WNBA Power Rankings: Liberty Holds the Top Spot as Playoffs Loom

2023-09-04 23:00:00

MA Voepel | ESPN Sep 4, 2023, 7:00 PM ET Read: 8 min.

The Liberty remains on top in the final edition of the WNBA Power Rankings, but the clock is ticking for several teams to reach the playoffs.

to the regular season of the WNBA 2023 has a week left, but we have reached the finish line for the Power Rankings of the ESPN league.

Five teams have already qualified for the playoffs and four compete for the last three space available. The three finalists have already been eliminated and must try to finish strong and possibly ruin the chances of others.

While the New York Liberty clinched their playoff spot, the Kahleah Copper-led Chicago Sky have a chance this week to clinch one of the three remaining postseason spots.Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images

Who will be the overall number one? We don’t know yet, but the hottest team in the WNBA right now is the New York Liberty, who has three games left. They have won six in a row and remain in the cima of the Power Rankings for the third week in a row.

Still, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who were No. 1 in the Power Rankings the rest of the season, hold a one-game lead for the top spot with just two games remaining, both once morest the last-place Phoenix Mercury.

It’s been a challenging season for the Mercury, who were able to celebrate the return of Brittney Griner to the WNBA and Diana Taurasi reached the 10,000-point plateau, but not much more. They’ve lost eight in a row, and unless they win one of their remaining three games, they’ll finish a season with single-digit wins for the third time in franchise history (1997-present).

After the previous two occasions (in 2003 and 2012), Phoenix ended up with the first pick in the draft the following year and brought in Taurasi and Griner.

However, the best odds of getting No. 1 in 2024 are with the Indiana Fever. He was eliminated from playoff contention on Friday, his seventh straight year without making the postseason.

However, he enters this final week of the regular season looking more upbeat than the Mercury: Indiana has won four of its last five games. And next year, he’ll add another lottery draft pick to a lineup that already features 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith.

The Minnesota Lynx missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2010. Their absence from the postseason was brief, however; After an 0-6 start to the season, he came back to clinch a playoff spot with his victory Sunday over Phoenix.

“I just told the group that they deserve this,” said coach Cheryl Reeve, who has guided the Lynx since 2010. “It’s just one step. We wanted to get back to the playoffs. A lot of work went into it, to get what this franchise used to doing, which is competing in the postseason.”

The Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks and Chicago Sky have this week to try to join the Aces, Liberty, Connecticut Sun, Dallas Wings and Lynx in the postseason. This is how all the teams are in the final edition of the WNBA Power Rankings.

1. New York Liberty
Record: 30-7
Ranking anterior: 1
This week: in Dallas (Tuesday), vs. Los Angeles (Thursday), vs. Washington (Sunday)

After leading the Liberty with 25 points in a win over Las Vegas last Monday, Sabrina Ionescu (calf) missed action once morest Connecticut and Chicago. That didn’t affect New York, which performed well in both games. Right now, her absence seems more cautious, as Liberty want to make sure Ionescu is in her prime for the playoffs. How scary can the Liberty be? Sunday’s 22-0 run beating Sky is one example.

2.Vegas Aces
Record: 32-6
Ranking anterior: 2
This week: en Phoenix (Friday), vs. Phoenix (Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN3)

The Aces fell to the Liberty last Monday, tying the teams’ regular season series at 2-2. But then Las Vegas rebounded with home wins once morest Washington and Seattle. Now the Aces can take a minute to breathe. After playing 11 games in 23 days, they have a five-day break before their next matchup. Coach Becky Hammon and the players discussed how helpful this time can be to recharge as they try to close out with the No. 1 ranking for the second straight season.

3. Connecticut Sun
Record: 25-12
Ranking anterior: 3
This week: vs. Los Angeles (Tuesday), vs. Indiana (Friday), vs. Chicago (Sunday)

The Sun went 1-1 last week, beating Phoenix and losing to New York in their lowest-scoring game (58 points) of the season. But this week doesn’t really mean anything to the Sun’s postseason status: They’re No. 3 no matter how their remaining three games go. However, they can potentially affect the playoff hopes of the Sparks and the Sky.

All things considered, especially the losses of Jonquel Jones to an offseason trade and Brionna Jones to an Achilles tendon injury earlier in the season, this has been a very good season for Connecticut and first-year coach Stephanie White. .

