The WNBA regular season concludes in exactly one week (September 11) and while five teams have clinched a playoff berth, four teams are vying for the final three spots. Additionally, while the playoff picture is still coming into focus, seeding 2-8 is still up for grabs and likely will be until the last day of the season. It’s an exciting time as the season winds down, and it warrants an update to these power rankings.
WNBA Power Rankings
These rankings reflect where each WNBA team stands after week 13 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, Week 12
Tier 1: Contenders
Minnesota Lynx (32-8) | Prior Rank: 1 - The Minnesota Lynx clinched the No. 1 seed after defeating the Connecticut Sun on Saturday and have secured homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
The West runs through Minnesota 😤
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 31, 2025
The Lynx capture the top overall seed in the WNBA playoffs 🐺 pic.twitter.com/2S0Ls2ekZiThe Lynx have four games remaining this season. They rested Kayla McBride on Monday for their matchup with the Dallas Wings. Their next three games are on the road against the Las Vegas Aces, Golden State Valkyries and Indiana Fever and their final game of the season will be at home against the Valkyries.
Some might say the Lynx don’t have anything to play for and should rest their players until the playoffs, but it’s unclear what approach Cheryl Reeve will take. Their upcoming game on Thursday could be a potential Finals preview as they are set to take on the current two-seed, the Las Vegas Aces, who are currently on a 12-game winning streak. It would also be a meeting of two of the top MVP candidates, Napheesa Collier and A’ja Wilson.
Wilson, Collier battle for MVP as Aces face LynxNatalie Esquire and Callie Fin look at the Las Vegas Aces' win streak and their potential following a lengthy break. They dig into the upcoming Aces vs Lynx matchup, including two MVP contenders going head-to-head.Minnesota has been at the top of the standings all season and have been rewarded the number one overall spot in the playoffs and these rankings.
Tier 2: Potential Contenders
Las Vegas Aces (26-14) | Prior Rank: 2 - The Aces have not played basketball in seven days and do not return to action until Thursday when they will face off against the Minnesota Lynx. Much more is at stake for Vegas in this game than there is for Minnesota. As noted already, the Lynx have already locked up the one-seed. The Aces fell to No. 3 in the standings on Wednesday after the Atlanta Dream took a half-game lead over them by beating the the Los Angeles Sparks. The Aces can reclaim the 2-seed by beating the Lynx on Thursday, but if they lose to the Lynx, the Aces could drop to No. 4 in the standings, which they do not want.
Pride is also on the line for the Aces. They have not beaten Minnesota all season and the games were not particularly close. Granted, the Western Conference Player of the Month for August, A’ja Wilson, did not suit up in their first meeting, but the next two meetings between the two resulted in 31-point and 53-point blowouts. It was after that second butt-whooping that the Aces reeled off 12 straight wins.
A dominant August earns @_ajawilson22 her 13th Player of the Month Honor! The most in @WNBA History 😤✨
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) September 3, 2025
25.5 PPG
11.8 RPG
1.4 SPG
1.8 BPG
49.8% FG pic.twitter.com/AGxDtxeeCvThe matchup with the Lynx on Thursday will be a litmus test for Las Vegas and true measuring stick for whether they are just hot right now or can really contend for a championship this season. With no games played in the last week, the Aces will remain at No. 2 in these rankings.
Atlanta Dream (27-14) | Prior Rank: 3 - After beating the Sparks on Wednesday, the Dream have overtaken the Aces for No. 2 in the standings. They hold a half game lead over both the Aces and Phoenix because they’ve played and won one more game than both teams. However, all three teams have the same number of losses. Atlanta has the second easiest strength of schedule remaining. The Phoenix Mercury are the only team with an easier schedule.
The Dream are at home for their next two games against the Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun and then will conclude the season on the road against Connecticut. On Tuesday, Allisha Gray, who hasn’t missed a game all season, popped up unexpectedly on the injury report as questionable (left knee) and did ultimately miss Atlanta’s game on Wednesday due to the injury. Gray received her third Player of the Month honors this season on Wednesday. Gray’s status will be something to monitor as the Dream look to close out the season.
