Week 4 Power Rankings: Inspiration from The Greatest


Note: WNBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Tuesday during the season, are the opinion of this writer and do not reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.

Not only was Muhammad Ali the greatest boxer to ever live, but he was also one of the greatest talkers the sports world has ever seen. He truly had the gift of jab and the gift of gab.

In celebration of his life, which ended at the age of 74 on Friday night, we present this week’s Power Rankings with a famous Ali quote relevant to all 12 WNBA teams.

Champ, your actions and words will continue to inspire us all long beyond your time here with us. Rest in Peace.

Click here to view this week’s AP Power Poll

1. Minnesota Lynx
Last Week: 1
2016 Record: 7-0
OffRtg: 103.7 (4); DefRtg: 89.1 (2); NetRtg: 14.6 (2)

“If you even dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize.”

When it came to deciding which 7-0 team should get the edge at the top of the Power Rankings, the default choice had to be the defending champs. The Lynx have not lost a game (not counting preseason) since hoisting the championship trophy last October, so they get the nod until a team finds a way to knock them off.

2. Los Angeles Sparks
Last Week: 2
2016 Record: 7-0
OffRtg: 105.2 (2); DefRtg: 85.8 (1); NetRtg: 19.4 (1)

“If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.”

The L.A. Sparks have not won a WNBA title since 2002 and early MVP favorite Candace Parker is determined to change that. The do-it-all forward has two MVPs to her credit, but has yet to reach the WNBA Finals. Maintaining the league’s top-ranked defense and second-ranked offense and winning games by an average of 15 points per game will help the Sparks achieve that goal.

3. New York Liberty
Last Week: 4
2016 Record: 4-3
OffRtg: 96.4 (10); DefRtg: 90.1 (3); NetRtg: 6.3 (3)

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.”

Is there a better way to describe a Bill Laimbeer squad? This Ali quote also fits Tina Charles to a tee as, like clockwork, she has spent the early part of the 2016 season dominating the competition. She leads the league in scoring (career-best 21.4 ppg) and rebounding (11.6 rpg) and is ninth in assists (career high 3.7 apg). After a week with games against last season’s Finals contenders (10-point loss to Minnesota, 32-point win over Indiana), the Liberty face another test Tuesday against the undefeated Sparks.

4. Atlanta Dream
Last Week: 3
2016 Record: 6-2
OffRtg: 99.4 (8); DefRtg: 95.0 (4); NetRtg: 4.4 (4)

“I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.”

When it comes to speed, no team plays at a faster pace than the Dream at 82.8 possessions per 40 minutes. The Dream were also fast to silence their critics that saw this as a rebuilding year in Atlanta. The Dream rode a five-game win streak to the top of the East standings. Despite a loss to Washington on Sunday, they remain atop the conference at 6-2 as they get set to host the defending champion Lynx on Friday night.

5. Chicago Sky
Last Week: 6
2016 Record: 4-4
OffRtg: 106.7 (1); DefRtg: 103.4 (8); NetRtg: 3.2 (5)

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

There is no better measure of service in the game of basketball than the assist, and the Sky rack up more service than any other team with a league-best 21.8 assists per game. They also feature the individual leader in the category — Jamierra Faulkner at 6.6 assists per game. After suffering a four-game losing streak in the opening weeks of the season, the Sky have bounced back with three straight wins (averaging 92 points per game during the run) and will try to make it four when they visit the Fever on Friday.

6. Indiana Fever
Last Week: 7
2016 Record: 4-4
OffRtg: 99.8 (7); DefRtg: 102.9 (6); NetRtg: -3.1 (7)

“I shook up the world.”

Apparently no one told Tiffany Mitchell that Breanna Stewart was supposed to have a clear path to the Rookie of the Year award this season. Mitchell continues to impress for the Fever, who got back to .500 with a win over Connecticut that featured a career-high 21 from Mitchell. The former South Carolina star has scored in double figures in all eight of her games as a pro. It was also the first game this season that saw Briann January back in the starting lineup as she continues to work her way back from offseason knee surgery.

7. Dallas Wings
Last Week: 5
2016 Record: 3-4
OffRtg: 101.2 (5); DefRtg: 103.2 (7); NetRtg: -1.9 (6)

“Don’t count the days; make the days count.”

As Wings fans continue to count the days until star guard Skylar Diggins returns to full strength, Dallas must continue to stay afloat without her. After a promising 3-1 start that even included a glimpse of Diggins in their Dallas home debut, the Wings have lost three straight games, including a 17-point loss to the defending champs in their only game last week. The Wings are back home this week for games against the 3-6 Mystics on Wednesday and the league’s other undefeated squad — the L.A. Sparks — on Saturday.

8. Phoenix Mercury
Last Week: 8
2016 Record: 2-5
OffRtg: 105.1 (3); DefRtg: 109.5 (12); NetRtg: -4.5 (8)

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”

All WNBA teams could use extended time training, as many don’t have their full allotment of players available during training camp and preseason and have to come together on the fly during the regular season. The Mercury are definitely in this boat as they are re-incorporating two star talents back into their starting lineup. Things started off slow (0-4), but the Mercury have won two of their last three to climb out of the cellar. How high they are able to climb will depend heavily on improving their league-worst defense, which is allowing 109.5 points per 100 possessions.

9. Seattle Storm
Last Week: 9
2016 Record: 3-5
OffRtg: 101.1 (6); DefRtg: 105.8 (10); NetRtg: -4.7 (9)

“I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I was really the greatest.”

Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd put together the top candidate for play of the year this weekend with an incredible alley-oop on the fast break with Stewart dishing to Loyd for the one-handed finish. It is plays like this — less than a month into their first season together — that show we may be witnessing the next great tandem in the WNBA. They may not be the greatest yet, but we can all see greatness ahead for them.

10. Washington Mystics
Last Week: 10
2016 Record: 3-6
OffRtg: 97.0 (9); DefRtg: 109.2 (11); NetRtg: -12.2 (12)

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

Sunday’s win over Atlanta to snap the Dream’s five-game winning streak shows that the Mystics have the talent to climb the mountains of the WNBA, but they have to be able to rise to that level on a consistent basis to do so. The win over Atlanta snapped a three-game skid for the Mystics. Can they use it to start a positive streak of their own?

11. San Antonio Stars
Last Week: 11
2016 Record: 1-5
OffRtg: 89.7 (12); DefRtg: 98.0 (5); NetRtg: -8.3 (10)

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

While nothing is impossible, scoring has been incredibly difficult for the Stars, who own the league’s worst offense, scoring just 89.7 points per 100 possessions. However, their fifth-ranked defense is keeping them in games. Two of their five losses have been by five points or fewer and their average margin of defeat is just 7.8 points. If the Stars can find some consistency on offense while continuing to defend at a high level, they could rise faster than expected.

12. Connecticut Sun
Last Week: 12
2016 Record: 1-7
OffRtg: 93.3 (11); DefRtg: 103.5 (9); NetRtg: -10.2 (11)

“The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

The Sun own the WNBA’s longest active losing streak at six games with games against the Storm (at home) and the East-leading Dream (on the road) on the schedule for this week. The Sun have a few days before the Storm come to town on Friday, so they will need to take advantage of the practice time “far away from the witnesses.” Maybe then they can “dance under those lights” at Mohegan Sun on Friday and in the weeks ahead.


ASSOCIATED PRESS POWER POLL

1. Minnesota (13)
2. Los Angeles (1)
3. Atlanta
4. New York
5. Chicago
6. Indiana
7. Dallas
8. Washington
9. Seattle
10. Phoenix
11. San Antonio
12. Connecticut

Click here to view the full rankings on AP.org