Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The WNBA power rankings reveal a dramatic shift in championship contenders this season.
- One expansion team has silenced critics with a dominant seven-game winning streak and top defensive stats.
- Another franchise faces a potential rebuild after missteps leave them far from playoff contention.
The Golden State Valkyries look like serious title contenders. The team is on a seven-game winning streak and now sits just a half-game out of the No. 1 overall seed. It appears that the team's strong expansion performance in 2025 wasn't a fluke, and with a few expected contenders struggling, Golden State was vaulted into the championship conversation.
Thus, it shouldn't surprise you who sits at No. 1 this week. Beyond that, here are the current WNBA power rankings.
WNBA Power Rankings, Week 10
Position | Team | Record | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Golden State Valkyries | 17-7 | 1 |
2 | Minnesota Lynx | 17-6 | 2 |
3 | Las Vegas Aces | 17-7 | 3 |
4 | Dallas Wings | 16-8 | 5 |
5 | Indiana Fever | 14-9 | 6 |
6 | Atlanta Dream | 13-10 | 8 |
7 | New York Liberty | 13-11 | 4 |
8 | Washington Mystics | 11-10 | 7 |
9 | Toronto Tempo | 10-13 | 10 |
10 | Los Angeles Sparks | 10-11 | 12 |
11 | Portland Fire | 10-13 | 11 |
12 | Phoenix Mercury | 8-16 | 9 |
13 | Seattle Storm | 6-19 | 14 |
14 | Connecticut Sun | 5-18 | 15 |
15 | Chicago Sky | 7-16 | 13 |
Maybe New York isn't a title contender
So, I've pondered before if the Liberty might just not have it this year, and after this current three-game losing skid, I think the answer might be simple: they don't have it, and unless they do something at the trade deadline, they might just not have it at any point this season.
The roster construction is just too funky — they just started Han Xu and Jonquel Jones together in the frontcourt — and the injuries too never-ending. Breanna Stewart has held it together and deserves to finish in the top five of the MVP voting as a reward for that, but there's just been no consistency around her.
Do I think the Liberty fall out of the playoffs? No, but unless something changes, they won't have homecourt in the first round and they'll be facing a team that is far more cohesive, which likely dooms New York to a first-round exit despite a roster that, on paper, looks like it has the talent to win a title.
Chicago's season is basically over
Chicago is 7-16. Skylar Diggins has expressed her frustration with the team and is currently out with a knee injury. They never replaced Rickea Jackson's production after she went down for the season. Sydney Taylor has been a fun story and Courtney Vandersloot has looked way better than expected since returning, but that's really about it.
It's time to wave the white flag on 2026. Chicago's misguided attempt to build a contender (despite trading away the team's best player from 2025, Angel Reese) has failed, and it's time to turn toward the future.
Yes, Chicago's recent losses have been competitive, but they've still mostly come out on the wrong side of those games. In the end, what matters is the wins and losses, and the Sky are collecting a lot of losses.
The Valkyries keep winning
Count me among the people who were skeptical of the Golden State Valkyries for...well, for a long time. Adding Gabby Williams this offseason simply didn't feel like it fixed the biggest issues, which was an offense that really, really struggled last year.
But Golden State has now won its past seven games, and while the team only ranks 12th in points per game, its league-best 76.2 points allowed per game have meant that the team has won despite that. And this win streak has shown that the team can step up and win a high-scoring game when it needs to, defeating the Dream 88-83 back on July 4.
It's just so tough to beat a team that plays so well on the defensive end. In addition to allowing the fewest points per game, the Valkyries are top five in steal rate and block rate, and they've done so while managing to avoid committing too many fouls, sitting seventh in the league in fouls per game.
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