Story by
WNBA power rankings: A'ja Wilson's time off has her looking primed for playoffs
- Story by
- WNBA power rankings: A'ja Wilson's time off has her looking primed for playoffs
After competing in her first senior international tournament and winning her first gold medal, Angel Reese isn't yet satisfied. The three-time All-Star had to come off the bench in her Team USA debut, playing a smaller role than she has for just about any team in her lifetime, and she told her Atlanta Dream teammates that she was "very well-rested" for the home stretch heading into the postseason.
The World Cup break has created unique scenarios for every team in the league. Those who aren't competing for the playoffs feel like they're in a second preseason, using these eight days to experiment with lineup combinations and get minutes for young players. Some players headed for the lottery aren't even set to suit up in this final stretch despite being healthy for their national teams.
Advertisement
Among the playoff-bound, players like Reese came back with a chip on their shoulders, eager to prove that they can do more than what was asked of them during the World Cup. Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron seem to have the same mentality for the Washington Mystics .
Others are using this stretch to regroup after a grueling tournament. Gabby Williams and Janelle Salaün haven't taken the court since leading France to a silver medal, with the Golden State Valkyries ' easy schedule affording them time off. Chelsea Gray hasn't topped 30 minutes since returning, cutting a few minutes off of her season average as she prepares to defend the Las Vegas Aces ' title.
Not every player has been so fortunate. Breanna Stewart had a heavy workload in Berlin and then had to play 38 minutes in her first game back, posting 24 points and 10 rebounds to earn the New York Liberty a win over the Minnesota Lynx .
Some people in the league suggested that the regular season should have ended before the World Cup break, while others believed that wouldn't have been fair to the playoff teams. Suffice to say, it's been a weird stretch, and there probably aren't any grand conclusions to draw from this one-time experience.
"I'm just very glad that we won't have a break like this again next year," Portland
coach Alex Sarama said.
| Rank |
Team |
Previous rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Golden State |
5 |
| 2 |
2 |
|
| 3 |
Minnesota |
1 |
| 4 |
New York |
4 |
| 5 |
Atlanta |
3 |
| 6 |
Washington |
8 |
| 7 |
7 |
|
| 8 |
6 |
|
| 9 |
Phoenix |
11 |
| 10 |
12 |
|
| 11 |
Portland |
10 |
| 12 |
9 |
|
| 13 |
13 |
|
| 14 |
14 |
|
| 15 |
15 |
Trending up
Las Vegas Aces
Dominique Malonga must be so tired of Jackie Young . First, she had to watch Young earn player of the game in the World Cup final in Berlin as the U.S. beat France for gold. Then, Malonga was on the wrong end of Young tying a WNBA record with a 22-point quarter in the first game out of the break en route to a career-high 35 points. Young followed that with 23 points and eight assists (with no turnovers) in another comfortable win over Malonga's Seattle Storm squad.
Advertisement
The competition hasn't been the stiffest for the Aces since returning from the break, as they finished the regular season against four lottery opponents. It has been the perfect opportunity for A'ja Wilson and her World Cup teammates to reacclimate to one another, though few have played as much basketball with one another as Wilson, Young and Gray over the last five years.
Young has been spectacular offensively, so much so that Wilson's 29- and 30-point outings have almost fallen under the radar. Any worries that Wilson's opting out of the World Cup augured long-term discomfort in her back can be put to rest for now; the time off has left her looking as much like an MVP as ever. Young was somehow supercharged during her Berlin sojourn, given the opportunity to do even more without the best player in the world by her side.
Las Vegas' frontcourt depth is still concerning; the trade for NaLyssa Smith is what precipitated their 16-game winning streak to end the regular season in 2025. But the Aces couldn't have asked for a better stretch from their stars than these two games, and it's given the likes of Brianna Turner , Cheyenne Parker-Tyus and Kalani Brown the opportunity to ease into what is yet to come. The crown rests in Las Vegas until someone takes it.
Washington Mystics
The Mystics entered Sun day's matchup against Indiana with the league's 12th-ranked offense. Against the Fever 's 10th-ranked defense, it didn't seem to matter. Shakira Austin and Iriafen had their way posting up any of Indiana's bigs, combining for 41 points and 24 rebounds. Any time they got two feet in the paint, it was game over for the Fever. If a frontcourt doesn't have two good defenders, Washington will pick it apart. Austin dominates smaller defenders with her length, and Iriafen bludgeons weaker players with her strength and her speed.
