The WNBA season keeps trucking along and aside from the Washington Mystics coming back down to earth a bit, there isn't much change this week in the power rankings, as the only team to be more than one spot above or below where they were last week is the Mystics.
But while not much has changed, that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to talk about around the league, including the Dallas Wings struggling to keep up with the other playoff teams.
WNBA Power Rankings, Week 15
Position | Team | Record | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Minnesota Lynx | 29-7 | 1 |
2 | Golden State Valkyries | 24-9 | 3 |
3 | Indiana Fever | 23-12 | 4 |
4 | Las Vegas Aces | 24-12 | 5 |
5 | Washington Mystics | 20-14 | 2 |
6 | New York Liberty | 22-14 | 6 |
7 | Atlanta Dream | 21-13 | 7 |
8 | Dallas Wings | 20-15 | 8 |
9 | Portland Fire | 15-20 | 9 |
10 | Chicago Sky | 13-22 | 10 |
11 | Phoenix Mercury | 13-23 | 11 |
12 | Los Angeles Sparks | 12-22 | 12 |
13 | Connecticut Sun | 8-25 | 13 |
14 | Seattle Storm | 7-30 | 14 |
15 | Toronto Tempo | 10-23 | 15 |
Dallas is slipping at the wrong time
I don't think a team outside of the playoff picture is going to find a way into the playoff race at this point, but the Dallas Wings are leaving that window slightly ajar at the moment, going 3-7 over the past 10 games. Thankfully for the team's playoff hopes, Portland i only 4-6 over that same span, so Dallas is still five games up in the race for the No. 8 seed.
So, what's wrong with Dallas? Two main things: Azzi Fudd has been out, and the interior defense remains an issue.
Talk all you want about Fudd being the wrong pick for this team, but the Wings have a +6.1 net rating with her on the floor this season and a -4.1 net rating when she sits. Her shooting and defense are sorely missed right now, and the lack of wing depth on this roster has really been exposed. The fact that the team has had to start relying more on 39-year-old Alysha Clark is a problem.
Meanwhile, we're finally seeing heavy minutes from Alanna Smith, but we aren't seeing the production from her that's on the same level she provided in Minnesota last season. The fit between her and Jessica Shepard has been off, especially with Shepard not providing much of anything defensively. In 269 minutes on the floor together, the team has a -11.3 net rating and a 114.8 defensive rating; compare that to 2025 in Minnesota, when the two played 308 minutes together and had a +2.4 net rating.
The Indiana Fever are on a roll
While much of the attention on the Indiana Fever lately has been focused on Sophie Cunningham's off-court statements, the on-court product has been stellar, with the team winning four in a row and eight of its last 10 to move to fourth in the overall standings.
The offense in particular has been rolling. Indiana has the advantage of running out arguably the best guard duo in the league — especially if we're talking specifically about offense — in Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, and with Aliyah Boston there in the middle to clean things up and to provide a strong rim presence on both ends, the team has found major success. The team had a 115.1 offensive rating when the three share the floor, though the 111.4 defensive rating in those 550 minutes is still concerning. For now, at least, the Indiana offense's success is outweighing the defense's struggles. We'll have to see if that's sustainable in a playoff series.
(Also, second-year forward Makayla Timpson's development lately has been a huge bonus. In Sunday's win over the Dream, Timpson had 20 points, seven rebounds and one block. If she can give the team both an inside presence on defense and a legitimate fourth scoring option, this team becomes a LOT harder to beat.)
The non-playoff teams are still who they have been
You might notice something about this week's power rankings: the non-playoff teams are all in the exact same order that they were in last week.
And that's largely because we'e reached the point where all of those teams have settled into being, well...exactly who they are.
Portland is the exciting young team that you don't want to have to play, but that isn't quite ready to leap to the next level.
Chicago and Phoenix are the underachieving teams full of veterans that, for whatever reason, just have not been able to get over the hump this year.
Los Angeles is the team that played well for a bit, but opted to trade its best player rather than let her walk for free and is thus now struggling.
Seattle and Connecticut are bad, young teams that can sometimes deliver surprise wins, but that really just need to keep being bad so they can land a top pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft.
And Toronto is the team that looked feisty for a bit before injuries just completely killed them. The classic expansion team that lacked the depth to overcome issues.
At this point in the season, none of that is likely to change. These teams all are who they are.
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