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2025 WNBA Power Rankings (Week 12): Aces skyrocket, while the Liberty lose ground

  
Published August 30, 2025 09:30 AM

Just under two weeks of WNBA regular season basketball remains, and except for the one-seed, the rest of the playoff picture is very unclear. With very little separation between teams, the standings are in limbo, but nonetheless, there have been some notable changes which require a power rankings update.

WNBA Power Rankings

These rankings reflect where each WNBA team stands after week 12 of the 2025 season. Teams are ranked 1-13 and are grouped by tiers.

Past Rankings: Preseason, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11

Tier 1: Contenders

  1. Minnesota Lynx (30-8) | Prior Rank: 1 - While the Minnesota Lynx are 2-3 in their last five games, they will remain at the top of the power rankings. They have already clinched the playoffs and are one win away from locking down the No. 1 seed. They currently have a five-game lead over the hottest team in the league, the Las Vegas Aces, who are 2nd in the standings. While they will face the Aces on Thursday, unless Vegas wins, it is unlikely that any team will overtake the Lynx for the No. 1 spot in these rankings.

    The good news for the Lynx is that Napheesa Collier returned from a right ankle injury that sidelined her for three weeks (7 games) and did not miss a beat in the team’s win over the Indiana Fever on Sunday. Collier led all scorers with 32 points and collected 9 rebounds to go along with it. And while Collier did not shoot efficiently in her second game back in the team’s loss to the Seattle Storm on Thursday, she still managed to tally 18 points and 9 rebounds. Welcome back Phee.

    The Lynx have shown their dominance all season long, so they will remain at No. 1 for another week in a row.

Tier 2: Potential Contenders

  1. Las Vegas Aces (26-14) | Prior Rank: 4 - The Aces are on an astounding 12-game winning streak, tied for their longest win streak in franchise history since the team relocated from San Antonio to Las Vegas. It’s also the longest active win streak currently in the WNBA.

    During the win streak, Vegas has overtaken a number of teams in the standings, but no win was more significant than their win over the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, which allowed them to overtake Atlanta and move into 2nd in the league standings. The Aces control their own destiny, which is remarkable for a team that at one point fell to No. 9 in the standings and for the first half of the season hovered around .500.

    While the Aces do control their own destiny, winning out is still a tall task as they next face the Lynx on Thursday, a team that they have not been able to beat all season. It was right after a 53-point beat down from the Lynx on August 2 when the Aces’ win streak began, and they have not looked back since.

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    You don’t have to look any further than A’ja Wilson as the primary catalyst for the turnaround in the Aces season, which is why she has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week for the last three weeks and is neck-and-neck with Napheesa Collier in the MVP race.

    A 12-game winning streak and a move up the standings to No. 2 is why the Aces also get the No. 2 spot in this week’s rankings.

  2. Atlanta Dream (25-14) | Prior Rank: 2 - The Dream clinched a playoff berth on Friday with their win over the Dallas Wings.
    However, the Dream drop one spot this week because they lost to the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday in a crucial game and gave up possession of the two-seed, at least temporarily, to the Aces. Because the Dream went 0-3 against Las Vegas this season, not only do the Aces own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Atlanta, the Dream haven’t demonstrated that they can beat the Aces. As a result, they drop to No. 3 in this week’s rankings.

  3. Phoenix Mercury (24-14) | Prior Rank: 5 - The Mercury move up one spot to No. 4 in this week’s power rankings, which aligns with where they are in the standings.
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    The Mercury will need some help to move up the standings. Both Las Vegas and Atlanta hold head-to-head tiebreakers over them. While the Mercury have already clinched the playoffs, remaining top four in the standings is important if they want to secure homecourt advantage in the first round. Beating the New York Liberty at home on Saturday would give them the tiebreaker over New York, who they currently lead 2-1 in the regular season series.

    For now, having the overall better record than New York and better head-to-head record will land the Mercury at No. 4 this week, one spot ahead of the reigning champs.

  4. New York Liberty (24-15) | Prior Rank: 3 - The champs drop two spots to No. 5 in this week’s power rankings, which isn’t the direction they want to be trending in with only a couple of weeks left in the regular season.

    New York’s struggles have largely been due to injuries, and they got back two key pieces over their last two games against the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics. Breanna Stewart rejoined the Liberty on Monday after recovering from a bone bruise on her right knee that kept her out for 13 games. Isabelle Harrison returned from concussion protocol to deliver a season-high 16 points to help the Liberty defeat the Washington Mystics on Thursday. Both were excellent in their first games back.

    While the the Liberty have won their last two games with Stewart’s return to the lineup, they lost two consecutive games just before her return and went 2-2 in their last four games. Those two losses to the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream dropped them to fifth in the standings and also these power rankings.

Tier 3: In the Mix

  1. Indiana Fever (21-18) | Prior Rank: 6 - The Fever land at No. 6 for another week in a row. The Fever are another team that has been decimated by injuries. They’d actually fallen to No. 8 in the standings before getting a big win over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday which bumped them back up to sixth in the standings.

