. Pair that with Jackie Young, the quiet force that has steadily become one of the best guards in the league, and Las Vegas looks dangerous. Now, Vegas is also adding Jewell Loyd into this mix, strengthening their backcourt and providing incredible depth in the guard position.
3. New York Liberty
It's a new-look Liberty backcourt this season, with Sabrina Ionescu now being paired with Natasha Cloud. The two got a bit of preparation in together when they both played on the Phantom in Unrivaled this winter, and the chemistry is there. Ionescu's career-high 18.2 points per game last season mixed with Cloud's tenacity and energy on both sides of the ball will make New York even faster and more lethal.
4. Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota brought in Courtney Williams last season, and the connection was pretty instant. Williams paired incredibly well with Kayla McBride and the pair had a season-long offensive rating of 102.5, which bumped up to 103.4 during the playoffs. McBride shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range in 2024 as well, with Williams shooting 33.3 percent from three. Minnesota also has depth in their backcourt, brining in Natisha Hiedeman as a relief player and recently trading for Karlie Samuelson.
5. Dallas Wings
Last season, Arike Ogunbowale averaged 22.2 points per game, coming in second behind A'ja Wilson league-wide in that category. She also led the league in steals with 2.1 per game, and finished only behind Caitlin Clark with 112 total 3-pointers made in the season. Now, she'll have all of that power plus Paige Bueckers on her side. Bueckers is an all-around type of point guard — she can find her teammates but also has no problem shooting the ball herself. This will be an intriguing pair to watch as the season starts, but has a high ceiling.
6. Atlanta Dream
Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada make up the Dream's backcourt, and this season they will have a new coach who prioritizes playing on the perimeter. We haven't really been able to see these three fully healthy and in action together — Canada spent a lot of 2024 recovering from injury, and Howard played through the Olympic break for Team USA 3x3. All three are among high-ranking players in the league, and seeing the vision come together under their new coach will determine whether they will stay middle-of-the-pack or be able to rise.
7. Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm had to re-configure their lineup when Jewell Loyd asked to be traded out, and opted to draft Dominique Malonga with the No. 2 pick they received for Loyd. Malonga was the right pick, but she bolsters their frontcourt, not their backcourt. Skylar Diggins is now being paired with Erica Wheeler, which doesn't pack the punch the Diggins-Loyd pairing did on paper. This is another situation where the result could be better than it's looking right now, but even just having Diggins alone is promising for the Storm.
8. Chicago Sky
Courtney Vandersloot opted to return to the Sky this season in free agency, and the Sky also acquired Ariel Atkins in a trade. Both are great back court options, but Vandersloot is heading into her 15th year in the WNBA, which is a factor. Chicago went and signed a few veteran wings in Bec Allen and Kia Nurse to boost their 3-point shooting, and hopefully Hailey Van Lith will get an opportunity to develop on the court this season as well. Overall, the backcourt situation in Chicago isn't desperate or anything, but it's a little confusing they didn't fully buy-in to young talent.
9. Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks were able to trade for Kelsey Plum in the offseason, which definitely helped them. Plum will anchor their backcourt, but doesn't have too much tried and true help by her side. She may hold a lot of the burden when it comes to the Sparks' back court, but Plum scored 17.8 points per game, and shot 36.8 percent from 3 last season. She may not have much help, but she has the experience and scoring ability the Sparks needed at that position.
10. Washington Mystics
Another situation where the back court is looking a little bare, Washington suffered the loss of their rookie point guard Georgia Amoore just days into camp when she tore her ACL. Amoore was expected to get a lot of time beside Brittany Sykes, one of their few veteran players. Sykes was only able to play 18 games last season due to injury, though, so her health may be a concern. The Mystics now turn to their No. 3 overall pick Sonia Citron who will be impactful right away for Washington. There's potential here, but unfortunately we won't be able to see what the Citron/Amoore back court looks like this season.
11. Connecticut Sun
When the Sun's entire starting lineup left the team during the offseason, one lone back court player was left — Marina Mabrey. Mabrey herself tried to leave as well, requesting a trade from the Sun, but they denied the request after trading for her midseason in 2024. With an entirely new team around her, Mabrey could have guards like Diamond DeShields, Lindsay Allen and Jacy Sheldon around her — but we have no indication of how these lineups play out yet. New coach, new team, and they have yet to play at the time this is being written.
12. Phoenix Mercury
It's hard to rank a back court when you don't have a back court? The perplexing question of who is running the point for Phoenix continues. It almost feels like in their scramble to secure Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally, the Mercury forgot they needed a PG. Maybe they were just so used to Diana Taurasi hanging around for the past 2+ decades that they weren't used to finding a point guard. Right now in training camp they have Sami Whitcomb (more of a shooting guard), Sevgi Uzun (not very experienced) and Shyla Heal (hasn't played very much in the US) as options. Point-Forward Alyssa Thomas incoming?
13. Golden State Valkyries
Another case of untested — very much so because this team as yet to play a single game ... ever. There is promise though, having Tiffany Hayes, Veronica Burton, Julie Vanloo and others as options in training camp. Golden State has been finicky with their training camp decisions so far, so it is also hard to say who will make this final roster.