Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The first WNBA power rankings of the season reveal unexpected team performances after opening weekend.
- Portland's upset win over New York creates immediate reshuffling at both the top and bottom of the standings.
- Dallas faces offensive uncertainty without their top shooting guard, highlighting a key early-season question for playoff contenders.
This was supposed to be easy. Stick the New York Liberty at No. 1 and the Portland Fire at No. 15, figure out how to place the teams between them and BOOM, the first WNBA power rankings of the season are done. Then I woke up yesterday morning with a really bad headache and asked my editor if I could wait a day. He said yes. The Fire upset the Liberty on Tuesday night. Now, I've given myself more work than I expected.
So, with that in mind, let's get to it. Here are the WNBA power rankings through the first almost-week of the season, with a surprise team leading us off after it seemingly fixed its biggest issue from last season.
WNBA Power Rankings, Week 1
Position | Team | Record | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Golden State Valkyries | 2-0 | 10 |
2 | Atlanta Dream | 2-0 | 3 |
3 | New York Liberty | 1-1 | 2 |
4 | Las Vegas Aces | 1-1 | 1 |
5 | Chicago Sky | 1-0 | 9 |
6 | Dallas Wings | 1-1 | 8 |
7 | Minnesota Lynx | 1-1 | 7 |
8 | Indiana Fever | 0-1 | 4 |
9 | Washington Mystics | 1-1 | 11 |
10 | Phoenix Mecury | 1-2 | 5 |
11 | Seattle Storm | 1-1 | 13 |
12 | Portland Fire | 1-1 | 15 |
13 | Los Angeles Sparks | 0-1 | 6 |
14 | Toronto Tempo | 0-1 | 12 |
15 | Connecticut Sun | 0-2 | 14 |
Should the Liberty loss to Portland worry us?
The New York Liberty have been without Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally for their first three games of the season. Despite that, the team is within a shot of being 3-0. Breanna Stewart looks like her MVP self (aside from her 10 percent shooting mark from deep), while Marine Johannes is having the breakout moment that some of us have been expecting since 2019. Pauline Astier looks like a veteran despite this being her first season. Jonquel Jones remains Jonquel Jones.
So with that in mind, I'm not reading much into Tuesday's loss to the Fire. Sure, the defense was an issue as the team gave up 98 points, just two days after giving up 93 points, but until we see the team at full strength, I'm not going to overreact too much to some bad defensive games.
I will, though, keep that concern in mind. If the team is regularly giving up 90-plus points to non-playoff teams a month from now, I'll be worried about New York's title hopes. For now, though, this loss to the Fire is a blip on the radar.
(Also, major propsm to how the Bridget Carleton-Carla Leite backcourt is playing in Portland. I still can't believe a player with as much upside as Leite has been available in consecutive expansion drafts now.)
Connecticut is as bad as expected
With Portland looking respectable so far, the Connecticut Sun have the honor of holding the "league's worst team" award, and I don't think it's particularly close.
Small sample size alert, but this team ranks poorly in everything so far.
Stat | League Rank |
|---|---|
Offensive Rating | 14th |
Defensive Rating | 12th |
Net Rating | 14th |
Connecticut has been pushing the pace, which makes its 78.5 points per game number look even worse. The team is 13th in the league in field goal percentage, last in free throw percentage and 14th in points per scoring attempt, all while having a defense that keeps giving up points. It's a bad combination.
Brittney Griner has been solid for the team and Aneesah Morrow looks like she's on her way to a breakout campaign, but that's about it. Diamond Miller and Saniya Rivers have struggled in the starting lineup, with Rivers shooting just 21.4 percent from the floor. Miller is averaging 14.5 points per game, but only on 34.6 percent shooting, and the team lacks a real option at point guard. Rookie Charlisse Leger-Walker is shooting 26.7 percent, and at this point the closest thing to a solution would be to see if Hailey Van Lith can be your starting point guard.
The rookies have struggled as well. Gianna Kneepkens and Raegan Beers are struggling to see the floor, and Kneepkens is shooting just 25 percent from 3-point range despite that being her pre-draft strength.
No Azzi, maybe a problem?
After winning a shootout with the Indiana Fever to open the season, the Wings lost 77-72 to the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday. The offense hummed in the season opener, but against Atlanta, it was a different story.
Arike Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers combined for 35 points, but Ogunbowale was 0-for-4 from deep, while Aziaha James, the team's top guard off the bench, was 0-for-5 from deep.
Notably, No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd was out for the game. If she'd been available, maybe her shooting upside could have changed the nature of this contest? I'm not trying to wade into the "should Fudd start" discourse because I do think that for now, I prefer having Bueckers moved off the ball with Odyssey Sims running the point, but this loss highlights why the team picked Fudd in the first place. There are intriguing players on this bench, but none can theoretically shoot like Fudd. Hopefully for Dallas' sake, her absence doesn't extend too long.
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