The New York Liberty are fresh off a WNBA Finals victory and are in position to make another deep postseason run in 2025. Teams such as the Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx could challenge them, though. Even the Indiana Fever have been often mentioned as a serious contender. Today, though, we are going to look at two surprising sleeper teams with legitimate opportunities to upset the Liberty and make championship runs.
The aforementioned teams, the Aces, Lynx and Fever, are all potential championship contenders. However, it would not be especially surprising if any of those teams, as well as the Liberty of course, reached the WNBA Finals. The following teams mentioned in this article could shock the WNBA world by making a Finals pursuit.
Los Angeles Sparks
From worst to first? It's unlikely, but it could happen for the Sparks.
Los Angeles finished with the worst record in 2024. They were clearly rebuilding, and injuries also impacted the team.
The Sparks improved the roster this past offseason, however, bringing in two-time WNBA champion and three-time All-Star Kelsey Plum. Rickea Jackson has an opportunity to be a star, while Dearica Hamby is becoming one of the better players in the league. Cameron Brink, the 2024 No. 2 overall pick, is also set to return from an injury that forced her to miss a significant portion of the 2024 campaign.
The Sparks also feature a respectable amount of depth. At the very least, this is a team that should be able to compete for a postseason position following their abysmal 2024 performance. If the Sparks can find their rhythm in the playoffs, though, perhaps they could upset the most talented teams in the league.
Phoenix Mercury
Can a team that lost arguably the greatest player of all-time (Diana Taurasi) to retirement and a star center (Brittney Griner) to free agency compete for a WNBA championship? Well, although it will be difficult, Phoenix has discovered a way to improve despite the two aforementioned departures.
The Mercury traded for stars Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally this offseason. Phoenix also has players such as Kahleah Copper on the roster. Finding success without Taurasi and Griner will not be a simple task, but the Mercury's roster additions will help matters.
The Liberty are still going to be among the favorites to win the 2025 WNBA Finals. The Aces, Lynx and Fever should not be counted out. However, the Mercury and Sparks are sleeper teams to monitor.