In an alternate universe, Cameron Brink never got hurt and the Los Angeles Sparks are competing for a playoff berth. Reality, however, is not so kind, as the Sparks struggled with Brink on the court and have been even worse without her.
2-7 without Brink in the lineup, the Sparks are on their way to potentially securing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Los Angeles has won two of its past five games, surprisingly defeating the Las Vegas Aces and securing another victory over the Dallas Wings. Two wins over Dallas keep it out of the No. 12 spot, but the margin of error is virtually nonexistent.
Dearica Hamby has been fantastic, but the Sparks haven't been able to support her tremendous season with team success.
The Atlanta Dream are just 3.0 games back of potentially qualifying for the 2024 WNBA Playoffs. Unfortunately, Atlanta might also be the coldest team in the WNBA, losing 11 of its past 12 games after beginning the season at 6-6.
Atlanta still gets the benefit of the doubt as the No. 10 ranked team, but it's becoming more difficult by the week to not put them in the No. 12 spot.
Atlanta is as confusing a team as they come, as its one and only win over the past 12 games was over the 18-6 Connecticut Sun. It's also worth noting that five of its 11 losses in recent weeks were by single digits, with a number of games being truly competitive.
Until the Dream can start stringing some wins together, however, it's going to be impossible to go any higher than this while other teams are surging.