Power Rankings: Atlanta jumps four spots out of cellar
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Michael Voepel, ESPN Senior Writer
The New York Liberty are no doubt weary of reminders that they are an original WNBA franchise that hasn’t won a league title. But that heartbreaking history is part of what makes the excitement about this season so palpable for Liberty loyalists. This could be the year.
Even the oddsmakers are getting on board with the Liberty, who remain No. 1 in ESPN’s WNBA Power Rankings. On Sunday, ESPN BET listed the Liberty as +155 favorites to win the title.
The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are +160, not far behind. But it’s the first time in two years — since Aug. 11, 2022 — that Las Vegas hasn’t been the betting favorite to win the WNBA championship.
Last season the Aces beat the Liberty 3-1 in the WNBA Finals after defeating Connecticut 3-1 in the 2022 Finals. But New York’s run this season shows no signs of letting up. The Liberty have defeated the Aces in both regular-season meetings — 79-67 on Saturday and 90-82 on June 15, both in Las Vegas — with one more matchup set for Sept. 8 in Brooklyn.
Just four days after New York stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu won the Olympic gold medal with Team USA, New York played its first game after the Paris Games and blew out Los Angeles 103-68 on the road Thursday. With Saturday’s win, the Liberty became the first team this season to clinch a spot in the WNBA playoffs.
New York has 13 games remaining, including seven against teams currently not in playoff position.
Ionescu was asked Saturday if clinching a playoff spot with a win over the two-time champion Aces made it any more special, and she said it didn’t. At this point, the Liberty aren’t motivated by what any other team is doing or not doing, but only about reaching their potential — which could be the best it has ever been.
“We’re super excited to clinch a spot in the playoffs,” Ionescu said. “Our goal isn’t to just make it there, but it’s continuing to win these games that we have coming up. And continuing to just get better as a team. We’re just getting back into it [after the Olympic break], but it’s nice to see we’ve been able to pick up where we’ve left off and keep grinding away.”
Previous rankings: Preseason | May 20 | May 27 | June 3 | June 10 | June 17 | June 24 | July 1 | July 8 | July 15
Previous ranking: 1
This week: vs. DAL (Aug. 20), vs. DAL (Aug. 22), vs. CON (Aug. 24)
In a scheduling quirk, the Liberty have yet to face Dallas, with the first of four games between the teams coming Tuesday. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum: New York leads the WNBA in net rating (+13.1), while Dallas is last (-10.1). But the Liberty have been solid in bringing the same effort no matter who they’re playing. All three New York games this week are in Brooklyn, where the Liberty are 12-1 in 2024.
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Sabrina Ionescu drops 23 as Liberty top Aces to clinch playoff berth
Sabrina Ionescu scores 23 points in the Liberty’s playoff-clinching win vs. the Aces.
Previous ranking: 6
This week: @ LV (Aug. 21), vs. LV (Aug. 23), vs. IND (Aug. 24)
The Lynx, dealing with an injury to star Napheesa Collier, slipped to No. 6 in our previous Power Rankings on July 15. Since then, they won their last game before the Olympic break (vs. Atlanta) and their first two after it (both against Washington) and have vaulted back up. Collier, who was dealing with plantar fasciitis, played well in winning gold in Paris. Now she and Team USA coach Cheryl Reeve focus again on Minnesota, with a big week ahead against the Aces and Fever. After that, the Lynx have seven of their last 10 games on the road, where they are 7-5 this season.
Previous: 3
This week: vs. MIN (Aug. 21), @ MIN (Aug. 23), @ CHI (Aug. 25)
The Aces haven’t been able to solve the Liberty this season. But since their first loss to New York dropped them to 6-6 in mid-June, they are 11-3. A’ja Wilson keeps putting up video game stats, including a combined 58 points, 24 rebounds, 8 steals and 5 blocks in the loss to New York and win over Los Angeles this past week. The Aces are in fourth place in the WNBA standings. Can they move into the top three?
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A’ja Wilson goes for 34 points in Aces’ win
A’ja Wilson powers the Aces to a comfortable win with 34 points and 13 rebounds vs. the Sparks.
Previous ranking: 2
This week: vs. LA (Aug. 20), vs. CHI (Aug. 23), @ NY (Aug. 24)
The Sun welcomed guard Marina Mabrey, obtained via trade with Chicago just before the Olympic break, as they beat Dallas but fell to Atlanta this past week. Mabrey combined for 28 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in the two games. She should be a key asset as the Sun, who are second in the WNBA standings, look to solidify their playoff spot in the coming weeks.
