With the opening of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup in-season tournament on Monday, the stakes for each team continue to rise.
Three weeks into the season and a new team sits atop the standings. The Minnesota Lynx are rolling early and are the latest team to take over the No. 1 spot. Three different first place teams in three weeks demonstrates the parity across the league this season.
While the Lynx are on the move, so are several teams throughout the league. Let’s look at how the power rankings have shifted after another week of WNBA action.
WNBA Power Rankings
These rankings reflect where each WNBA team stands after Week Three of the 2026 season.
2026 Past Rankings: Opening Weekend, Week 1, Week 2
Tier 1: Contenders
Minnesota Lynx (7-2) | Prior Rank: 3 - Minnesota’s prowess was on full display Monday as they dominated the Phoenix Mercury 111-77 on the first night of the Commissioner’s Cup in-season tournament. The Lynx were led by the backcourt of Olivia Miles and Courtney Williams, and the Mercury had no answers for the duo.
Olivia Miles and Courtney Williams powered the Lynx to a win over the Mercury 111-77 💪 pic.twitter.com/SMCAJYf2p9
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 2, 2026The Lynx move up two spots and a tier this week after a five-game winning streak — the longest active streak in the WNBA — which puts them in sole possession of first place in the league.
Atlanta Dream (6-2) | Prior Rank: 1 - The Dream drop one spot after going 2-1 in Week 3. Atlanta has the second-best record in the league and have only lost two games so far this season. They’ve been getting it done on the defensive end, boasting the second-best defense in the WNBA with a defensive rating of 99.5. It’s been an impressive start for the new-look Dream who have yet to see All-Star Brionna Jones take the court this season.
Dallas Wings (6-3) | Prior Rank: 4 - The Wings move up a spot and a tier this week after going 2-0 in Week Three. In the last two weeks, the Wings have beaten the last two WNBA champions, the New York Liberty and, most recently, the Las Vegas Aces.
It may be premature to start calling the Wings a contender, but they are showing early signs of a contending team. Their 111.3 offensive rating tops the league and they’re fourth in defensive rating at 103.2 with an overall net rating of 8.0, ranking third best in the league.
Las Vegas Aces (6-3) | Prior Rank: 2 - After losing two games in a row, the Aces won both their last two games against the Golden State Valkyries and Los Angeles Sparks by a 10-point margin. More impressively, both games were won on the road.
The Aces are tied with the Wings and Valkyries for the third-best record in the WNBA but since the Wings beat the Aces in their first head-to-head matchup of the season, they get the nod over the defending champions in this week’s rankings.
Tier 2: Potential Contenders
Golden State Valkyries (6-3) | Prior Rank: 6 - The Valkyries move up one spot after completing a three-game homestand where they went 2-1 with two wins against the Portland Fire and the Indiana Fever.
Like the Wings, the Valkyries are also showing the hallmarks of a contending team. They’re second in offensive rating (110.9,) third in defensive rating (102.0,) and their 8.9 net rating is only second to Minnesota’s (13.8.)
Their loss during their recent homestand was to the Aces. And while there’s no shame in losing to the reigning champions, the Valkyries need to demonstrate that they can beat top-tier competition to be considered a true contender.
Tier 3: In the Mix
- Portland Fire (6-5) | Prior Rank: 7 - The Fire went 2-1 during their recent three-game homestand, which included a 100-84 win against the Fever. While they are 2-2 over their last four games and sit just one game above .500, the Fire have some notable wins this year against the New York Liberty and Fever. The expansion team continues to impress and moves up one spot this week to No. 6.
New York Liberty (5-4) | Prior Rank: 10 - After losing three consecutive games, the Liberty stopped the bleeding in New York by beating the Phoenix Mercury two games in a row to get back above .500.
The Mercury have the second-worst record in the WNBA, meaning the Liberty will need to beat some better teams to demonstrate that they are a bona fide contender. For now, they do move up three spots after sliding the last two weeks in these rankings.
- Toronto Tempo (5-4) | Prior Rank: 11 - The Tempo move up three spots after going 2-0 in Week Three and establishing a record above .500. Their recent success has been spurred by Marina Mabrey, who recently received Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors.
Award-winning cooking every game from our chef. 👩🍳 @mmabrey1 is our @WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week! 👏 pic.twitter.com/oEsoM6r1P3
— Toronto Tempo (@TempoBasketball) June 2, 2026 Washington Mystics (4-4) | Prior Rank: 13 - The Mystics got back to .500 after going 2-1 in their last three games. The youngest team in the league had to play their most recent game on Tuesday without their All-Star guard, Sonia Citron, who was out due to a left foot sprain.
Tuesday marked the first missed time Citron missed a game in her WNBA career, so it bodes well for the Mystics that they were able to beat the Chicago Sky with their leading scorer on the mend.
- Indiana Fever (4-4) | Prior Rank: 5 - The Fever fall five spots this week after going 0-2 on their most recent road trip. Caitlin Clark spoke recently about the team’s struggles and the need to play better.The Fever will start to win more games when they start defending more consistently. Their 105.0 defensive rating is 10th in the league, and that just won’t cut it for a team with championship expectations.
Caitlin Clark said she knows she needs to play better after her team's .500 start to the season. pic.twitter.com/Y3RRGs7ODo
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 2, 2026 Los Angeles Sparks (4-5) | Prior Rank: 8 - The Sparks have fallen below .500 again after going 1-2 in their last three games. It’s not a surprise that the Sparks have struggled recently since they’ve had to play without Kelsey Plum — the league’s leading scorer — who is averaging 26.8 points per game.
Plum sustained a right ankle sprain in practice on May 26 and is considered day-to-day but so far in the three games without her, the Sparks have struggled to find their offense.
Chicago Sky (3-6) | Prior Rank: 9 - The Sky have not won a game since losing Rickea Jackson to a season-ending ACL injury. They are on a five-game losing streak, which is currently the second-longest active losing streak in the league.
The Sky will face the Connecticut Sun on Friday but after that, their next five games are against teams with .500 or better records. Jackson is a big loss, but Chicago must turn things around quickly before the sky falls on their season.
Seattle Storm (3-7) | Prior Rank: 12 - The Storm drop one spot after losing three games in a row. It’s hard to assess the ceiling of this Seattle team or figure out their identity while they are missing key players.
Dominique Malonga has missed their last seven games after entering the league’s concussion protocols and they’re still missing Ezi Magbegor, who sustained a right foot injury in overseas play and has yet to play this season.
Phoenix Mercury (2-8) | Prior Rank: 14 - The Mercury’s freefall continues. They have lost their last six games and have the longest active losing streak in the league. It’s a stunning start for a team that made the WNBA Finals last season and had preseason championship expectations this yer, and now it’s unclear whether this team will even make the playoffs.
Tier 4: Rebuilding
Connecticut Sun (2-9) | Prior Rank: 15 - The Sun are 1-1 in their last two games since getting their point guard, Leïla Lacan, back into the fold.
Even though they lost on Tuesday to the Dream, the Sun were competitive through the first three quarters of the game. Lacan has infused some new energy into the team but only time will tell if this translates into more wins for this young squad.
