WNBA Power Rankings: New York Liberty Light the Way

The WNBA is headed for a month-long break with the Olympics on horizon, but teams aren't slowing down with time off just in front of them.

The Las Vegas Aces have shown championship grit and rounded back into form, the New York Liberty have created one of the league's most dangerous offenses, and the Minnesota Lynx's deep shooting and ball movement have kept them afloat even with the absence of Napheesa Collier.

And with all of that going on around the league, here's how teams are looking this week:

12. Atlanta Dream (7-14)

Last week: 9 | Upcoming: Seattle (7/14), Minnesota (7/17)

The Atlanta Dream have been in a free fall since the loss of Rhyne Howard. Jordin Canada looked to help assuage the team's offensive woes, but a broken finger has once again sidelined her. With a depleted roster and a tough upcoming schedule packed with contenders in the Aces, Storm and Lynx, Atlanta is surely dreaming of this upcoming Olympic break.

11. Los Angeles Sparks (5-17)

Last week: 12 | Upcoming: Dallas (7/13), Seattle (7/16)

After a thrilling win against the reigning champs, the L.A. Sparks cooled off significantly in the following games against two other Western Conference standouts, the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx. Rookie Rickea Jackson has continued to star in her elevated role, though, notching a career high against the Mercury, while Dearica Hamby has cemented herself as a top candidate for the Most Improved title.

10. Dallas Wings (5-18)

Last week: 11 | Upcoming: Los Angeles (7/13), Indiana (7/17)

Arike Ogunbowale's usual dazzling scoring efforts have been in short order as of late with back-to-back 13-point games for the WNBA's third-leading scorer. The return of Odyssey Sims has helped a bit in the scoring department with her three-point scoring, but for a team that takes and makes the fewest threes in the league, the additional boost still may not be enough. Hopefully, the team can get Maddy Siegrist and Satou Sabally back from injury after the break and start to see a new identity take shape in the second half of the season.

9. Washington Mystics (6-17)

Last week: 10 | Upcoming: Las Vegas (7/14), Phoenix (7/16)

Don't let the less-than-stellar record fool you, the Washington Mystics' offense is potent. The team has a great group of connective passers and shooters that can fill it up, but there is just something about fourth quarters that seems to slow them down. Ariel Atkins and the Mystics led the Fever by as many as 22 points but won by only five after a 13-point fourth quarter. The Mystics squad is 1-11 against teams .500 or better, a category all three of their next opponents fit into, so the Mystics will need all of their magic to get some wins.

8. Chicago Sky (9-13)

Last week: 8 | Upcoming: New York (7/13), Las Vegas (7/16)

It has been an up-and-down season for the Chicago Sky, but with a new head coach and a rebuilding squad, the team is much further ahead than expected, especially with the Eastern Conference Player of the Week continually breaking records. Rookie All-Star Angel Reese made history as the first rookie to earn Player of the Week this season as well as notching a record 15th double-double in a loss against the New York Liberty.

Reese is formidable on the boards, as is her frontcourt partner, Kamilla Cardoso, but for the Sky to truly reach the stratosphere, the team needs additional shooting. Marina Mabrey knocked down 4 out of 5 of her threes against New York and was the only person on the team to shoot more than two, a feat accomplished by five Liberty players in that game.

7. Indiana Fever (9-14)

Last week: 7 | Upcoming: Minnesota (7/14), Dallas (7/17)

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are tougher than their record suggests. They stormed back from a 22-point deficit to almost take the game from the Washington Mystics behind an unreal Clark game in which the phenom had 29 points with 5 threes, 13 assists and 5 steals. The Fever's sharpened cohesion also helped to take down the best team in the league in the New York Liberty behind their All-Star trio of Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell.

The Fever have the offensive firepower to go toe-to-toe with any team in the league, but the lackluster defense could cool this Fever down.

