The 2025 WNBA regular season is winding down, with only a handful of games left on the calendar. All eyes are now on the playoffs, and on which teams look poised to make a postseason run.
No group enters the playoffs with more momentum than the Aces. Las Vegas is riding a staggering 14-game winning streak, which includes a Sept. 4 victory over the Lynx. A’ja Wilson scored 31 points in that matchup and followed it up with another 31-point performance against the Sky on Sunday to break the record for the most 30-point games in a single season (13). The three-time MVP is making a strong case to win the award for a fourth time, leading her side to one of the more impressive turnarounds in league history.
If the Aces are charging into the postseason, then the reigning champions, the Liberty, are limping. New York, like many teams in the WNBA, has been rattled by injuries this season, with Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, and Sabrina Ionescu (among others) missing time. The Liberty’s Big 3 have played in just 13 games together this year, as Sandy Brondello experimented with countless lineups to account for mounting absences. If Stewart, Jones and Ionescu are all healthy for the playoffs, do the Liberty have enough time to pull it together and tap into the chemistry that led them to the 2024 title?
Atop the standings sit the Lynx, who are the odds-on title favorites. On a mission to avenge its 2024 Finals loss, Minnesota is motivated by revenge. Cheryl Reeve’s team has been locked in all season, even holding steady when Napheesa Collier was sidelined with an ankle injury. With their star back and the surrounding cast firing on all cylinders, the Lynx will hope their regular-season consistency translates to postseason success.
Here are the last power rankings of the regular season:
1. Minnesota Lynx
Previous ranking: 1
The Lynx fell to the Aces in Las Vegas this week, but rebounded with a six-point win over a solid Valkyries side on Saturday. Natisha Hiedeman scored 22 and 24 points, respectively, in those two outings, providing quality production off the bench for Minnesota, which will be crucial in the playoffs.
2. Las Vegas Aces
Previous ranking: 2
Will Las Vegas extend its winning streak to 15 games to close out the regular season? With matchups against the Sky and Sparks left on the docket, it looks highly likely. The Aces are riding high into the postseason, with Wilson in elite form and players like Jackie Young making an impact on both sides of the ball.
3. Atlanta Dream
Previous ranking: 3
The Dream are coasting into the playoffs with a lighter schedule to end the year, having won five consecutive games against the Wings, Sun and Sparks (the latter two they played twice). Allisha Gray is an outside MVP candidate, averaging 18.5 points and 5.4 rebounds to help lead Karl Smesko’s balanced offense. They may not be the flashiest team, but make no mistake, the Dream are certainly title contenders.
4. Phoenix Mercury
Previous ranking: 4
Phoenix had a late-season stumble, falling to the Sun 87–84 on Sunday in a game with playoff seeding implications. There are moments when this group can look vulnerable, but the Mercury have a weapon no other team comes close to replicating: Alyssa Thomas. She can truly do it all, with Thomas shape-shifting into what Phoenix needs on a given night. Another player in the MVP conversation, Thomas has recorded a remarkable seven triple-doubles this season, nearly averaging a triple-double with 15.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game.
5. Golden State Valkyries
Previous ranking: 5
The Valkyries are playing with house money. No matter how well it performs in the postseason, Golden State will be heralded for what it accomplished in its debut season, becoming the first WNBA expansion team to advance to the playoffs in its inaugural campaign. Natalie Nakase is a favorite for Coach of the Year after implementing a win-by-committee and disciplined identity in Golden State.
6. New York Liberty
Previous ranking: 6
A win over the Storm on Friday helped blunt a two-game Liberty slide. Stewart led the way for New York, logging 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five blocks against Seattle. The Liberty will need more play like this from Stewart as they look to get healthy in time for a playoff push.
7. Indiana Fever
Previous ranking: 8
The good news: Indiana clinched a playoff berth. The bad news: Caitlin Clark won’t be there. The Fever and Clark announced last week that the star would not play for the remainder of the year, instead focusing on rehabbing her right groin injury. After a series of injuries to Clark, Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham, and others, Indiana’s championship aspirations have dwindled, and instead, Stephanie White’s team will hope for a respectable postseason outing before directing its attention to next season.
8. Seattle Storm
Previous ranking: 7
Falling to the Sparks and Liberty in their past two games, the Storm have yet to lock up a playoff berth. Seattle surely did not envision being in this position at the end of the season with juggernauts like Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins on its roster. Now, it all comes down to Seattle’s final regular-season game against the Valkyries on Tuesday.
9. Los Angeles Sparks
Previous ranking: 9
The Sparks kept their narrow playoff hopes alive with a win over the Wings on Sunday. Upcoming matchups against the Mercury and Aces makes punching a postseason ticket a tall task for Los Angeles, but all hope is not lost.
10. Connecticut Sun
Previous ranking: 11
It may all just be cosmetic with the Sun out of playoff contention, but a win over the Mercury is something to celebrate nonetheless. Rookie Aneesah Morrow pulled down a whopping 13 rebounds—in addition to scoring nine points—in the win.
11. Washington Mystics
Previous ranking: 10
The Mystics have lost nine consecutive games to close out the season, with a matchup against the Liberty their last on the schedule. As always, the high point of the campaign was the promise of rookie duo Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. Citron broke the franchise’s single-season points record (644) during Sunday’s loss to the Fever, with the young star serving as a bright light for Washington’s future.
12. Dallas Wings
Previous ranking: 13
Like the Mystics, the Wings are ending the season on a considerable slide, having lost 10 consecutive games. And much like Washington, Dallas’s eye is on the future and building around its once-in-a-generation player, Paige Bueckers, who has all but locked up the Rookie of the Year award.
13. Chicago Sky
Previous ranking: 12
It’s been a dramatic end to the Sky’s season, with Chicago suspending Angel Reese for half a game for making “statements detrimental to the team.” The Chicago Tribune published a story in which Reese made comments criticizing the current state of the Sky franchise. Not only is there a cloud hanging over the end of Chicago’s season, but there is also a significant question mark about the team’s future.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as WNBA Power Rankings: Who Is Charging Into the Playoffs? .