4. Dallas Wings
Record: 20-17
Ranking anterior: 4
This week: vs. New York (Tuesday), vs. Seattle (Friday), in Atlanta (Sunday)

Dallas clinched its playoff spot with a victory at Indiana on Friday, in which Satou Sabally joined the WNBA’s broad 40-point club. It was the 12th time this season that a player had scored at least 40 points in a game; the previous record was three in a season (2015, 2008, 2006). But the Wings lost their chance to claim the No. 4 seed — and home field advantage for the first round — when the Fever came back for an overtime victory Sunday in Dallas. Now the Wings have another chance to secure that this week.

5. Minnesota Lynx
Record: 19-19
Ranking anterior: 6
This week: in Chicago (Friday), in Indiana (Sunday)

Last week was something of a season in microcosm for Minnesota: a tough loss in Washington, followed by a gritty overtime victory once morest Atlanta and a formal win over Phoenix. Minnesota didn’t get its first win this season until June 3, losing seven of its first eight games. But led by Napheesa Collier and rookie Diamond Miller, the Lynx righted the ship and now hope to finish above .500 as they look toward the playoffs.

6. Los Angeles Sparks
Record: 16-21
Ranking anterior: 5
This week: in Connecticut (Tuesday), in New York (Thursday), in Seattle (Sunday)

After very frustrating losses to Chicago and Seattle at home, the Sparks faced Washington on Sunday before a small crowd at USC’s Galen Center, due to a scheduling conflict at Crypto.com Arena. And Nneka Ogwumike (knee) was a late casualty. It all seemed like a recipe for another loss, but the Sparks picked up a much-needed win to boost their playoff hopes. Ending the regular season with three road games (two on the East Coast and one on the West Coast) plus uncertainty regarding when Ogwumike will play means the Sparks still have a lot of work to do.

7. Washington Mystics
Record: 17-20
Ranking anterior: 7
This week: in Phoenix (Tuesday), vs. Atlanta (Friday), in New York (Sunday)

The Mystics beat Minnesota and then lost in Las Vegas and Los Angeles last week. An emotional blow came Sunday once morest the Sparks: Veteran guard Kristi Toliver suffered a serious knee injury. She has been limited to 11 games for the Mystics this season due to plantar fasciitis, but they hoped to have her for the playoffs. Now, they have to regroup and secure their playoff spot while also facing uncertainty over starters Shakira Austin (hip) and Ariel Atkins (broken nose), who both missed Sunday’s game.

8. Atlanta Dream
Record: 17-20
Ranking anterior: 8
This week: vs. Seattle (Wednesday), to Washington (Friday), vs. Dallas (Sunday)

August was tough and September didn’t start any better for the Dream, who have lost seven of their last nine games. They got a win over a downtrodden Phoenix last week, but then fell in overtime to Minnesota. The Dream haven’t made the playoffs since 2018, but they’re in position to do so this season. However, they need a strong last week.

9. Chicago Sky
Record: 15-22
Ranking anterior: 9
This week: in Indiana (Tuesday), vs. Minnesota (Friday), in Connecticut (Sunday)

The Sky, led by Kahleah Copper, earned a 76-75 victory in Los Angeles last Tuesday that looked like a must-win game. Then it lost to New York on Sunday. The Sky have the worst record of all the teams left in the playoff race, but they still have a chance.

10. Indiana Fever
Record: 12-25
Ranking anterior: 10
This week: vs. Chicago (Tuesday), to Connecticut (Friday), vs. Minnesota (Sunday)

Sunday’s overtime victory in Dallas was an indication of how the Fever hopes to close out this season. The Wings had knocked them out of playoff contention two days earlier, but promised they still had a lot to play for. It seemed that way when Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith scored 30 points to beat the Wings. The Fever wants to finish strong for 2024.

11. Seattle Storm
Record: 11-26
Ranking anterior: 11
This week: in Atlanta (Wednesday), in Dallas (Friday), vs. Los Angeles (Sunday)

Similarly, the Storm hopes to show they’re not just playing for the sake of playing. That was proven last week with a double-digit victory in Los Angeles. Then, they lost by 26 points in the game once morest Las Vegas. Still, the Storm might be a killjoy this week as guard Jewell Loyd (24.3 ppg) looks to clinch the WNBA season’s leading scorer title.

12. Phoenix Mercury
Record: 9-28
Ranking anterior: 12
This week: vs. Washington (Tuesday), vs. Las Vegas (Friday), at Las Vegas (Sunday 3 pm ET on ESPN3)

The best thing for the Mercury would be injury-free as they cap out their first non-playoff season since 2012. They still have a chance to impact the playoff race for other teams, but their last win came on Aug. 10.

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