The 2025 WNBA season will kick off on Friday after an active offseason of blockbuster trades and notable free agent signings. The league will look very different this year. A number of top stars are on new teams. The newest expansion franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, are set to debut. Plus, the league welcomes a new class of rookies, which includes a generational talent in Paige Bueckers and phenom, Dominique Malonga.
We’re back and we’re better than ever.
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 9, 2025
Viewer discretion is advised. Welcome to the W. pic.twitter.com/vDTmVwBnsf
Now that WNBA preseason games have concluded and there has been a chance to see every team in action, it’s time to rank the league’s 13 teams ahead of the regular season.
WNBA Preseason Power Rankings
These Power Rankings are an outlook of where each WNBA team stands heading into the 2025 season. The teams are ranked 1-13 and are grouped by tiers.
Tier 1: Contenders
New York Liberty - The Liberty are the reigning champions and favorites to win the 2025 WNBA title, so it’s fitting they come in at No. 1 in the preseason rankings. Most of their core players who fueled their championship run will be returning this season, including Breanna Stewart, a top three player, Finals MVP, Jonquel Jones and three-time All-Star, Sabrina Ionescu. New York also picked up a key addition to its roster this offseason after trading for two-way guard, Natasha Cloud.
Despite retaining their big three (Stewart, Jones, Ionescu), New York will have to defend its title this year without veteran defensive specialist, Kayla Thornton, who was selected in the Golden State Valkyries’ expansion draft. More significantly, they will also be without versatile wing, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton this season, who tore the meniscus in her left knee while playing in the inaugural season of Unrivaled earlier this year.
NY Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb says that "more likely than not" Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's contract will be suspended which will open up cap space + another roster spot.
— Jackie Powell (she/her) (@ClassicJpow) May 3, 2025
By suspending Laney-Hamilton, the Liberty will maintain exclusive negotiation rights heading into free agency.The Liberty have experience playing without Laney-Hamilton over the course of a season due to some of her past knee injuries, but she was instrumental in New York’s Game 2 win over the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Finals last year. While the Liberty have made moves to try and improve their roster, Betnijah is a key player who will definitely be missed.
It’s worth noting that even though Leonie Fiebich has returned from playing overseas, it’s unlikley she will be available at the start of the season. Additionally, Breanna Stewart underwent a meniscus procedure after the conclusion of Unrivaled and missed the Liberty’s first game of the preseason. Stewart did play in New York’s preseason exhibition game Monday night and looked great in her limited time on the court (7 of 9 shooting in 15 minutes), but her knee probably is something to monitor and it’s unclear whether that will impact the Liberty at all during the opening stretch of the season. For now, the champs get the benefit of the doubt and the top spot in these preseason power rankings.
Minnesota Lynx - There’s an annual tradition of underrating the Minnesota Lynx before the start of each season, but these power rankings won’t get caught slipping. The Lynx were a controversial officiating call away from winning their fifth WNBA title in franchise history. In a series that went the distance into overtime of a Game 5, ranking the Lynx any lower than second ahead of the season might be borderline disrespectful. This landing spot for a team who many consider to have the second best player, MVP runner-up and current Defensive Player of the Year in Napheesa Collier, is a no-brainer.
There are some roster changes that could be of concern for the Lynx heading into the 2025 season. Like the Liberty, the Lynx also lost a key rotation player, Cecilia Zandalasini, in the Expansion Draft. Myisha Hines-Allen, who was brought in as a depth piece last season, signed with the Dallas Wings in free agency. And on Sunday, the Lynx announced that Dorka Juhász will miss the 2025 season due to personal reasons.
While the Lynx will be returning their starting five from last season and Natisha Hiedeman, depth became an issue for them during the 2024 postseason and currently they are over the salary cap and will still need to make at least one more roster cut. It will take time to see how the roster is impacted by the turnover and roster additions, but for now the Lynx are deserving of the second spot in these rankings.
So Minnesota are down to 13 players. However, if you count all 13, they are $73,090 over the cap. Therefore, if they cut only one player, it would have to be Collier, Carleton, Miller, Berger, Shepard or Pili. Can't be Kosu or Badiane, unless it's both. #WNBA
— Richard Cohen (@RichardCohen1) May 11, 2025Las Vegas Aces - The Aces come in at third in this year’s preseason rankings after completing a three-team blockbuster trade in the offseason that sent Kelsey Plum to the Los Angeles Sparks and delivered Jewell Loyd to the Aces. It’s rare when these types of trades occur that the return is a comparable and/or arguably better player than what the team had before. But that is in fact what the Aces managed to pull off.
