Analysis

There are only a handful of games left to be played before the WNBA’s midseason break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, which is taking place from September 4 to September 13. This means that the very few games left to play before that break are even more crucial to playoff seeding and an actual shot at a playoff berth, something that teams like the Portland Fire, Dallas Wings, and Washington Mystics are all too aware of.
Even if you’re in 9th or 10th place right now in the standings, that could quickly change with a win streak before the FIBA break. That pressure has made for some unbelievably fun basketball lately.
<hr />
<h2>Valkyries Hit Another Winning Streak</h2>
The Valkyries have been flying a bit too under the radar for my liking this season. Their team defense, which is probably best described as “hitting teams with metal bats for all four quarters,” has not wavered much since the beginning of the season. They’re currently first in the league in defensive rating (101.1), and Veronica Burton has the highest defensive win shares of any player in the league with at least 30 games played (0.190). 
They finished up Week 12 of the season with another winning streak kept alive, hitting five straight victories. They’ve kept pace with the Minnesota Lynx and the similarly red-hot Las Vegas Aces to remain atop the standings, and to separate themselves from the growing mess that is the WNBA’s seeding from 4-8. 
Golden State has a league-high seven games before the FIBA break, which should be more than enough to continue solidifying their spot near the top of the standings. Most of those games come against teams below .500.
<hr />
<h2>Minnesota, Las Vegas Clinch Playoff Berths</h2>
<div id="attachment_269308" style="width: 2010px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-269308" class="wp-image-269308 size-full" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T111235.196.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T111235.196.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T111235.196-300x169.png 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T111235.196-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T111235.196-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T111235.196-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />Napheesa Collier #24 of the Minnesota Lynx guards A&#8217;ja Wilson #22 of the Las Vegas Aces</div>
At the other end of the Valkyries’ spot on the standings, the Lynx and Aces both managed to become the first teams to clinch playoff berths. For Minnesota, it came as no surprise &#8211; they’ve been on a roll the entire season, and have only looked more dangerous since the return of Napheesa Collier to the starting lineup.
A convincing win over the Aces on Saturday further separated them from the rest of the pack, and continued to showcase what makes them so dangerous come playoff time &#8211; their depth. Six of the eight players head coach Cheryl Reeve played in that game scored double digits, whereas the Aces only had four players hit that note. 
As for Las Vegas, this season has been another strange one, although not as weird as their 2025 campaign that ended in another championship. You can almost feel when they’ve decided to either hit the gas hard or take their foot off the pedal. Ideally, you’d like to see them with a bit more of a lead foot in games like this, potential Finals previews. Only two efficient shooting games from A’ja Wilson and Nalyssa Smith won’t get that done, though. 
In good news for Las Vegas, they have the weakest remaining schedule of all contenders.
<hr />
<h2>Johannès Looking Like the Liberty’s Best Remaining Spark Plug</h2>
The New York Liberty had a matchup against the struggling Connecticut Sun this past weekend, and the game was a lot closer than Liberty fans might’ve wanted it to be throughout the first half and towards the end of the contest. 
One player that did not seem to want to let things get out of hand, though, was Marine Johannès. The French guard finished with 17 points on 62.5 percent shooting from three-point range, and had a healthy diet of either <a href="https://x.com/WNBA/status/2088698613597704402?s=20">one-legged threes</a> or crafty drives to the basket. She also <a href="https://x.com/UnderdogWNBA/status/2088700933001597386?s=20">had a highlight-reel pass</a> to Rebecca Allen in the 4th to continue to seal the victory for New York. 
The Liberty have struggled to find this sort of spark on offense lately, with injuries and almost one too many lineup changes making chemistry hard to come by. Johannès, though, is clearly using these remaining contests ahead of the FIBA World Cup as good practice for her time with the French national team. And, New York is thriving as a result.
