Two weeks into the WNBA season and the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx continue to demonstrate their prowess over the rest of the league. Seattle has stormed into the top of the standings, while the Las Vegas Aces struggle early. The Golden State Valkyries have strung together consecutive wins, while teams like the Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings are still looking for their first win.
With another week wrapped up, it’s time to update weekly power rankings.
WNBA Power Rankings
These rankings reflect where each WNBA team stands after week two of the 2025 season. Teams are ranked 1-13 and are grouped by tiers.
Past Rankings: Preseason, Week 1
Tier 1: Contenders
New York Liberty (3-0) | Prior Rank: 1 - The Liberty hadn’t really been challenged much to start the season until their third matchup on Saturday with the Indiana Fever. The champs went into halftime leading the Fever 55-46 and were in complete control of the game until the Fever outscored them by 17 points in the third quarter and took an 8-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. New York demonstrated their championship mettle in the final quarter, as they quickly erased the 8-point deficit and battled back and forth with the Fever until they won the game on a defensive possession. Natasha Cloud sealed the 2-point victory for the Libs by poking the ball out of Caitlin Clark’s hands as time expired.
The @nyliberty pulls away with a 90-88 win over the Fever in the final seconds 🚨
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 24, 2025
NYL moves to 3-0 on the season! pic.twitter.com/4i4nSmxebHThe Liberty remain undefeated on the season, but have the second best record in the WNBA since the Lynx have played one more game than them. As always, the Lynx have a case to be ranked first due to their record and play, but the Liberty’s wins have come against better teams (Aces, Sky, Fever), while the Lynx wins have all been against winless or below .500 teams. The Liberty also currently own the best Net rating in the league (16.). For now, they keep the No. 1 spot locked up.
Minnesota Lynx (4-0) | Prior Rank: 2 - The Lynx are undefeated and have the best record in the WNBA. They’ve also been doing this without the services of their All-Star shooting guard, Kayla McBride. It’s a pretty straightforward case for why they’re ranked second and it appears Napheesa Collier’s co-star (McBride) may be returning to play soon, as she has resumed practicing with the team. As one of only two undefeated teams left in the league, the Lynx hold steady at No. 2 this week.
MAC IN THE BUILDING. pic.twitter.com/LSg0P8XE7r
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) May 25, 2025
Tier 2: Potential Contenders
Phoenix Mercury (3-1) | Prior Rank: 4 - The Mercury are tied with the Seattle Storm for the for the third best record in the WNBA. They currently have the best Defensive Rating in the league (89.3) and are fourth overall in Net Rating (7.9). Their only loss of the season came in a close game against the Storm, but they also blew out the Storm in their first meeting of the season by 22 points. It’s close between the Mercury and Storm, but having the more convincing win in their head-to-head matchups, plus the best defense and overall better Net Rating, the Mercury will edge out the Storm in this week’s rankings.
Seattle Storm (3-1) | Prior Rank: 9 - The Storm capped off the second week of the WNBA season with a commanding 102-82 win over the Las Vegas Aces. Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with 23 points, while outdueling the unanimous, reigning MVP, A’ja Wilson.
What a performance for Nneka Ogwumike vs. the Las Vegas Aces 👏
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 26, 2025
⚫️ 23 PTS | 8 REB | 6 AST | 2 3PM | 10-15 FG
⚫️ Moved into 9th in all-time steals
⚫️ Moves into 9th in all-time points
⚫️ Became the 7th player in WNBA history to eclipse 6,500+ PTS, 3,000+ REB, and 800+ AST in her… pic.twitter.com/685j5ribDmOf the Storm’s four games played so far this year, the win over the Aces is by far the most impressive, however, the Aces have struggled to start the season and are currently sitting at .500. When deciding whether to rank the Storm third (ahead of the Mercury) or fourth (one spot behind Phoenix), more weight was given to how the two teams matched up against one another, rather than overvaluing a win against the Aces, who have barely looked like contenders this season. Also, as already mentioned, the Mercury have an overall better Net Rating than Seattle and are currently the best defense in the league. Neither Seattle or Phoenix has a great Offensive Rating (7th and 9th, respectively). For these reasons, the Storm come in fourth this week in the rankings.