TRIPLE CROWNED 👑
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 3, 2025
Allisha Gray takes home Eastern Conference @Kia Player of the Month for the THIRD time this season!
🔥 19.4 PTS
🔥 4.9 REB
🔥 2.9 AST
🔥 9–3 @atlantadream Month Record (#1 in the East)#KiaPOTM | #WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/gQ1KhP81NyThe Aces own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Atlanta and the Dream did not win a game against the Aces all season. So for now, the Dream will hold steady at No. 3 in these rankings despite moving to second in the standings.
Phoenix Mercury (26-14) | Prior Rank: 4 - While the Mercury do have the easiest remaining strength of schedule in the league their path to move up any further in the standings is an uphill battle that will require help from the two teams immediately above them, the Atlanta Dream at No. 2 and Las Vegas Aces at No. 3. Both teams own head-to-head tiebreakers over the Mercury.
However, what the Mercury do control is ensuring that they will have homecourt advantage in the first round as long as they don’t slip below No. 4 in the standings. With a soft schedule to close the season and the Western Conference Player of the Week, Alyssa Thomas, leading the way, that seems like a likely outcome.
She didn’t just record a triple-double. She AVERAGED one. That’s just insane. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UfZm8FhCPj
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 2, 2025Winners of their last five games, the Mercury will remain at No. 4 this week.
New York Liberty (24-17) | Prior Rank: 5 - What’s wrong with the champs? They’re 3-6 in their last nine games and have now fallen 2.5 games behind the 2-4 seeds in the standings and only hold a tiebreaker over the Las Vegas Aces. After their 17-point loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, they followed that up with an 8-point loss to the Golden State Valkyries in a game they let get out of hand by falling behind 24 points.
Liberty in tough spot but shouldn't panic yetNatalie Esquire talks with Khristina Williams about the state of the New York Liberty as the end of the WNBA regular season approaches, including star player Breanna Stewart's comments about the team's play.Sabrina Ionescu did miss the Liberty’s last two games due to injury, but teams like Minnesota, Atlanta, the Mercury, Valkyries and Indiana Fever have all shown the capacity to win games this season when they’re down a star player. At some point, that can no longer be an excuse for a team as talented as New York.
While New York did clinch the playoffs on Tuesday (due to the Mercury beating the Fever), time is running out for the Liberty to turn things around. They will need some help from Vegas, Atlanta and/or Phoenix to move back up in the standings before the season ends. More importantly, they need to win some games if they want to stave off the Valkyries, who now only have one more loss than the Liberty, from overtaking them in the standings.
Out of respect, the reigning champs will remain in Tier 2 (and at No. 5 for this week), but their play of late is definitely cause for concern.
Tier 3: In the Mix
- Golden State Valkyries (22-18) | Prior Rank: 7 - The Valkyries are one win away from clinching the playoffs as an expansion franchise. The historic year for the newest WNBA team continues and will likely be capped off with a playoff berth. Even Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a better outcome.After defeating the Liberty on Tuesday, the Valkyries will face the Dallas Wings on Thursday and will have the opportunity to clinch a playoff berth in front of their home crowd. Winners of four straight games, the Valkyries move up one spot to No. 6.
FYI: If the Golden State Valkyries win tonight, they make the playoffs.
— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) September 4, 2025
They would also become the first expansion team to do so in a debut year. Seattle Storm (22-20) | Prior Rank: 8 - The Seattle Storm are 1-1 in their last two games, which is a perfect representation of their performance all season. The loss however, at the hands of the Sparks, was very costly. The Storm could have blocked the Sparks from securing the tiebreaker over them, but a fourth quarter collapse by the Storm prevented that from happening.
With only two games left, it’s imperative that the Storm win their remaining games against the Liberty and Valkyries if they want to control their playoff destiny. Because the Sparks own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Seattle (and Indiana), the Sparks can overtake Seattle if they end the season with the same record.