<hr />
<h2>Fever Taking Shape as True Contenders</h2>
<div id="attachment_269309" style="width: 2010px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-269309" class="wp-image-269309 size-full" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T112026.181.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T112026.181.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T112026.181-300x169.png 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T112026.181-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T112026.181-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/Thumbnail-2026-08-18T112026.181-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />Kelsey Mitchell #0 and Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever</div>
All season, the Fever have been on the periphery of the conversation about contenders. Kelsey Mitchell has been on an absolute tear this year, while Aliyah Boston remains one of the WNBA’s best post players through August. And, they’ve had a mostly-healthy Caitlin Clark as their main floor general, although her weaknesses on defense and tendency to get too overzealous when complaining about foul calls have made her a risk for technical fouls all year long. 
Still, they’ve climbed up the standings, and last week they convincingly took down the Dallas Wings, New York Liberty, and Atlanta Dream to sweep their Rivals Week competition. They’re only a half game behind the Aces in the standings, and they have the tiebreaker over Las Vegas after going 2-1 against them this regular season. 
Clark averaged nearly 10 assists over these three key contests, while Mitchell had 25+ points in two out of the three. Clark picked up where Mitchell left off in their game against the Dream, scoring 26 and dishing out nine. 
They could be one of the scarier teams to face this postseason, as they’re a threat from the post as well as from long range thanks to Clark and Mitchell. However, it’ll be a matter of whether their depth can really match up with that of the Lynx, Aces, or Valkyries that will set them apart.
<hr />
<h2>Fire Keeping Pace in Standings</h2>
Who knew that the Portland Fire, despite a sluggish start to their season, would actually be pushing for a postseason spot?
Well, if you’ve been paying attention to both the talent in this league and the way that expansion franchises over the last few seasons have been playing with a chip on their shoulders, it wouldn’t be all that surprising. 
Portland continues to not go down without a fight, most recently taking down the Phoenix Mercury on Diana Taurasi’s jersey retirement night, and the Seattle Storm as part of Rivals Week. They also only lost to the Lynx by four, although we won’t talk up any moral victories here &#8211; the Fire wouldn’t want that. 
They have the toughest hill to climb of all remaining bottom-seed playoff teams, as they’re still 13.5 games back headed into a new week of the eight-seed Wings. They have one more critical game against Dallas next week, which could give them the tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same record in a race for the 8-seed. 
They also have the 4th-strongest remaining schedule, which will either sharpen them or bury them before they have a chance to really make a postseason push in earnest. Bridget Carleton and Megan DiLeo are two of Portland’s most postseason-weathered players, and they’ve been leading the push this past week for the Fire &#8211; they need a lot more help from their younger supporting cast if they want to become just the second expansion franchise to make the postseason in their inaugural season.

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Five Things I Like: Week 12

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We’re at the point of the season where a single game can make a huge impact on the playoff race. Sunday’s Fever-Dream game is a prime example. 
Atlanta entered Sunday’s matchup a half-game back of Indiana in the standings, but held a 2-1 advantage in the season series.
A win would not only help the Dream immediately leapfrog the Fever for fourth place in the standings, but it would also secure the head-to-head tiebreaker with a 3-1 series victory.
However, the Fever outscored the Dream 17-9 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, where Indiana prevailed 95-91.
With the win, the Fever maintained their hold on fourth place (and moved within a half-game of the third-place Aces), but they also evened their season series with the Dream. That takes the head-to-head tiebreaker off the table. The next tiebreaker is record against teams over .500, which Indiana currently leads over Atlanta.
One game. Plenty of playoff implications.
With another week of high-stakes games set to begin tonight, let’s see how the teams stack up against one another with just two weeks until the FIBA World Cup break (Aug. 31–Sept. 16).
<hr />
<h2>1. Minnesota Lynx (29-7, clinched playoff berth) ↔️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 1</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Wed. at GSV, Fri. at WAS</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-269230" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2289750018-scaled.jpg" alt="The Minnesota Lynx" width="900" height="600" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2289750018-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2289750018-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2289750018-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2289750018-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2289750018-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2289750018-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" />
The league-leading Lynx enter this week having won four straight and 14 of their last 15 games. Minnesota has already clinched a playoff berth and can move closer to securing the No. 1 overall seed with Wednesday’s matchup with Golden State. A win clinches the head-to-head tiebreaker for the Lynx over the only team within five games of them in the standings.
