It’s a month into the 2025 WNBA season and every team now has at least one loss on its record. The New York Liberty were the last undefeated squad standing after the Minnesota Lynx fell to the Seattle Storm in a thriller on Wednesday. Then, Caitlin Clark spoiled the Liberty’s perfect run, helping the Fever to a 102–88 victory in her first outing following a five-game absence due to a quad injury.
The Atlanta Dream also had an eventful week, headlined by a pair of impressive individual performances in back-to-back dismantlings of the Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics. With nine three-pointers made over the Sky, Rhyne Howard set a franchise record and tied the league record for most threes made in a single game. She dropped 36 points against Chicago, shooting 9-for-19 from beyond the arc. Then, during the Dream’s Sunday showdown against the Mystics, Howard became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 300 career three-pointers, hitting the mark in 114 games. Allisha Gray—who is second in the league behind Naphessa Collier in points per game with 21, and leads the WNBA in win shares (3.2), per Basketball Reference—got in on the action during the blowout in Washington, scoring a career-high 32 points, shooting 10-for-14 from the field and 6-for-9 from three.
Yes, these outbursts came against a struggling Sky team and young Mystics squad, but the Dream are no illusion. In his first season in Atlanta, coach Karl Smesko has led his team to an 8–3 start, quickly establishing a palpable identity while incorporating free-agent acquisitions Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner into the starting lineup. He’s gotten quality minutes from his bench as well, with Naz Hillmon logging a staggering 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes against Washington. In her fourth year in Atlanta, Hillmon has started to carve out her role as an impact player, boasting the third-highest net rating of players averaging over five minutes (+29.3), behind only New York’s Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich. Atlanta’s strength will be tested as it makes the trek to Brooklyn to take on the reigning champions Liberty on Tuesday, in one of the week’s most highly anticipated games.
Here are this week’s WNBA power rankings:
1. New York Liberty
Yes, the Liberty’s nine-game win streak was snapped by the Fever, but New York remains the team to beat. Sandy Brondello’s squad was without starters Jones (ankle injury) and Fiebich (away for EuroBasket), so any result should be taken with a grain of salt.
2. Minnesota Lynx
The Lynx bounced back from their loss in Seattle with a 23-point pounding of the Sparks led by a 32-point outing from Collier. She continues her MVP campaign, averaging 26.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
3. Atlanta Dream
After Gray’s career night against Washington, Smesko said, “She’s such an exceptional talent. The year she is having is extraordinary. Every game she looks more and more comfortable.” Atlanta will need Gray and Howard to continue their hot streaks as an easier stretch of the team’s schedule is interrupted by a trip to New York.
4. Indiana Fever
The tale of two Fevers. Indiana looks like a different team when Clark is on the floor. She scored 32 points in the team’s win over the Liberty, helping the Fever improve to a 5–5 record after the squad lost three of the five games Clark missed.
5. Seattle Storm
You never quite know what you are going to get from the Storm. Seattle charged to a rousing win over a previously undefeated Lynx team before narrowly falling to a tough Valkyries side in a low-scoring affair. The pieces are there for the Storm, it’s just about how and when they come together.
6. Phoenix Mercury
The Mercury have managed to weather a storm of early-season injuries and are 8–4 to start the 2025 campaign. After undergoing knee surgery in May, star guard Kahleah Copper made her season debut Sunday, scoring 11 points in 18 minutes in Phoenix’s win over the Aces. The Mercury are already in a decent position, making the prospect of Copper, Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally finally sharing the floor a scary one for opponents.
7. Golden State Valkyries
Natalie Nakase’s Valkyries are one of the more fun surprises of the season. There were limited expectations for the expansion franchise, but Golden State has been eager to assert itself in the team's early goings. Riding a three-game winning streak, the Valkyries have proven themselves to be a tenacious group with the league’s sixth-highest defensive rating.
8. Las Vegas Aces
A’ja Wilson missed the Aces’ last two games against the Wings and Mercury due to concussion protocol, adding to the team’s mounting woes. Las Vegas is in an unfamiliar position, with the group working to get on the same page as Jewell Loyd struggles to find her footing.
9. Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks’ win over the Aces was sandwiched between two disappointing losses—a winnable OT defeat at the hands of the Valkyries and a blowout by the Lynx. The silver lining: Rickea Jackson scored a career-high 30 points against the Aces and looks to be finding her form after being sidelined in May due to concussion protocol.
10. Washington Mystics
A week after hanging 104 points on Connecticut in an emphatic win, the Mystics managed a measly 56 points in a brutal loss to the Dream. Washington’s offense may be sputtering, but there is still a lot to like about the rookie duo of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen in what should be a building year for the Mystics.
11. Chicago Sky
Angel Reese scored the first triple-double of her career, notching 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in Chicago’s 78–66 win over Connecticut on Sunday. The Sky will try to ride that momentum into a tough week of games against the Mystics, Mercury and Dream.
12. Dallas Wings
The Wings were on the precipice of securing their second win of the season before falling apart down the stretch and losing to the Aces, 88–84, on Friday. The good news: Paige Bueckers is back in action after missing time due to concussion protocol and marked her return with a 35-point outing in Dallas’ loss to Phoenix.
13. Connecticut Sun
Connecticut incurred back-to-back double-digit losses this week to two teams with losing records (Chicago and Washington). The Sun have struggled to get things going on both ends of the floor, boasting the lowest offensive and defensive ratings in the league. Things are looking dismal in Uncasville, Conn.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as WNBA Power Rankings: Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray Have the Dream Cruising.