6. Seattle Storm (14-8)

Last week: 3 | Upcoming: Atlanta (7/14), Los Angeles (7/16)

Seattle was able to get revenge on the Chicago Sky after the upstart team beat them earlier in the week and followed that up with an absolute battle against the Las Vegas Aces. Jewell Loyd, the Gold Mamba, has returned to form after an eye injury, dropping 28 against the reigning champs in a close loss.

Seattle's upcoming schedule is extremely soft with games against the ailing Sparks and Dream, which may offer a chance for Nneka Ogwumike to get back to her efficient ways after shooting just 26 percent against the Aces.

5. Phoenix Mercury (12-10)

Last week: 6 | Upcoming: Connecticut (7/14), Washington (7/16)

The host team for the All-Star game has it all clicking ahead of the festivities. The white-hot Phoenix Mercury are on a three-game win streak. Kahleah Copper has been downright supernatural during the streak scoring 25+ over that same span, which the squad has needed with the injury to Diana Taurasi.

Other members have been stepping up, as well, like Brittney Griner stretching the floor and knocking down a couple of threes against the Wings and Tasha Cloud having a master class against the Sparks, dropping 31 points. With only one opponent above .500 on schedule before the break, the Mercury could be primed for a run after the Olympics.

4. Connecticut Sun (17-5)

Last week: 4 | Upcoming: Phoenix (7/14), New York (7/16)

Connecticut suffered a heartbreaking loss against the New York Liberty after Sabrina Ionescu dropped in a last-minute bucket to seal the game, but the team is still one of the most formidable in the league. DeWanna Bonner is one of the games most potent scorers and offensive breakouts from Ty Harris and DiJonai Carrington have bolstered a team that plays a methodical half-court game while also giving them options in transition.

Connecticut still needs to improve its shooting if it hopes to take down the other contenders as Bonner was the only member of the team to hit multiple threes against the Liberty in a game they lost by three points.

3. Minnesota Lynx (16-6)

Last week: 5 | Upcoming: Indiana (7/14), Atlanta (7/17)

After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time all season the Minnesota Lynx sorted it out with back-to-back wins without MVP candidate Collier, who is out indefinitely with plantar fasciitis in her left foot.

In her absence, the team hasn't missed a beat thanks to its accuracy from the three-point line. The Lynx boast four of the league's most accurate shooters with All-Star Kayla McBride, Alanna Smith, Cecilia Zandalasini and Bridget Carleton all shooting over 42 percent from deep on the season. The Lynx's pass-heavy offense still finds the right players for great shots while the defense is still locking down teams with a stingy rating of 87.0.

2. Las Vegas Aces (14-7)

Last week: 1 | Upcoming: Washington (7/14), Chicago (7/16)

Even after a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks last week, the Las Vegas Aces still look like an unstoppable force. The team locked up Ogunbowale in a double-digit win against the Dallas Wings and followed it up with a tight win against the Seattle Storm that showed championship-level resilience.

ESPY Award winner for Best Athlete in Women's Sports, reigning player of the week and month, NBA2K25 cover athlete and newly crowned all-time leading Aces scorer A'ja Wilson continues to power the team with MVP-caliber play, including a 20-point, 20-rebound game against the Seattle Storm and a clutch bucket in the face of Nneka Ogwumike.

1. New York Liberty (19-4)

Last week: 2 | Upcoming: Chicago (7/13), Connecticut (7/16)

Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty were able to take sole control of the number one seed in a game against the then-top-seeded Connecticut Sun thanks to some late-game heroics from the star guard. Despite a miserable shooting night from one of the league's best three-point-shooting teams, the squad was able to earn a win against the Sun with interior scoring.

The Liberty are proving to be one of the most versatile teams in the league with the multitalented duo of former MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones able to score from anywhere on the floor.

Though the three ball wasn't falling against the famously staunch defense of the Sun, New York let it fly against the Chicago Sky with three players knocking down four threes.