Advertisement
The Mystics guards also picked apart Indiana's help defense with their drives and dump-offs. They would get the center to help on the drive, and pass the ball off when the helper failed to recover. Alicia Florez was particularly effective at breaking the paint. Washington has had just enough spacing to keep the defenses honest during its second-half surge; Georgia Amoore is making 42.9 percent on 3-pointers since the All-Star break, and Citron has connected on 45.2 percent of her triples during that stretch.
The full-season statistics may not paint the Mystics a contender, but that is in part because their schedule was front-loaded. Their second-half performance tells a different story. They own victories over every team in the playoff field, including season-series wins over Indiana, Dallas and Atlanta.
Washington is tough as nails and can perform when the game slows. Beating the Chicago Sky without Citron — dominating an overmatched opponent with no funny business — was the type of performance befitting a veteran team. This is no longer a cute story of a young team exceeding expectations; the Mystics are plain good.
Trending down
Indiana Fever
The theory of the Fever is that even when their defense has an off night (which has happened increasingly often in the latter part of the season), their offense will be explosive enough to overcome those deficiencies. No team has the firepower to score with Indiana in a playoff series.
Advertisement
The problem is when an opposing defense finds a way to shut down the Fever's offense, because this is not a team that is equipped to win a slow-paced, halfcourt slugfest. Seventy-seven points is not the offensive output that will get the job done for Indiana in the postseason. Although coach Stephanie White was more concerned with the 91 points the Fever conceded to Washington (after giving up 85 to short-handed Toronto), the 77 mark gives me pause.
Indiana averages 26.4 3-point attempts per game and took 28 against the Mystics. The Fever commit 14.4 turnovers per game and coughed up the ball only 13 times Sunday. The defeat was a function of poor shooting, but that's because Washington forced the Fever into a series of tough shots.
No perimeter defender holds All-Stars to a lower shooting percentage than Citron; only the Valkyries limit points in the paint better than the Mystics. Indiana is supposed to be dictating terms with its offense, but good defenses — like Washington's and Golden State's — have been able to force the Fever to play at their pace.
Rookie of the week
Laura Juškaitė, Toronto Tempo
(Reminder: This isn't the best rookie of the week, rather a player who caught my eye.)
Advertisement
The 28-year-old Lithuanian forward enters the final week of the season sixth in points and rebounds per game, having not missed a single contest in 2026, even as Toronto struggles to find players to put on the floor. She has been one of the most consistent rookies this season, even if she hasn't had the highlights of some of her first-year peers.
Juškaitė is at least finishing strong. She had 22 points in a closer-than-expected defeat to Indiana on Friday, and she scored 28 of the Tempo's 69 points against New York. There are always points to be had on bad teams, but Juškaitė isn't getting buckets because someone has to; she has been pretty efficient scoring the ball while defenses know they have to key on her. Look at her attacking Stewart off the dribble or creating mismatches with her movement off the ball.
Toronto has been tanking for more than half of the season after injuries to Kiki Rice and Brittney Sykes , so it's hard to read too much into the individual performances. However, Juškaitė has proven that she has the offensive skill set worthy of the WNBA. She's a smart finisher inside, converting 64.2 percent of her shots in the paint, and her 80.9 percent mark from the foul line suggests the 3-ball is soon to follow.
Game to circle
Tempo at Sun, 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday, NBA TV
There are games remaining that will decide playoff seeds, but this is the last time we will see the 2026 iterations of Connecticut and Toronto, and this marks the final game that the Sun will play in Uncasville, Conn., before moving to Houston.
Advertisement
It is the end of an era for a franchise that was among the league's most competitive but never quite able to get over the hump. As the WNBA once again trends towards co-ownership with NBA teams, the Sun are a casualty of a bygone era. The fans never gave up on them, even as the rest of the WNBA passed them by. The move isn't even a relocation; it's essentially a contraction, because the Houston franchise will be assuming the history of the Comets. Unless another team pops up in Connecticut or nearby in the future, the statistical history of the Sun comes to an end on Thursday.
It'll be an emotional night at Mohegan Sun, but there are also meaningful stakes. Assuming the Sun and Tempo both lose Tuesday to the Mystics and Sky, respectively, Toronto will enter the final night of the season needing a loss to tie Connecticut for the best lottery odds for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft. A Sun loss, and Connecticut will have about a 40 percent chance of winning the top pick while the Tempo settle for 25 percent. However, if Toronto loses, the two teams split those odds at about 33 percent each.
If this game is in the balance in clutch time, there could be some real shenanigans as the Tempo angle for lottery odds and the Sun have to balance their desire for ping-pong balls versus sending out their franchise in style.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
Advertisement
Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks , Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun , Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings , Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury , Golden State Valkyries, Portland Fire , Toronto Tempo, WNBA
2026 The Athletic Media Company
