Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Minnesota Lynx lead the WNBA standings at the All-Star break with a dominant performance this season.
- Napheesa Collier's recent return has further solidified the Lynx as title favorites with a seven-game winning streak.
- The Washington Mystics are surging late in the first half, handing key losses to top contenders and positioning themselves for a playoff push.
The WNBA season has officially reached its All-Star break. Teams and players will get a much-needed rest period before the second half of the season kicks off. And who knows? Maybe some front offices are using this time to discuss potential moves before the August 2 trade deadline.
There are definitely some bottom-of-the-standings teams that could benefit from bringing in some fresh legs. Others are sitting pretty at the top, hoping to continue that success all the way to the playoffs, and one team in particular should be feeling on top of the world.
After a marathon of games yesterday, here's the current landscape across the league as we enter the All-Star break. Plus, some key takeaways.
WNBA standings as of July 23
TEAM | W-L (PCT) | GAMES BACK | AVG. POINT DIFF. |
|---|---|---|---|
1. Minnesota Lynx | 22-6 (.786) | -- | +8.7 |
2. Golden State Valkyries | 19-8 (.704) | 2.5 | +5.5 |
3. Las Vegas Aces | 18-8 (.692) | 3 | +4.7 |
4. Dallas Wings | 18-9 (.667) | 3.5 | +4.0 |
5. Indiana Fever | 17-10 (.630) | 4.5 | +5.9 |
6. Atlanta Dream | 16-10 (.615) | 5 | +4.0 |
7. New York Liberty | 15-12 (.556) | 6.5 | +2.3 |
8. Washington Mystics | 14-12 (.538) | 7 | -2.3 |
9. Portland Fire | 11-16 (.407) | 10.5 | -5.3 |
10. Toronto Tempo | 10-16 (.385) | 11 | -4.4 |
11. Los Angeles Sparks | 10-16 (.385) | 11 | -5.0 |
12. Phoenix Mercury | 10-18 (.357) | 12 | -3.5 |
13. Chicago Sky | 9-18 (.333) | 12.5 | -2.2 |
14. Connecticut Sun | 7-20 (.259) | 14.5 | -7.1 |
15. Seattle Storm | 6-23 (.207) | 16.5 | -5.1 |
The Minnesota Lynx are standing alone and just got even better
Just when you think other contending teams will be able to catch up to the Minnesota Lynx in the standings, Napheesa Collier makes her season debut. I'm not sure anyone thought we'd be discussing the Lynx being title-favorites at this point in the season — at least not before it started. They have managed to stay towards the top of the standings each week, with Rookie of the Year frontrunner Olivia Miles largely to thank. She's heading into the All-Star break averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
Collier made her return on Wednesday, just in time for this team to solidify itself atop all the rest. In 22 minutes on the court, she recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds. If you listened closely, you could likely hear the rest of the league sigh and roll their eyes.
Other starters, Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, and Natasha Howard, are also playing some of their best basketball right now. When you watch this team, you can tell they're simply having so much fun. A deep playoff run is not too far away. After the break, Minnesota will look to continue its seven-game winning streak.
New York Liberty getting things together
This time last week, the overall vibe surrounding the Liberty was gloomy to say the least. They've now won two in a row, which hasn't happened since mid-June. Before these two wins, New York had only won two of its last ten matchups. What better time to turn things around than right before the All-Star break, though? Now, the players will get a bit of a break, hopefully coming back refreshed and ready to climb back up the standings.
Both of their wins this week were nailbiters. First, a 99-98 overtime victory over the Dallas Wings, then a 95-94 win over the Chicago Sky. This team is basically still living and breathing through Breanna Stewart, who scored 33 points in the first matchup and 20 points in the second. Sabrina Ionescu is finding her rhythm more and more with each game — she put up 29 points against the Sky. Jonquel Jones is a reliable player in the paint, too. But still, New York needs more scorers — especially with Satou Sabally out. I'd expect them to explore a trade before the deadline.
Washington Mystics creeping in
There's a good chance that no team across the league feels as good as the Washington Mystics do heading into the break. They had a monster ending to the week. Last Thursday, they suffered a pretty brutal loss to the Portland Fire. On Saturday, they kept up with the Golden State Valkyries all night, but ultimately suffered a 74-69 loss. I had a feeling when they faced the Valks again on Monday that they'd come in confident, knowing they have what it takes to beat them — they walked out of Ballhala with a 90-82 dub, snapping Golden State's nine-game winning streak. But the success didn't end there — on Wednesday night, they handed the Las Vegas Aces a 100-99 loss after a tight battle.
Shakira Austin had incredible performances against both the Valkyries and the Aces. In the first win, she recorded 15 points and 15 rebounds. Last night, she recorded 25 points and 6 rebounds, including what would be the game-winner, plus the free throw for the lead with 12 seconds left. Kiki Iriafen was also impressive. In the loss to the Valkyries on Saturday, she recorded only six points. In the second matchup, you could tell she knew it'd be on her to step things up. She ended the night with 23 points and 12 rebounds. In the win against Golden State, Austin and Iriafen single-handedly outrebounded the entire Valkyries squad.
These two are quickly becoming one of the best frontcourt duos in the league. If Washington can keep it up as we head into the second half of the season, they could secure themselves a playoff spot sooner than we think.
Are the Storm the best last-place team ever?
Sure, the wins aren't necessarily raining in, but this Seattle Storm squad is truly something special. They're going to be a problem for years to come. Over the last week, they've faced the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx twice. While they lost all three matchups, their average deficit was only 5.3 points. They gave both Indy and Minny a run for their money — it might not be this season, but those wins will start to go their way. We have to remember this team primarily runs through Awa Fam and Flau'jae Johnson, who are both rookies, along with Dominique Malonga, who is technically in her second career year but is still only 20 years old.
All three of those young stars average over 13.0 points per game. So does Natisha Hiedeman, who is the starting veteran of this squad and has been leading by incredible example. This team is much better than its current 6-23 record. After the All-Star break, Seattle will face the Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream and then have back-to-back games against the New York Liberty. I'd make the broad prediction that they'll win at least two of those games.
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