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WNBA Power Rankings: Aces are No. 1, Sparks at No. 6 after close losses to Sun, Lynx

June 20, 2023

The 2023 WNBA season has passed its quarter mark, meaning all 12 teams have played at least the first 10 games of their expanded 40-game schedules, the longest in the league’s 27-year history.

The Sparks are currently 5-6 with wins against the Phoenix Mercury (twice), Seattle Storm, Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings and losses to the Las Vegas Aces (twice), Minnesota Lynx (twice), Connecticut Sun and Seattle.

As we get closer to the All-Star Game on Saturday, July 15 in Las Vegas, every team still has a realistic shot at a coveted playoff appearance, which requires a top-eight finish in the standings.

The rankings (through games of Sunday, June 18):

1. Las Vegas Aces (10-1): The defending WNBA champions are led by two-time MVP forward A’ja Wilson. Wilson is averaging 18.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, which is on par with the career averages for the 2018 WNBA Rookie of the Year. However, it is All-Star guard Jackie Young who is averaging a team-high 20.8 points per game on 59.9% shooting from the field and 46.8% from 3-point range. Along with Kelsey Plum and former Sparks Candace Parker and Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas has five former All-Stars in a superb starting lineup. In fact, on Sunday, Parker became the only player in WNBA history with at least 6,500 points, 3,000 rebounds, 1,500 assists, 600 blocked shots, and 500 steals.

2. Connecticut Sun (9-3): Alyssa Thomas should be considered an early season MVP candidate, as the point power forward is averaging 15 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.7 assists. Thomas is a legitimate triple-double threat every time she takes the court for Connecticut.

3. New York Liberty (7-3): The Liberty are led by two-time WNBA champion Breanna Stewart, who is averaging 23.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Stewart, second in the league in scoring and rebounding, joins Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot, Jonquel Jones and Betnijah to make the Liberty the other team featuring a starting lineup comprised of former All-Stars.

4. Washington Mystics (7-4): The Mystics are led by two-time league MVP Elena Delle Donne, who is averaging 18.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. She is averaging a team-high 31.1 minutes per game after being limited by injuries since the end of the 2019 season, when the Mystics won the championship.

5. Atlanta Dream (5-5): The Dream are on a three-game winning streak thanks to guard Allisha Gray, who averaged 22.7 points, six rebounds and two assists in important road wins against New York, Connecticut and Indiana. Gray is averaging a team-high 18.7 ppg for the season, while still being asked to be the team’s primary defensive stopper.

6. Los Angeles Sparks (5-6): Seven-time All-Star forward Nneka Ogwumike is averaging 19.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists this season, her best statistical season since her 2016 league MVP season. Recently, Ogwumike became the sixth player in WNBA history with at least 5,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 600 assists, 500 steals and 200 blocks, something she achieved in 327 regular-season games. The Sparks are 1-3 since their 77-62 win at home against the Chicago Sky on June 9 and have started their five-game homestand with two losses. Ogwumike, who will likely earn her eighth All-Star appearance this summer, said she’s looking forward to being joined by some of her Sparks teammates this time around. The other likely candidates are Jordin Canada, Lexie Brown and Dearica Hamby.

Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike drives up the court during the first half of their game against the Chicago Sky on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

7. Dallas Wings (5-7): The Wings have unleashed the team’s unicorn – Satou Sabally. The 6-foot-4 point forward is averaging a career-high 20.9 points, 11 rebounds, and 3.1 assists under first-year head coach Latricia Trammell, who was a Sparks assistant coach for four years before moving into the first chair in Dallas.

8. Indiana Fever (4-7): Indiana already has four wins this season after going 5-31 in 2022. Rookie forward Aliyah Boston has been a difference-maker, averaging 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Boston, the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, has the inside track to being named the league’s Rookie of the Year.

9. Chicago Sky (5-7): The Sky have lost four straight games after starting the season 5-3. Guard Marina Mabrey, who was selected in the second round of the 2019 WNBA Draft by the Sparks, is averaging a team-high 17.5 points.

10. Minnesota Lynx (3-8): The Lynx are 3-2 in their last five games and All-Star forward Napheesa Collier (20.5 ppg, 7 rpg) deserves a lot of credit for that.

11. Seattle Storm (3-7): All-Star guard Jewell Loyd is leading the league in scoring at 25.4 ppg. She scored a season-high 39 in Seattle’s 109-103 win at Dallas on Saturday.

12. Phoenix Mercury (2-8): The Mercury have struggled this season and have lost three straight with Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi sidelined with hip and hamstring injuries, respectively. If Griner, who has been playing like an All-Star, gets healthy, the Mercury should move up in the standings.

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Orange County Register

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WNBA Power Rankings: Aces are No. 1, Sparks at No. 6 after close losses to Sun, Lynx

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