While the W’s least winning teams continued to stack losses, several of the top teams in the standings saw their extended winning streaks snapped over the past seven days — some in dramatic fashion, some anticlimactically. For this reason, we’ll call last week the official week of streak-busting.
SCHEDULE: Check out the full WNBA on NBC, Peacock slate of games
We’ll begin in Texas, where the Dallas Wings did to the Las Vegas Aces exactly what the Minnesota Lynx had done to them one week prior: host one of the hottest teams in the WNBA and send them out of town with more than a 25-point loss. The Wings’ dismantling of the Aces on June 15 was particularly eye-opening, being that it was the two teams’ second matchup in the past three weeks, and a contest that A’ja Wilson and Co. were surely looking to perform well in after squandering a double-digit lead in the loss at Dallas at the end of May. There were no double-digit leads for the Aces to protect in the June 15 matchup, though — they never led, were outperformed in just about every facet of the game, and Jessica Sheppard was again the best player on the floor on a court shared with multiple No. 1 picks and a four-time league MVP. The 30-point win for Dallas was probably one of the most unforeseen outcomes.
The Golden State Valkyries overwhelmed the Los Angeles Sparks later on that night of June 15 in a similar way that the Wings did the Aces. Los Angeles, while not a recent champion or a team at the top of many people’s championship-contenders lists, did enter Monday’s contest as a finally healthy group packing serious offensive firepower and starting to mesh well amid a three-game winning streak. But those strengths and good vibes mattered very little to Golden State, which forced 16 turnovers, allowed only three three-pointers, and held the Sparks to an incredibly low 33 percent on field goals in what was undoubtedly their worst offensive performance of the season. The 78-58 final score ended the Sparks’ three-game win streak and grew the Valkyries’ streak to three and then eventually four games before Minnesota stepped into the streak-busting role days later at the Chase Center.
A red-hot Indiana Fever team had won four straight games before dropping a close one at home to Angel Reese (21 points, 11 rebounds) and the Atlanta Dream in the middle of last week, and then by 17 points to the Dream in a rematch over the weekend, when all five Atlanta starters scored in double figures for the second straight game against Indiana.
But the league’s longest streak of them all concluded at Barclays Center on Friday in maybe the most unexpected outcome of the week, when the Washington Mystics went on the road and defeated the New York Liberty, 86-83. In a game that Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, and Satou Sabally all played in, none of them played exceptionally by their standards. At the same time, all five Mystics starters scored in double figures and finished the game with positive plus-minus ratings. In simpler terms: Washington’s core outplayed New York’s, ending the Liberty’s streak of wins at eight games.
The big takeaway from last week’s action doesn’t differ from weeks past or from my overarching belief about the season as a whole: parity has made predicting what happens in September and October very tough. There doesn’t appear to be a 2003 Aces or a 2024 Liberty — at least, not at the moment. Maybe things could change in the coming weeks.
Powell: Why the Commissioner’s Cup still matters in 2026
THE WEEK AHEAD
Chicago Sky at Connecticut Sun
(Monday, June 22 at 7 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass)
Right off the bat, we start the week with a battle between two teams in dire need of a win. For the Sky, they’ll enter having lost five straight games, as the Sun’s drought is at seven consecutive games. Both have come dangerously close to winning games recently, but have found ways to let go of the rope. Chicago will take the floor with the better offense and defense, and a 1-0 season series lead over Connecticut after its 85-80 win on June 5 (Chicago’s last victory). The Sky have lost back-to-back games by one point; perhaps this is the game that the basketball gods are on their side.
Phoenix Mercury at Indiana Fever
(Monday, June 22 at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network)
Phoenix hasn’t had many quality wins this season. The only one thus far came on opening weekend in a 33-point win over the Aces to spoil their ring ceremony. The Mercury’s other four wins have come against the Sky, Storm (twice), and the Fire — all teams with below-.500 records at the moment. They’ll get two chances over the next few days to secure a rare victory over a good team, with two straight games against the Fever. Indiana, fresh off back-to-back losses to the Dream, will likely come into Monday’s matchup with a point to prove. The Fever have typically responded well to losses this season, which, along with Phoenix’s need to start stacking wins, should make for a very competitive battle in their first matchup of the season.
New York Liberty at Las Vegas Aces
(Tuesday, June 23 at 10 p.m. ET on USA Network)
We get a week-early preview of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship when the Aces host the Liberty at Michelob ULTRA Arena this Tuesday. How much of the playbook and schematics will each team show the other before the prize fight on June 30? Maybe they won’t hold back, as the regular-season win holds more long-term importance in the form of seeding, homecourt advantage, and tie-breakers come playoff time. Either way, it’ll be a fun battle between the two most recent champions. The stars, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, should be available to play, while health down the rest of the roster shouldn’t be much of an issue for either team, pending Chennedy Carter’s illness. It should be a doozy in Sin City.
Atlanta Dream at Golden State Valkyries
(Friday, June 26 at 10 p.m. ET on ION)
This same matchup will have already taken place two days earlier in the Bay Area. So, when the two run it back, one of these teams will be looking for revenge, while the other tries to escape with back-to-back wins over a very quality opponent. The rematch will be intriguing for several reasons, chief among them is how each offense tries to attack the other’s strong defense. They both get after the ball and force turnovers on the defensive end, but if turnovers are a non-factor, can Atlanta slow down Golden State’s three-point-heavy approach? Will Golden State prevent Atlanta from scoring in the interior? Regardless, we should expect a hard-fought battle between two teams that play hard and with grit.
Los Angeles Sparks at Indiana Fever
(Saturday, June 27 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount+)
If you’re anything like me, you’re tuning into this one almost exclusively for the offensive fireworks. The two teams’ offensive ratings may not tell the full story here — the Sparks are as dangerous as any offense when Kelsey Plum is active and on the floor, and behind the dynamic backcourt duo of Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever are the highest-scoring team in the WNBA. But neither the Fever nor the Sparks has consistently performed at a high level, which could lead to any sort of final score on Saturday. Indiana took care of Los Angeles in the first week of the season, winning 87-78. I’d expect a higher-scoring game in front of the national TV audience on Saturday.