Atlanta Dream (3-2) | Prior Rank: 8 - The Dream lost their first game of the season and have gone 3-1 since, which included a back-to-back and two games against the Indiana Fever that they split. They’ve been without their starting point guard, Jordin Canada, all season. Their back up point guard, Te-Hina Paopao, injured her face in their matchup with the Wings and they had to play most of that game without her as well as the second night of a back-to-back without her. They also were missing Brittney Griner on the second night of that back-to-back due to a left knee injury. Despite the many lineup changes, they come out of week 2 as one of only six teams currently above .500 in the WNBA. When you consider their schedule and record, plus the split with Indiana, a team who many consider a contender, their fifth place spot above the Fever is warranted this week.
Indiana Fever (2-2) | Prior Rank: 3 - The Fever drop three spots this week largely due to their record. In the second week of the season, they went 1-2 and after four games overall, they are seventh in the standings with a .500 record. The Fever currently have the markings of a contending team. They’re third in Offensive, Defensive and Net Rating, but they still need the wins to come and they need some wins against better quality teams. Their most decisive win of the season came against the winless Chicago Sky. Their one other win of the season came against the Dream, but could’ve easily resulted in a loss. All of their games, except against the Sky, have been very close games. While it is good that they could hang with the Liberty, New York easily erased a 9-point deficit in the fourth quarter and ultimately got the win.
Some of these games are going to start going the Fever’s way as they continue to build chemistry. They’re too talented of a team to not be at the top of the standings. The next two weeks will be crucial for them. On Monday, the Fever announced that Caitlin Clark will be out for at least two weeks with a left quadriceps strain.
Caitlin Clark has suffered a left quadriceps strain and will be out a minimum of two weeks.
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) May 26, 2025
Learn more: https://t.co/7IcMx3jiDw pic.twitter.com/EYWXyU3vW4Fortunately for the Fever, they have a somewhat favorable schedule over the next two weeks that shouldn’t set them back far, if at all, in the standings while Caitlin Clark recovers. However, with some uncertainty around the team and a 2-2 record on the season, the Fever fall to No. 6 this week.
Caitlin’s injury is def unfortunate for the Fever. Hopefully she doesn’t miss too much time. If it ends up being just 2 weeks, Indy’s schedule over that time:
— Natalie Esquire (@natfluential) May 26, 2025
- @ Mystics
- vs Sun
- vs Mystics
- @ Sky
Those are winnable games w/o Caitlin. Aliyah & Kelsey will need to step up.Las Vegas Aces (2-2) | Prior Rank: 5 - The Aces have struggled to start the season. They’ve had one convincing win and it came against the Connecticut Sun, who have yet to win a game this season. They spent an entire game coming back against the Washington Mystics who were missing their leading scorer, Brittney Sykes, and were led by their two rookies, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. They were one Jewell Loyd three-point game winner away from losing or going to overtime. And they suffered a 20-point beat down on Sunday, their most embarrassing loss of the season, at the hands of the Seattle Storm, who controlled the game from start to finish.
Unlike the Fever who also have a 2-2 record, the Aces are sixth in Offensive Rating (100.9), 10th in Defensive Rating (101.9) and have a negative Net Rating (-0.9) for eighth in the league. The Aces have much more cause for concern based on their early season results. There is certainly more than enough season left to turn things around, and for back-to-back champs who are only one season removed from winning a championship, they will receive the benefit of the doubt that they can. But for now, the drop to No. 7.
Tier 3: In the Mix
Golden State Valkyries (2-1) | Prior Rank: 13 - After two weeks, the Valkyries have a winning record and also hold the fifth best record in the WNBA. That’s a better win percentage than the Dream, Fever and Aces who are all ranked ahead of them this week. It would be premature to consider the Valkyries a potential contender, with no franchise star and considering the history of expansion teams. They are more likely a beneficiary of a favorable schedule to start the season. Most teams have played at least four games already, some five, and their wins have come against two teams with records below .500 (Sparks and Mystics).