One of the biggest weaknesses for the Aces last season that prevented them from three-peating was their lack of frontcourt depth to help out three-time MVP A’ja Wilson. It appeared the Aces addressed their frontcourt questions by signing Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, but then it was reported by Callie Fin of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Parker-Tyus is pregnant and will miss part of the WNBA season. Additionally, the Aces announced at the beginning of May that center, Megan Gustafson, will be sidelined indefinitely due to a lower left leg injury.
EXCLUSIVE: Aces signee Cheyenne Parker-Tyus is pregnant with her second child and will miss part of the WNBA season.
— Callie Fin (@CallieJLaw) April 4, 2025
She spoke to @reviewjournal about playing overseas while expecting, the stigma surrounding motherhood for women in sports and much more ⬇️https://t.co/fjbt1L8GovSo, questions loom for the two-time champs, but when you have the best player in the world and unanimous MVP, A’ja Wilson, leading your team, plus a dynamic core, which includes Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young, you’re still in a very good position to contend for a title. For these reasons, the Aces get the No. 3 spot in these rankings.
Indiana Fever - Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever head into the 2025 season with lofty expectations. After turning their season around last year to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the Fever made a lot of offseason changes, both organizationally and to the team, to bolster their roster.
Under the direction of new head coach Stephanie White, the Fever intend to contend for a WNBA championship this season. Among the Fever’s offseason moves, additions to the team include DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham. They also return their core three stars consisting of Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.
The Fever upgraded their roster and improved defensively with the additions of Bonner and Howard. They also added veteran leadership which is quintessential to any team with title hopes, particularly one where the core stars are younger. The only questions that really remain for the Fever are can they put it all together in one season and how much of a leap will their young stars take, which is needed for them to win a title. For now, the fourth spot seems appropriate for a very talented, but unproven Fever team.
Tier 2: Potential Contenders
Phoenix Mercury - The Mercury get the fifth spot in these preseason rankings, but they are a tricky team to rank because they essentially are a brand new team. The Mercury are entering into a new era of basketball without the former face of their franchise, Diana Taurasi, who retired, and mainstay, Brittney Griner, who signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency.
Kahleah Copper is the only star that remains from last year’s team and she will return with Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally by her side. They also are likely to return with an offense that will be shooting a lot of threes, as their head coach Nate Tibbetts has made it clear that he wants less midrange shots. It’s uncertain how well that will work with the current makeup of the Mercury roster, which is one of many reasons why this team is challenging to rank.
Today at Phoenix Mercury training camp, coach Nate Tibbetts talked about Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally’s shot selection.
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) May 4, 2025
Tibbetts refers to the midrange as the “manure strip,” and has said Sabally has done a good job avoiding taking midrange jumpers.#WNBA #ValleyTogether pic.twitter.com/O52rmYMI7vThree top 20 players on the same team with Alyssa Thomas “The Engine” at the helm likely makes the Mercury a contender, but the team is top heavy and similar to the Fever, they could face some growing pains trying to develop chemistry in the first season with so many new pieces coming together. For now, the Mercury land at fifth.
Atlanta Dream - Atlanta’s dreams came true when they signed free agents Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones during the offseason to add to an already talented roster that includes All-Star guards, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard.
During their first game of the preseason, the double big lineup with Griner and Jones appeared to work well. A larger sample will be needed to see how much this team actually gels, but upon first glance, they appeared to be humming.
Few things on the Dream:
— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) May 7, 2025
— The ball movement stands out. The ball is being passed multiple times before a shot falls. (Also, the 3’s are falling!)
— BG and Bri Jones on the floor together actually works well. BG has been out of the post and so has Breezy.A healthy Jordin Canada running point for the Dream could make them a dangerous team this season. Unfortunately, Canada injured her right knee during the preseason and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. It’s unlikely Jordin Canada will be ready to go for the start of the regular season, but unlike last year when Canada missed significant time for another injury, Atlanta is better equipped to handle any extended absences this season after also signing veteran guard, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, in the offseason.
It was a toss up whether Atlanta should be ranked sixth or seventh, but having an insurance plan for Jordin Canada to start the season was enough to land the number six spot in these preseason rankings.
