Amid so much change, there is a constant, and that is the Las Vegas Aces. The defending champions — and the winners of three of the last four WNBA titles — once again start the year atop the pack as the favorites to repeat and extend their dynastic run. The first edition of the 2026 power rankings begins there.
1. Las Vegas Aces
All five starters return for Las Vegas along with rotation players Jewell Loyd, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus and Dana Evans. Even though Evans will miss the first part of the season with injury, the Aces have backfilled with Chennedy Carter and Stephanie Talbot. Las Vegas also compensated for the departure of Kiah Stokes by bringing in veteran big Brianna Turner, who offers defensive versatility. The Aces are deeper than they have been in recent years, and they still have the best player and coach in the world in A’ja Wilson and Becky Hammon. All roads to the 2026 title go through Las Vegas.
2. New York Liberty
Whatever questions exist about how the Liberty will perform in the playoffs under a first-year coach don’t really matter for these preseason power rankings. New York has an outstanding top four with Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and the newly-acquired Satou Sabally. Their length is truly impressive with that quartet along with Leonie Fiebich and Han Xu, and that doesn’t even include former All-Star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. General manager Jonathan Kolb has built a proven, stacked roster that can handle the ups and downs of a 44-game regular season.
3. Atlanta Dream
The Dream were a regular-season buzzsaw in 2026 — their plus-9.3 net rating was second-best in the league — and they should improve with one more season of experience in second-year head coach Karl Smesko’s system. Angel Reese adds to their overall talent level, as do rookies Isabel Borlase and Madina Okot. Atlanta does a lot of things well that make the team hard to beat during the regular season: The Dream rebound the ball, don’t commit many turnovers or fouls, and take a high volume of 3-pointers. Assuming Brionna Jones has a reasonable injury recovery timeline, Atlanta will rack up a lot of wins.
4. Indiana Fever
Although Indiana beat Atlanta in the postseason in 2025, this ranking prioritizes the 44 games that preceded that three-game series. The Fever still project as a contender with the core trio of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston. Their offensive upside is as good as any team in the WNBA with the pick-and-roll combination of Clark and Boston, and Mitchell’s overall scoring and playmaking ability. Throw in the 3-point shooting of Lexie Hull, Sophie Cunningham and Ty Harris, and defenses will have their hands full. Indiana’s defense showed up in a big way in the 2025 postseason but the personnel was very different due to all of the Fever’s injuries. The ability to contain the ball, particularly from the perimeter — maybe this is where rookie Raven Johnson comes into play — will determine Indiana’s ceiling.
5. Dallas Wings
Dallas has been the most impressive team during the WNBA preseason, but it is still the preseason. Yet, the reason to be excited about the Wings, even after they tied for the fewest wins in the 2025 season, is that Paige Bueckers looks incredible, continuing a strong run of play through Unrivaled and the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament. New coach Jose Fernandez has the right idea for how to use Bueckers, and Dallas’ offensive execution looks better than most teams in June. The Wings are another squad that needs to figure out their defense, but if this offensive production carries into the regular season — look out.
6. Phoenix Mercury
Alyssa Thomas wins games in the regular season. She brings energy that even superstars find hard to match on a daily basis and sets the tone with her defense and playmaking. Phoenix has a collection of veterans that knows how to play together in Thomas, Kahleah Copper, DeWanna Bonner and Sami Whitcomb, plus two young returning rotation players in Monique Akoa Makani and Natasha Mack. The risk here is that Bonner and Whitcomb’s production starts to fall off given both are in their late 30s, but the bet is that the Mercury front office found enough depth on the end of the roster in Europe, just as it did in 2025, to keep the trains on track.
7. Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks were the best offensive team in WNBA history to miss the playoffs in 2025, and they managed to add some defensive reinforcements without overcorrecting their ability to score. Nneka Ogwumike is a much stronger interior defender than Azurá Stevens, Ariel Atkins contains the ball at an elite level compared to Rickea Jackson, and Cameron Brink will be healthy for a full season. Assuming Kelsey Plum can handle more lead guard responsibilities with the departure of Julie Allemand, L.A. should still put up points and defend well enough to make the postseason.