    Should Clark return to Fever this season?
    Natalie Esquire and Terrika Foster-Brasby dive into Caitlin Clark's return timetable, weighing the pros and cons of the Indiana Fever bringing her back or shutting her down for the remainder of the season.

    The Fever faced the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday in LA for their final meeting of the season with major playoff and seeding implications on the line. Before their one-point win over the Sparks, the Fever had gone 0-3 this season against LA. It was critical for the Fever to win to maintain their lead over the teams right behind them in the standings. With a better record than Golden State and Seattle, the Fever will hold on to No. 6 for another week.

  2. Golden State Valkyries (19-18) | Prior Rank: 7 - Even though Golden State is currently 8th in the standings because the Seattle Storm have two more wins than them, the Valkyries have one less loss than the Storm and currently lead the season series against them 2-1.

    After winning their last game on Sunday against the Dallas Wings, the Valkyries do not play again until Saturday. They are yet another team dealing with a multitude of injuries and the five-day break should benefit them. For now, they will remain at No. 7 for another week.

  3. Seattle Storm (21-19) | Prior Rank: 10 - The Seattle Storm move up two spots to No. 8 this week. After winning three games in a row to sub .500 teams in the Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics, the Storm lost a critical game to the Indiana Fever by 20-points and fell to No. 8 in the standings.

    The loss was significant, not only because it dropped Seattle to 8th, but because the Fever already held the tiebreaker over the Storm, they missed a chance to create separation from the Fever in the standings. Now Seattle needs help from other teams to overtake Indiana and no longer control their destiny.

    The Storm rebounded on Thursday with a win over the Minnesota Lynx and now have a four-game homestand remaining to close out the regular season. They will face the Chicago Sky, Sparks, Liberty and Valkyries.

    The Sparks loss to the Fever on Friday provided Seattle some breathing room in the standings, but they cannot afford to lose games. The Sparks currently lead the season series against Seattle 2-1 and only have one more loss than the Storm, although Seattle does have four more wins. For now, the Storm will land at No. 8, but the Sparks are hot on their heels.

  4. Los Angeles Sparks (17-20) | Prior Rank: 8 - The Sparks have gone 1-2 in their last three games and with each loss the likelihood that they will clinch the playoffs lessens substantially.

    With seven games left, unless they get some help from the teams ahead of them, the Sparks would have to win out to make the playoffs. While they do still control their destiny, with four of their seven remaining games on the road and one of the harder strength of schedules in the league, a playoff berth seems unlikely. Time is running out for the Sparks to get into the top eight, which is why they come in at No. 9 this week.

Tier 4: Rebuilding

  1. Washington Mystics (16-23) | Prior Rank: 9 - The Mystics drop one spot to No. 10. They’ve lost their last five games and are on the brink of playoff elimination. The Dallas Wings are the only team with a longer active losing streak. It’s self-explanatory why the Mystics drop a spot (and tier) to 10th in these power rankings.
  2. Connecticut Sun (10-28) | Prior Rank: 12 - The Connecticut Sun have gone 5-2 over their last seven games. They are playing their best basketball of the season and are playing the best out of the four rebuilding teams ranked in the same tier with them.
    The Sun may have been eliminated from playoff contention, but their future is bright due to their young rookie core of Leïla Lacan, Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers, plus sophomore, Aaliyah Edwards. As the Sun move up from last place in the standings due to their recent play, they also move up one spot in these power rankings to No. 11.

  3. Chicago Sky (9-29) | Prior Rank: 13 - The Chicago Sky have gone 1-4 in their last five games since Angel Reese’s return from a back injury. While they still aren’t winning many games, they have been much more competitive since her return to the lineup and have come close to beating teams like the Storm, Aces and Mercury and actually did beat the the Liberty.
    Reese, Cardoso can be WNBA's best young frontcourt
    With the Sky playing spoiler as the WNBA season wraps up, Natalie Esquire and Terrika Foster-Brasby share how Angel Reese and Kamilla Cordoso provide Chicago with an "identity" and foundation to build around.

    With the Sky playing better basketball recently and due to having the better record than the Dallas Wings, they move up one spot to No. 12.

  4. Dallas Wings (9-31) | Prior Rank: 11 - The Dallas Wings land at No. 13 in this week’s rankings. They have lost their last seven games and have been decimated my injuries. On Friday, they had to sign Christyn Williams to an extreme hardship contract ahead of their matchup with the Atlanta Dream to get to eight available players, the minimum required to play and not be forced to forfeit a game. The bright spot of their season is Paige Bueckers, who will likely win Rookie of the Year, and amidst the losing, makes history on a nightly basis.

    Bueckers 'locked up' WNBA ROY with 44-point night
    Natalie Esquire and Terrika Foster-Brasby detail how Wings phenom Paige Bueckers solidified her status as the WNBA Rookie of the Year favorite before highlighting Aneesah Morrow, Saniya Rivers, and Leïla Lacan.

    One of the most recent displays of her brilliance was a 44-point career-high performance in a heartbreaking one-point loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. Bueckers was surgical in the matchup.

    Rebuilding teams often go through limited highs and extreme lows. It’s par for the course, which is why the Wings will take the No. 13 spot this week.