Seattle Storm - The Storm land in the seventh spot, but they could’ve been one spot higher. There are too many open questions about the Storm heading into the season to fairly rank them.
The most notable change in Seattle from last season will be the absence of Jewell Loyd, who was traded to the Las Vegas Aces during the offseason. Loyd averaged 19.7 PPG last season, which is a lot of production to replace from one player. Also of note, the team will boast the number two draft pick, Dominique Malonga, who likes to dunk.
Couldn't leave New York without witnessing Dominique dunk 😤 pic.twitter.com/2JPTHTL3zd
— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) April 15, 2025The Storm will be returning Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins. Another year of continuity under head coach Noelle Quinn should help them get off to a better start this season, but Seattle has a number of new players and likely will only have 10 active players to start the season due to Katie Lou Samuelson’s season-ending ACL injury that occurred during training camp. Ezi Magbegor and Gabby Williams are the only other two returning players from last year’s team. So, in addition to being short-handed, more than half of the team will consist of new players. Due to so much uncertainty, this is why the Storm land at No. 7 in these rankings.
Tier 3: In the Mix
Chicago Sky - Chicago made a number of moves to upgrade their roster during the offseason. Most notably they signed veteran point guard and two-time champion, Courtney Vandersloot, and traded the third pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft for Ariel Atkins, another veteran guard and champion. The Sky also drafted college star Hailey Van Lith with one of its three picks. After just missing the playoffs last season, it’s currently unclear whether the Sky’s roster changes are enough to elevate them from a fringe playoff team.
The Chicago Sky’s two stars are both young players entering their sophomore season. Angel Reese is coming off a stellar rookie campaign, where she led the league in rebounds (13.1 per game) and set a variety of records. Kamilla Cardoso, the third pick in the 2024 draft, missed time early last season due to injury. Like Reese, she’s also expected to play a significant role this season in new head coach Tyler Marsh’s system.
The Sky did a great job of surrounding their young stars with veteran talent such as Atkins, Vandersloot, Kia Nurse and Elizabeth Williams. This team will go as far as Angel and Kamilla can take them. For now, they get the eighth spot in these preseason rankings.
Los Angeles Sparks - The Sparks are another very challenging team to rank. It was a toss up between them, Chicago and Dallas for who should get the eighth spot, but of the three, the Sky finished with a better record than both teams last year and the Sky’s two stars have the benefit of continuity. It’s likely these three teams will be jockeying for playoff position this season.
As already mentioned, the Sparks were part of a blockbuster trade that brought Kelsey Plum to the team. Plum is a significant upgrade for the Sparks at the guard spot and she brings championship pedigree and experience to this team. She will be playing alongside Dearica Hamby, who she has experience playing with already from their time on the Aces and Rickea Jackson, the fourth pick from the 2024 WNBA Draft. The team will still be without Cameron Brink to start the season, who is working her way back from an ACL injury.
The Sparks are a question mark heading into the season. They will be under new head coach, Lynne Roberts. They only played one preseason game against the Valkyries, which they won by a single point and their final roster has not been announced. Players like Rae Burrell and Azurá Stevens, who both looked great during Unrivaled, likely will play bigger roles on this year’s team. Until we know more about the roster and they play more games, the Sparks land at the ninth spot in these rankings (two spots higher than where they finished last season).
Dallas Wings - Even though the regular season hasn’t started, Dallas has already won because they hit the jackpot in the 2025 Draft Lottery and were able to select Paige Bueckers with the number one pick.
Bueckers 'is the play' to win Rookie of the YearBrad Thomas and Vaughn Dalzell examine the betting favorites to win the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year award, discussing why a bet on anybody other than Paige Bueckers is essentially a donation.The Wings finished second to last in the standings last season. They should be a better team this year, but how much better is hard to determine this early. There have been a lot of changes in Dallas since the season ended. Curt Miller joined the organization as the new Executive VP and General Manager. They hired Chris Koclanes as their new head coach. They also were active in the offseason.
The roster looks very different compared to last year. Their face of the franchise, Arike Ogunbowale, will be returning with some new teammates, most notably DiJonai Carrington, Tyasha Harris and NaLyssa Smith. The Wings also drafted Aziaha James and JJ Quinerly. While players like Teaira McCowan will be returning from last year’s team with Arike, it’s hard to get a handle on just how far this team will go in Paige Bueckers’ rookie season. So, No. 10 it is for now, but there will be many Paige and Arike highlights to look forward to this season.