8. Minnesota Lynx
Sometimes I wonder if Cheryl Reeve prefers coaching contenders or teams that are underestimated. The Lynx lost a ton of talent in the offseason (Alanna Smith, Bridget Carleton, Natisa Hiedeman, Jessica Shepard, DiJonai Carrington and Maria Kliundikova) and will be without Napheesa Collier to start the season as she recovers from ankle surgeries. But Minnesota has missed the playoffs only once in Reeve’s tenure, and it seems silly to be against her to get the Lynx back there. The core is eager to prove itself after the way the last two postseasons ended. Rookie Olivia Miles brings playmaking to help move Courtney Williams off the ball, and Czech rookies Emma Cechova and Eliska Hamzova are primed to get off to strong starts. Even if the names are unfamiliar, Reeve has a lot to work with.
9. Golden State Valkyries
The Valkyries added Gabby Williams to an already terrifying defensive outfit. Attempting to dribble the ball against a backcourt of Williams and Veronica seems unpleasant, at best, and Golden State has a parade of switchable wings flanking the pair. If the interior defense holds up — Iliana Rupert has never been a full-time defensive five and Kiah Stokes has significant offensive liabilities — the Valkyries could have the WNBA’s best defense. Questions about their spacing and scoring keep them just outside the playoff picture for now.
10. Chicago Sky
The Sky are essentially unrecognizable from last season, which is a good thing, considering they won 10 games and were a tough watch regardless of the result. They have capable veterans in Skylar Diggins and Azurá Stevens, young players in Jacy Sheldon and Rickea Jackson who have proven themselves on at least one side of the ball, and some rookie lottery tickets in Gabriela Jaquez and Sydney Taylor. The question is how quickly the new pieces can all come together, because Tyler Marsh couldn’t establish a team identity as a rookie head coach. Nevertheless, Chicago will be trying to win because it does not control its 2027 first-round draft pick, and that puts the Sky above the teams in rebuilding or expansion mode.
11. Toronto Tempo
The Tempo have an intriguing collection of perimeter players, a lot of guards who can create a shot for themselves and their teammates like veterans Julie Allemand, Marina Mabrey, and Brittney Sykes, and youngsters Kiki Rice and Lexi Held. Even if the frontcourt has some questions — namely the injury histories of Nyara Sabally and Isabelle Harrison — that’s a good baseline for the squad. Sandy Brondello has never coached a team that missed the playoffs, and even if Toronto isn’t trying to make the postseason, her experience and understanding of the league should help the Tempo win more games than the average expansion club. Plus, Toronto should have a great home crowd as Canada’s team.
12. Connecticut Sun
Connecticut had a net rating of minus-0.5 points per 100 possessions when Leïla Lacan played last season; there is a lot to like about the defensive backcourt of her and Saniya Rivers, especially combined with the mobile frontcourt of Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Aaliyah Edwards and Aneesah Morrow. Scoring could get really ugly for the Sun when they’re not in transition — it’ll be interesting how the shooting of UCLA draftees Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker gets sprinkled in — but the floor of this team can’t be too low if the defense holds up. It’s worth noting that Lacan is still playing in the French league’s postseason and won’t be done in France until May 15 at the earliest.
13. Washington Mystics
The Mystics are super young — only two players have more than one season of WNBA experience — and they have no incentive to win games. But they do have two returning All-Stars in Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, and that’s a better present core than the teams ranked below them. This season is all about continuing to develop the 2025 draftees and coaching Lauren Betts, Georgia Amoore, and the rest of the 2026 rookie class to a similar level of success.
14. Seattle Storm
The Storm have the most exciting future frontcourt in the WNBA with Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam. The exact opposite could be said about their backcourt, were it not for the miraculous addition of Flau’jae Johnson on draft night. Johnson isn’t a point guard, and Hiedeman is more of a two guard than a one as well, so organizing the offense could be a problem. However, Malonga and Johnson will provide a hefty dose of highlights to distract from the lack of wins.
15. Portland Fire
The Fire should look like an expansion team in 2026. Considering the quality of the 2027 and 2028 WNBA Drafts, there is nothing wrong with that, so long as the organization is in alignment. There isn’t a ton of scoring pop on this team, even if Bridget Carleton and Karlie Samuelson can really shoot. Coach Alex Sarama can get creative and try out unique offensive and defensive schemes because the results likely won’t matter. Get weird, Portland.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, Golden State Valkyries, Portland Fire, Toronto Tempo, WNBA
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