The Valkyries next five games will come against better teams and is more likely to provide a better sense of where they rank as a team, but their current record and ability to remain competitive in games to this point justify moving them up five spots and a tier to No. 8.
The Valks have a brutal 5-game stretch coming up:
— Natalie Esquire (@natfluential) May 24, 2025
@ Liberty
@ Liberty
vs Lynx
@ Mercury
vs AcesWashington Mystics (2-3) | Prior Rank: 6 - The Mystics continue their impressive start to the season. Even though they have lost their last three games after starting 2-0, they’ve lost by two, three and six points to the Valkyries, Aces and Mercury, respectively. All of their losses have come in the final minute(s) of the game and have all been due to inexperience. They had a legitimate chance to win all three games. One loss came without their best player Brittney Sykes and was at the hands of the Aces, who are former champions. And another loss was to the Mercury, who are currently the best defense in the league and led by Alyssa Thomas.
The Mystics will get better as the season goes on and with progress will come more wins. They are only ranked behind the Valkyries this week because the Valkyries won the head-to-head matchup and the Valkyries have the second best Defensive Rating in the league (93.1). The Mystics appear to have more upside, but for now, they drop three spots this week to No. 9.
Los Angeles Sparks (2-3) | Prior Rank: 7 - The Sparks drop three spots this week to No. 10. Their record during the second week of WNBA action was 1-2. Their best win of the season was on opening night against the Valkyries, but their only other win came on Sunday against a winless Chicago Sky team.
It should be noted that the Sparks have had to play their last three games without Rickea Jackson due to concussion protocols. Their only two wins have come in games where Kelsey Plum scored 37 and 28 points and shot at least 60% from three. That kind of production is unlikely to be sustained. Getting Rickea Jackson back should be a boost to the offense, but with their current record, the Sparks come in 10th this week.
Kelsey Plum tied a career-high with 6 triples and led the Sparks to victory over the Sky. 🌟 With 25+ points for the third time this season, she’s showing off her top tier scoring ability ⬇️
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 26, 2025
28 PTS (17 in the 3Q)
6-10 3PM (60%)
6 REB
8 AST#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/OlZstLkQ5aChicago Sky (0-3) | Prior Rank: 11 - The Chicago Sky are still searching for their first win. Their best performance was in their third game of the season against the Sparks, so there has been some progress, but they need to put it all together for four quarters. Their next three games are against the Mercury and two matchups with the Dallas Wings. The Wings are also winless and this presents an opportunity for both teams to get their first win(s) of the season. At 0-3, the Sky will remain in the 11th spot this week.
- Dallas Wings (0-4) | Prior Rank: 10 - The Wings are in a similar situation to the Sky, except they have lost one more game, which is why they land one spot behind Chicago. The Wings next matchup is with the Connecticut Sun and then, they will face the Sky two times. There’s a very good chance Dallas will finally get a win since they are playing the only other two winless teams in the WNBA. Without a win, the Wings drop two spots this week to No. 12.
Tier 4: Rebuilding
Connecticut Sun (0-4) | Prior Rank: 12 - The Sun land at No. 13 this week. Although they have an identical record to Dallas, two of their three losses in the second week were 25 and 24 point blowouts to the Aces and Dream, respectively. While the Sun did play a competitive gave against the Lynx where they only lost by five points, they have a worse Net Rating than the Wings.
There is some good news for the Sun who had to begin their season without their two new rookies, Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow. Saniya Rivers was able to play in their second game of the season and had a strong start showing off her two-way abilities immediately.
And just like that, Saniya Rivers scores the first bucket of her WNBA career!
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 20, 2025
Welcome to the W 🧡 pic.twitter.com/RgMjMLdTupAneesah Morrow was able to play regular minutes on Sunday against the Dream and showed off her range with the first basket of her WNBA career.
ANEESAH'S FIRST @WNBA BUCKET‼️#BringTheHeat | #CTSun pic.twitter.com/LXA4MxUV37
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) May 25, 2025The future looks bright for the Sun. A win will come at some point, but for now, they get the 13th spot in this week’s rankings.