Of course we had to give you a double dose of Parike :) pic.twitter.com/hIGCBErzyV
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) May 11, 2025
Tier 4: Building
Connecticut Sun - Last season the Sun were a top three team in the WNBA. This season they have gone into a full rebuild which is a result of their franchise star, Alyssa Thomas, leaving the team after 11 seasons to sign with the Phoenix Mercury in free agency.
Under new head coach, Rachid Meziane, the Sun begin a new era. That starts with the two players they selected at five and eight in the WNBA Draft, Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers. In the offseason, the Sun executed a bevy of trades to increase their future draft capital and to acquire guard Jacy Sheldon, the 2024 fifth overall pick, who they can develop alongside Morrow and Rivers. They also acquired Lindsay Allen from the Chicago Sky, who is likely to be their new floor general.
The Sun will return Marina Mabrey and Olivia Nelson-Ododa from last year’s team. The Sun also reunite with veteran Tina Charles, a great free agent signing who will aid in the development of their young players. Due to the rebuild, the Sun land at No. 11 in these rankings.
Tina Charles on her goals for this season:
— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) May 13, 2025
"This is actually the first season I didn't come in with any personal goals."
Charles said she's very content with her career and just wanted to focus on being a good leader and teammate.
(Q: @jordansgrice)Washington Mystics - The Mystics spent most of last season at the bottom of the standings without their former franchise star, Elena Delle Donne (who recently retired in April), but then went on a run and just missed out on grabbing the eighth and final playoff spot. They could be primed to do that again this year, but they will need to have some of their players back, healthy and playing at a high level to do so.
Shakira Austin and Aaliyah Edwards were unavailable to play during the preseason. Kareem Copeland from The Washington Post provided a status update Tuesday from head coach Sydney Johnson that they “are trending towards being available for Friday’s season opener....[or] soon thereafter.”
Other key pieces for this year’s Mystics team will include rookies, Sonia Citron (drafted third overall) and Kiki Iriafen (drafted fourth overall). Citron impressed in the preseason and has received high praise from Coach Johnson.
Floater.
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 3, 2025
Triple.
Back-to-back buckets from rookie Sonia Citron to extend the @washmystics lead to 7 in preseason play!
WAS-IND | Watch FREE on the WNBA App pic.twitter.com/yE2psoWCSvThe Mystics unfortunately will be without their sixth overall pick, Georgia Amoore, this season due to an ACL injury she sustained during training camp. However, they will be returning two seasoned veterans in Brittney Sykes and Stefanie Dolson. The Mystics will have some talented pieces to work with this season, but ultimately this team is rebuilding and are unlikely to make the playoffs. So, they get the 12th spot in these rankings.
Golden State Valkyries - Despite the Valkyries concluding the preseason with its first win in its short franchise history, they get the 13th and final spot in these preseason rankings.
Capping preseason with a W!
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) May 12, 2025
Next stop: Home Opener at Ballhalla! pic.twitter.com/PDWFecsDdRBased on the history of expansion teams, it usually takes some time for them to turn into competitive franchises. The Valkyries were not able to sign any of the top free agents or make any trades for a star. They were not able to draft a franchise player. They primarily are relying on the players they selected in the Expansion Draft who may be very good players, but won’t usually be the type of players needed to transform a franchise because those players are protected from being selected.
Only one WNBA expansion team has ever finished above .500:
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) May 9, 2025
Detroit Shock: 17-13 ('98)
Minnesota Lynx: 15-17 ('99)
Orlando Miracle: 15-17 ('99)
Miami Sol: 13-19 ('00)
Portland Fire: 10-22 ('00)
Indiana Fever: 9-23 ('00)
Seattle Storm: 6-26 ('00)
Chicago Sky: 5-29 ('06)
Atlanta…That does not mean the Valkyries won’t be enjoyable to watch this season. They have some fun players on the team like Tiffany Hayes. Kate Martin and Kaitlyn Chen (should she make the roster) are both popular players who fans are invested in. It’s also an opportunity for players like Monique Billings and potentially Laeticia Amihere, who have had to bounce around or could not get minutes on other teams, to gain more stability and playing time.
Since the Valkyries are unlikely to win many games this year, they will be ranked at No. 13 heading into the season.