For this week, Seattle moves up one spot to No. 7 primarily because, at least temporarily, they have overtaken the Fever in the standings and are still ahead of the Sparks (for now).
Indiana Fever (21-20) | Prior Rank: 6 - The Fever are currently holding on for dear life to the 8th and final playoff spot. LA’s loss to Atlanta on Wednesday gave the Fever a little breathing room, but Indiana will need to win their final three games (vs. Sky, @ Mystics, vs. Lynx) to control their destiny and make the playoffs. If they lose any one of those games, it opens the door for the Sparks to overtake them by winning out and finishing with the same record as the Fever. Since LA owns the tiebreaker over Indiana, ending the season with a tied record would allow the Sparks to overtake Indiana.
After a tumultuous season filled with injuries, it would be quite the accomplishment for the Fever to make it back to the playoffs. There is also still a chance that Caitlin Clark could return before the season ends or join them for a playoff push. They just need to get to the finish line.
Caitlin Clark is running with the Fever backups in their full-court 5-on-0 this morning: pic.twitter.com/2Wfk4WZSDV
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) September 2, 2025After losing their last two games, the Fever have fallen to No. 8 in the standings and will also land at the same spot in these rankings.
Los Angeles Sparks (19-21) | Prior Rank: 9 - The Sparks are running out of time to clinch the playoffs. With only four games remaining, they need to win all of their reaming games and also need the Storm and/or Fever to lose a game to make it in. They also have a challenging schedule remaining to close the season (@ Dream, vs. Wings, @ Mercury, vs. Aces), so getting four wins will be a tall task.
The Sparks are sitting at two games below .500 and are on the outside of the top 8 looking in. As a result, they will remain at No. 9 this week.
Tier 4: Rebuilding
Chicago Sky (10-30) | Prior Rank: 12 - Since Angel Reese’s return on August 19 from a back injury, the Sky have gone 2-5. Despite it being a losing record, the games have been much more competitive. The average point margin in three of those five losses was five points and those games were played against the Storm, Aces and Mercury, some of the better teams in the league.
In their most recent win on Wednesday, the Sky beat the Sun by 24 points and evened the season series between the two teams (2-2). So for this week, since the Sky also have an overall better record than the Sun, they will move up two spots to No. 10.
Connecticut Sun (10-31) | Prior Rank: 11 - The Connecticut Sun have have cooled off a little to kick off September (0-2). However, during August, the Sun had a .500 record going 7-7. With three games left to play, they still have time to finish strong.
Of the Tier 4 rebuilding teams, the Sun have played the best most recently. Both the Mystics and Wings currently have longer losing streaks, 7 and 8 games respectively. Therefore, the Sun will remain at No. 11 for another week despite their recent 3-game skid.
- Washington Mystics (16-25) | Prior Rank: 10 - Even though the Mystics have a better overall record than the Sky and Sun, they are currently on a seven-game losing streak. The only team with a longer active losing streak than the Mystics are the Wings, which is why they fall two spots this week to No. 12.
- Dallas Wings (9-32) | Prior Rank: 13 - The Dallas Wings have the worst record in the league and are at the bottom of the standings. They have three games left to play before they can put this injury-plagued season behind them. Paige Bueckers continues to be the highlight of their season and just notched her third Rookie of the Month honors foe this season.The Wings season will not be in vain. While no one likes to lose, according to the league’s rules, by having the worst record in the WNBA, the Wings will have the best odds to get the top overall pick (40% chance) and would be locked-in for a top-three pick. If they finish second to last in the standings, they will still have a 25% chance of getting the No. 1 pick, but could end up with a pick outside of the top three (in a very deep draft class). So, looking ahead, the future is bright for Dallas, but in the present, their record will land them at No. 13 this week.
Paige Bueckers is your @Kia Rookie of the Month for the 3rd time this season!
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 3, 2025
AUGUST STATS: 20.3 PPG | 3.7 RPG | 5.0 APG#KiaROTM | #WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/oGKKAfmbGi