Previous ranking: 5
This week: @ MIN (Aug. 24)
The Fever won their two games last week in different ways: purely outscoring Phoenix in a 98-89 victory and then playing one of their better defensive games — plus hitting 15 3-pointers — in beating Seattle 92-75. Caitlin Clark breaking the rookie season assist record, getting 19 assists in the two games, was a headliner. But so was her scoring along with fellow guard Kelsey Mitchell (they had a combined 107 points) and Aliyah Boston‘s rebounding (combined 24), plus her career-high 8 assists Sunday. With 13 victories, Indiana has tied the most wins it has had in any of the past seven seasons — with 12 games to go.
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Caitlin Clark scores 23, breaks rookie assist record in Fever win
Caitlin Clark dazzles with 23 points and breaks the rookie assist record in the Fever’s 92-75 win over the Storm.
Previous ranking: 7
This week: @ ATL (Aug. 21), @ ATL (Aug. 23)
The Mercury got two wins against Chicago and fell to Indiana in their first week back after the break. Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner all had key contributions. Phoenix also got some needed help at forward, signing Monique Billings to a seven-day contract after Dallas had to release her from a hardship contract. Billings had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals Sunday in her first game with the Mercury.
Previous ranking: 4
This week: @ WAS (Aug. 20)
It was a tough first week back for the Storm, who lost at Atlanta and Indiana. In both games, Seattle was outrebounded by double digits and didn’t get much bench help. Seattle stays in the Eastern time zone for its one game this week, and looks to get back on track before finishing August with three games in a row back home.
Previous ranking: 12
This week: vs. PHO (Aug. 21), vs. PHO (Aug. 23)
No team needed a fresh start more than the Dream, who lost eight in a row and 11 of 12 before the Olympic break. They’ve made the most of the season’s resumption. The return of guard Jordin Canada, limited to four games by injuries in the first part of the season, helped lead Atlanta to home victories over Seattle and Connecticut last week. She had a combined 29 points, 8 rebounds, 14 assists and 9 steals. The Dream aren’t in playoff position yet, but they’re getting closer.
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Tina Charles’ last-second basket caps wild Storm-Dream ending
Jewell Loyd drains a game-tying three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left, then Tina Charles gets a friendly roll to win it for the Dream.
Previous ranking: 8
This week: @ CON (Aug. 23), vs. LV (Aug. 25)
The Dream are still in eighth place in the standings, but went 1-2 last week, with both losses to Phoenix by similar scores: 85-65 and 86-68. While Chicago scored 90 points in beating Los Angeles, the Dream have to be concerned with their offense. They have the third-lowest scoring average (78.7 PPG) in the WNBA. Angel Reese continues her double-double quest, though, now with 20.
1:42
Angel Reese makes history with 19-point, 20-rebound performance
Sky rookie Angel Reese becomes the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 20 double-doubles in a season with a 19-point, 20-rebound effort vs. the Mercury.
Previous ranking: 9
This week: vs. SEA (Aug. 20), vs. LA (Aug. 23)
Three starters returned — Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes and Karlie Samuelson — but we’ll see if this injury-plagued team can stay healthy game to game. That has been a huge challenge for Washington, which at times last week looked competitive but still lost twice to Minnesota. The Mystics’ aim for the rest of the season is to see growth from young players and perhaps pull an upset or two that impacts playoff teams.
Previous ranking: 11
This week: @ NY (Aug. 20), @ NY (Aug. 22), vs. LA (Aug. 25)
Dallas’ Satou Sabally, Maddy Siegrist and Jaelyn Brown were medically cleared to join the roster. But that meant parting with hardship signings Odyssey Sims, who went to Los Angeles, and Monique Billings, who went to Phoenix. Sabally looked good in her first game of the season, getting 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. But that was in a 109-91 loss to Connecticut, a game that highlighted the Wings’ defensive deficiencies. Like the Mystics, Dallas looks to be in spoiler mode the rest of the way after a semifinal appearance last year.
Previous ranking: 10
This week: @ CON (Aug. 20), @ WAS (Aug. 23), @ DAL (Aug. 25)
Sims, a former Sparks player, found herself back in Los Angeles. But there’s only so much she can do for a Los Angeles team that lost its first three games after the break: to New York, Chicago and Las Vegas. The Sparks can be pleased with rookie Rickea Jackson‘s progress — she has scored in double figures in nine of her last 10 games — but not much else as they project to miss the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.
