The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game has officially concluded and the Olympic break is now underway. Some of the best players that the league has to offer will head to Paris as they attempt to capture a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Once they return, the final push for the 2024 WNBA Playoffs will begin.
Every team has played at least 24 games, leaving no more than 16 opportunities on each team's schedule to improve their postseason seeding. With an extensive period of time off, however, much could change as teams struggle to get back into a rhythm.
Before evaluating what could be different about the final stretch of the 2024 season, however, it's crucial to look at what's transpired thus far.
As far as contending is concerned, the 12 WNBA teams are ranked as follows.
The Dallas Wings began the season at 3-2, securing wins over the Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks, and Phoenix Mercury. Unfortunately, the Wings have gone 3-17 over the past 20 games, often finding themselves on the wrong end of a blowout.
Arike Ogunbowale remains one of the best players in the WNBA, as evidenced by her winning All-Star Game MVP for the second time since 2021, but Dallas has been dreadful as a team.
The Wings almost avoided the No. 12 spot due to the simple fact that they've begun to look more competitive in recent weeks, but they also lost twice to the Los Angeles Sparks. They've gone 3-6 over the past nine games, snapping an 11-game losing streak and even defeating the Minnesota Lynx.
Ogunbowale gives Dallas a chance against any opponent, but the Wings need to build upon the recent uptick in performance before they can move up this list.
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.
It seems a bit crazy to herald the play of a 6-19 team, but the Washington Mystics are playing quite well. Unfortunately, Washington began the season at 0-12 and may have lost the opportunity to compete in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs.
In saying that, Washington is 6-7 over its past 13 games, routinely playing well in both victory and defeat.
The Mystics picked up wins over the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, which are on pace for postseason appearances. It also pushed the Connecticut Sun to the limit before ultimately falling 94-91 in overtime.
It's unfortunate that Washington struggled so mightily early in the season, but it's a testament to the strength of the locker room that it continues to compete.
The Chicago Sky have been trending upward since starting the season at 4-9. Led by Rookie of the Year candidate Angel Reese, dynamic scorer Chennedy Carter, and the all-around production of Marina Mabrey, Chicago is 6-5 over the past 11 outings.
The Sky are currently the No. 8 seed in the playoff hunt, and recent performances suggest they could reach .500 by the end of the season.
Reese recently made waves by setting the all-time WNBA record with 15 consecutive double-doubles. Carter hasn't received as much fanfare, but has been tremendous in recent games, scoring 20-plus points in seven of the past 10 outings.
Led by Carter's 34 points, the Sky recently upset the Las Vegas Aces heading into the Olympic break and look the part of a team that could pull off a massive postseason upset.
The Phoenix Mercury are one of six teams with an above-.500 record. Phoenix has also sent three players to Paris to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, with Kahleah Cooper, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi representing Team USA.
Two losses in two weeks to the Indiana Fever push Phoenix down the list a bit, but they remain as viable a threat to the higher seeds as any team in the WNBA.
Phoenix is 4-2 over the past six games, as well as 10-7 over the past 17. Cooper is rounding into All-WNBA form at the perfect time, with three 30-point games in July and a 25-point and 10-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Sparks that gave the Mercury a pivotal win.
It's been a season of ebbs and flows for the Mercury, but any team with Cooper, Griner, and Taurasi has a chance to make a run late in the season.
The Indiana Fever might be the best possible 11-15 team. Since starting at 3-10, the Fever have gone 8-5 with victories over some of the top contenders in the WNBA, including the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and Phoenix Mercury.
That recent win over Phoenix propels Indiana into the No. 6 spot, even with 2.5 games between them in the current postseason standings.
Indiana sent three players to the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game: Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell. All three have been spectacular this season, with Clark arguably leading the Rookie of the Year race and ranking No. 1 in the WNBA in assists per game.
Indiana still has ground to gain, but it's been a tale of two halves for a team that went 3-10 during its first 13 games and 8-5 over its past 13.
The Minnesota Lynx rank No. 1 in the WNBA in defensive rating, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent three-point field goal percentage. It's a pivotal reason Minnesota is regarded as a team that's perfectly suited for the postseason environment.
After jumping out to a 13-3 record, however, the Lynx have gone 4-5 over the past nine games—and it'd be difficult to rank a team in the midst of an extended below-.500 stretch higher than this.
A recent loss to the Indiana Fever called the order on these rankings into question a bit, but the disparity in overall record was too much to discount. Even with the recent woes, the Lynx have been one of the best teams in the WNBA this season.
The best defensive team in the league, Minnesota will look to Team USA star Napheesa Collier to help it get back on track after the Olympic break.
The Connecticut Sun are the No. 2 seed in the WNBA, making a No. 4 ranking tough to justify. The reality, however, is that the Sun have hit something of a wall since beginning the season at 13-1—while the teams in front of them have gained steam.
Connecticut has gone 5-5 over its past 10 games, falling to each of the three teams ahead of it in the power rankings and routinely struggling to overcome the No. 1 ranked squad.
Connecticut fell 85-74 to the Las Vegas Aces on June 21 and lost 72-61 against the Seattle Storm the next time out. It's since lost a 78-74 game to the Atlanta Deam and fallen twice against the New York Liberty, albeit while defeating the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury.
Connecticut can easily climb back up this list, and remains one of the top contenders in the WNBA, but the recent woes can't be overlooked.
After the No. 1 team on this list, a case could be made that hottest squad in the WNBA is the Seattle Storm. Fourth in the standings, Seattle is 8-2 over its past 10 games, including wins over the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx.
The only reason Seattle is at No. 3 instead of No. 2 is the fact that one of its two losses during that stretch was to the team directly ahead of it.
Led by Team USA star Jewell Loyd and former league MVP Nneka Ogwumike, the Storm are in contender-level form. The two have helped Seattle rank third in net rating and fourth in offensive rating through 25 games.
Throw in the fact that Seattle is third in the WNBA in defensive rating, with recent statement wins over the Lynx and Sun, and they justifiably crack the top three.
The two-time defending WNBA champions have sent three players to the 2024 Summer Olympics. Chelsea Gray, MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson, and Jackie Young will look to pick up where they left off in the WNBA by helping Team USA win at the highest level.
As for why the No. 5 seed is the No. 2 ranked team in the WNBA, look no further than the past 12 games—during which Las Vegas is 10-2.
During that 10-2 stretch, the Aces have defeated the Seattle Storm twice and the Connecticut Sun once. Yes, many of the other games have been against bottom-tier opponents, but Las Vegas' marquee wins have balanced out the narrative.
Winning back-to-back championships does wonders for a team's legitimacy, as well, making Wilson and the Aces a tough team to rank any lower than this.
There isn't another rational option for the top spot in the WNBA power rankings at this stage of the season. The New York Liberty are well on their way to the No. 1 seed with a league-leading record of 21-4 that's setting a championship-winning pace.
With a win percentage of .840 that has New York en route to a 33-7 finish, there simply isn't another team in the WNBA that can match their greatness exiting the All-Star break.
In addition to having the best record in the WNBA, the Liberty rank No. 1 in point differential, net rating, and offensive rating. New York also has the best home record in the league at 12-1 and the top road record at 9-3.
Throw in the fact that the Liberty have won 17 of their past 21 games, and there's no way around the fact that they're the No. 1 team in the WNBA.
As the Liberty await the resumption of the 2024 season, two of its top players will be competing for international glory in Paris: Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart. Both will also be in the running for All-WNBA nods if they maintain their current form, as will All-Star big Jonquel Jones.
Once the games resume in August, expect the Liberty to pick up where they left off as they continue to set the pace for the rest of the WNBA.