<hr />
<h2>2. Golden State Valkyries (24-9) ↔️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 2</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Mon. vs. DAL, Wed. vs. MIN, Fri. at CHI</li>
</ul>
The Valkyries had only one game last week, a 20-point victory over Chicago, for their fifth straight win and 14th in their last 16 games. Golden State will look to clinch its playoff spot on Monday night when Dallas visits Ballhalla. The Valkyries need one win or a Portland loss to clinch. While Golden State’s schedule was light last week, the Valkyries play a league-high seven games before the FIBA break as they look to stay hot.
<hr />
<h2>3. Las Vegas Aces (24-12, clinched playoff berth) ⬆️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 4</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. vs. ATL, Thu. vs. CON, Sun. at TOR</li>
</ul>
The Aces opened the week with back-to-back wins over Washington, cooling the red-hot Mystics, who had won their previous seven games. However, the Aces were unable to complete a 3-0 week as they dropped their rubber match against Minnesota on Saturday despite A’ja Wilson’s game-high 32 points. The Lynx clinched the season series 2-1.
<hr />
<h2>4. Indiana Fever (23-12) ⬆️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 5</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. at TOR, Thu. at DAL, Sat. at NYL, Sun. at CHI</li>
</ul>
Indiana’s win in Atlanta on Sunday prevented the Dream from securing the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Fever. This week, the tables turn, as Indiana has two chances to lock up head-to-head tiebreakers — Thursday in Dallas (series is tied 1-1, winner takes series) and Saturday in New York (Fever lead the series 2-1 ahead of final matchup of season). The Fever, who have won four straight and nine of their last 11, can bolster their playoff position with wins in these key games.
<hr />
<h2>5. New York Liberty (22-14) ⬆️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 6</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. at CHI, Sat. vs. IND</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-269231" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290069881-scaled.jpg" alt="Breanna Stewart #30, Rebecca Allen #9, and Marine Johannes #23 of the New York Liberty" width="900" height="600" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290069881-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290069881-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290069881-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290069881-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290069881-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290069881-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" />
After falling to the Fever to open last week, the Liberty picked up wins over the Sparks and Sun to make it nine wins in their last 11 games. This week, New York will look to improve to 3-0 vs. Chicago before trying to even its season series with Indiana on Saturday in Brooklyn — the Liberty are 12-5 at home this season.
<hr />
<h2>6. Washington Mystics (20-14) ⬇️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 3</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Wed. vs. TOR, Fri. vs. MIN, Sun. at PDX</li>
</ul>
The Mystics had their seven-game win streak snapped with back-to-back losses to the Aces this past week, before getting back on track with a victory over the Sparks on Saturday. After opening the week against a Toronto team that has dropped 10 straight, the Mystics will try to become the first team to beat Minnesota twice this season and clinch their season series with the Lynx.
<hr />
<h2>7. Atlanta Dream (21-13) ↔️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 7</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. at LVA, Thu. at LAS, Sat. at PHX</li>
</ul>
Whether Sunday’s overtime loss to Indiana comes back to bite Atlanta remains to be seen. However, the Dream need to bounce back quickly to keep their chances at a top-four seed intact. Atlanta opens a four-game road trip this week — the Dream are 9-7 away from home so far this season — looking to avoid a season sweep at the hands of the Aces.
<hr />
<h2>8. Dallas Wings (20-15) ↔️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 8</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Mon. at GSV, Thu. vs. IND, Sun. vs. SEA</li>
</ul>
The bad news for the Wings is that their loss to the Fever on Friday dropped them to 3-7 in their last 10 games. However, the good news is that Dallas enters this week still holding a five-game lead for the eighth and final playoff spot. That gives them time to get back on track. This week, the Wings visit Golden State before hosting a critical game with the Fever that will determine the head-to-head tiebreaker.
<hr />
<h2>9. Portland Fire (15-20) ⬆️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 10</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Fri. at TOR, Sun. vs. WAS</li>
</ul>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-269232" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290792831-scaled.jpg" alt="Emily Engstler #21 of the Portland Fire high fives teammates" width="900" height="600" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290792831-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290792831-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290792831-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290792831-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290792831-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2026/08/GettyImages-2290792831-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" />
On Sunday in Phoenix, the Fire did not let Diana Taurasi and her Ring of Honor ceremony distract them from the task at hand. Portland rallied past Phoenix for an 88-85 win. It was the Fire’s second win by one possession, and their fourth win over the last five games overall as Portland keeps its slim playoff hopes alive. However, a loss or a Valkyries win seals their fate.
<hr />
<h2>10. Chicago Sky (13-22) ⬇️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 9</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. vs. NYL, Fri. vs. GSV, Sun. vs. IND</li>
</ul>
The Sky snapped a six-game road skid on Sunday as they held off the Storm in Seattle behind Kamilla Cardoso’s 22-point, 12-rebound double-double. While the Sky return to Chicago for a three-game homestand this week, the competition is fierce with three teams aiming for a top-four seed headed to the Windy City. The Sky are a combined 1-5 against the Liberty, Valkyries and Fever this season.
<hr />
<h2>11. Phoenix Mercury (13-23) ⬆️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 12</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Sat. vs. ATL</li>
</ul>
Even the loss to Portland could not dampen the celebration of Diana Taurasi, who had her No. 3 jersey retired as she entered Phoenix’s Ring of Honor on Sunday night. Following the game, the Mercury have six days off before they host the Dream on Saturday. Trailing the eighth seed by 7.5 games with eight games to play, the Mercury are entering must-win territory to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
<hr />
<h2>12. Los Angeles Sparks (12-22) ⬇️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 11</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. at CON, Thu. vs. ATL, Sat. vs. CON</li>
</ul>
Following losses to Phoenix, New York and Washington last week, the Sparks have dropped four straight overall and 11 of their last 13 games. With their playoff hopes declining fast, the Sparks visit Connecticut for the final time before returning home to host the Dream and Sun.
<hr />
<h2>13. Seattle Storm (7-30, eliminated from playoffs) ⬆️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 15</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Sun. at DAL</li>
</ul>
After opening last week with a win over the Sky, the Storm suffered back-to-back two-point losses to Portland and Chicago to close out the week. No team has played more games this season than the Storm, who have a full week off before they visit Dallas on Sunday. So far this season, Seattle is 0-2 against the Wings with two games remaining — this Sunday and the final day of the regular season. 
<hr />
<h2>14. Connecticut Sun (8-25, eliminated from playoffs) ⬇️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 13</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. vs. LAS, Thu. at LVA, Sat. at LAS</li>
</ul>
The Sun, who have dropped seven of their last eight games, have officially been eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight season, which comes after an eight-year streak of postseason play (2017–24). With their postseason fate sealed, there are only five remaining home games in Connecticut before their offseason relocation, beginning Tuesday against the Sparks.
<hr />
<h2>15. Toronto Tempo (10-23) ⬇️</h2>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Last Week: 14</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">This Week: Tue. vs. IND, Wed. at WAS, Fri. vs. POR, Sun. vs LVA</li>
</ul>
The Tempo have dropped 10 straight and 14 of their last 15 games and find themselves on the brink of playoff elimination in their inaugural season. Toronto will be busy with a league-high-tying seven games before the FIBA break, including a four-game slate this week against the likes of Indiana, Washington, Portland, and Las Vegas.

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2026 WNBA Power Rankings: Week 12

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Pick	Name	Position	College/Country
7	Iyana Martín Carrión	Guard	Club Baloncesto Avenida / Spain
17	Frieda Bühner	Forward	Germany
37	Taylor Bigby	Guard	TCU / United States

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