Before we dive into this week’s Power Rankings, let’s set the stage for tomorrow’s six-game extravaganza on the final night of Commissioner’s Cup group phase.

While Phoenix has wrapped up group play (4-2, 2nd in West), the 12 remaining teams will all be in action to determine which two teams will compete in the Championship Game on July 30.

Here’s what we know in the West:

• The Lynx (4-1) control their own destiny. A win would give them five Cup victories, which no other team in the West can match, and punch their ticket to return to the title game to attempt to become the first team to win back-to-back Cups.
• A Lynx loss could open the door for the and Storm (3-2).
• Minnesota would win a two-team tiebreaker with Phoenix, but wins by Golden State and/or Seattle would create a multi-team tiebreaker to decide the West.
• The Sparks (2-3), Aces (2-3) and Wings (0-5) have all been eliminated from contention but will play a key role in deciding which team advances as they are Tuesday’s opponents for the Storm, Lynx and Valkyries, respectively.

Here’s what we know in the East: 

• The Dream, Fever and Liberty all enter the final day of group play tied at 3-1 and the only teams with a shot to represent the East in the title game.
• The Mystics, Sky and Sun are all 1-3 and eliminated from contention.
• The biggest game of the night is Dream at Liberty. The stakes are simple. A loss for either team means they’re out.
• A Dream win clinches the East berth regardless of the Fever-Sun result (if IND wins, both IND and ATL will be 4-1 and ATL holds head-to-head Cup tiebreaker).
• A Liberty win coupled with a Fever loss would clinch the East for New York.
• A Liberty win coupled with a Fever win would clinch the East for Indiana (as they hold the head-to-head Cup tiebreaker).

Here’s the cheat sheet for each team:

• Dream: Clinches with a win 
• Liberty: Clinches with a win AND IND loss
• Fever: Clinches with a win AND ATL loss
• Lynx: Clinches with a win OR SEA loss
• Storm: Clinches with a win AND a MIN loss

Now, onto this week’s rankings, which features a new No. 1 for the first time all season.

1. Minnesota Lynx (10-1 Overall; 4-1 Cup) ⬆️

• Last Week: 2 
• This Week: Tue. vs. LVA*, Sat vs. LAS

The Lynx had their 9-0 streak to start the season snapped by Seattle on Wednesday, but bounced back swiftly with a 23-point win over L.A. on Saturday, during which Napheesa Collier dropped her third 30+ point game of the season with 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting.

2. New York Liberty (9-1 Overall; 3-1 Cup) ⬇️

• Last Week: 1 
• This Week: Tue. vs. ATL*, Thur. vs. PHX, Sun. at SEA

New York’s best start in franchise history (9-0) ended on Saturday in Indiana with a loss to a returning Caitlin Clark and the Fever as the defending champs dropped their first game since Oct. 18, 2024. We’ll see their response Tuesday night in the Cup group play finale against our next team in the rankings – the 8-3 Dream.

3. Atlanta Dream (8-3 Overall; 3-1 Cup) ↔️

• Last Week: 3 
• This Week: Tue. at NYL*, Fri. vs. WAS, Sun. vs. CHI

A three-game win streak has put the Dream in control of their own destiny in the Commissioner’s Cup – a win over New York on Tuesday clinches Atlanta’s first-ever spot in the title game. The Dream haven’t just won three straight – they’ve won all three games by 18+ points. Allisha Gray has led the way, averaging 23.3 points on 60% shooting during the streak.

4. Phoenix Mercury (8-4 Overall; 4-2 Cup) ⬆️

• Last Week: 5 
• This Week: Wed. at CON, Thur. at NYL, Sat at CHI

Here’s a scary thought for the 12 teams in the WNBA outside of Phoenix – the Mercury are 8-4 through 12 games and are just getting their full rotation healthy and on the court together. On Wednesday, Alyssa Thomas returned from a five-game absence while Natasha Mack made her season debut. On Sunday, Kahleah Copper made her season debut after leading Phoenix in scoring last season.

5. Indiana Fever (5-5 Overall; 3-1 Cup) ⬆️

• Last Week: 6 
• This Week: Tue. vs. CON*, Thur. at GSV, Sun. at LVA

The Fever went 2-3 without Caitlin Clark during her five-game absence with a quad injury. She returned on Saturday – inside a raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse – as the Fever posted a season-high 102 points and handed the defending champion Liberty their first loss of the season. How did Clark fare in her first game back? How about season-highs of 32 points and seven 3s.

6. Seattle Storm (6-5 Overall; 3-2 Cup) ⬇️

• Last Week: 4 
• This Week: Tue. at LAS*, Fri. at LVA, Sun. vs. NYL

The Storm opened the week with an impressive win over the then unbeaten Lynx – capped Erica Wheeler’s dagger 3 and an emotional postgame interview. However, Seattle couldn’t build off the win as they followed it up with a loss to the Valkyries to snap a three-game win streak in a game that saw Seattle post its second-worst shooting performance (40.8%) of the season.

7. Golden State Valkyries (5-5 Overall; 3-2 Cup) ⬆️

• Last Week: 10 
• This Week: Tue. at DAL*, Thur. vs. IND, Sun. vs. CON

This year will bring a lot of firsts for the Valkyries in their debut WNBA season. This week, we’ve seen their first-ever three-game win streak – with wins over the Aces, Sparks and Storm – to lift Golden State three spots in the power rankings. Kayla Thornton has scored 18+ points in each game of the streak as she continues to put up career-best numbers (14.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.9 spg) in her 10th WNBA season.

8. Las Vegas Aces (5-5 Overall; 2-3 Cup) ⬇️

• Last Week: 7 
• This Week: Tue. at MIN*, Fri. vs. SEA, Sun. vs. IND

The Aces got hit with a double whammy when they opened last week against the Sparks – a 98-79 loss despite a season-high 34 points from Jackie Young, and the loss of A’ja Wilson, who entered concussion protocol after a hit to the head. Las Vegas split its first two games without the three-time MVP, but will need Wilson back soon to get their season back on track.

9. Los Angeles Sparks (4-8 Overall; 2-3 Cup) ↔️

• Last Week: 9 
• This Week: Tue. vs. SEA*, Sat. at MIN

After dropping her first return game to Las Vegas back on May 30, Kelsey Plum got her first win against her former team on Wednesday night – posting 13 points and nine assists. However, that would be L.A.’s only win of the week as it was surrounded by losses to Golden State and Minnesota. Keep an eye on Plum’s playmaking – the Sparks are 4-2 when he has 8+ assists and 0-6 when he dishes fewer than 8 dimes.

10. Washington Mystics (4-7 Overall; 1-3 Cup)

• Last Week: 8 ⬇️
• This Week: Tue. at CHI*, Fri. at ATL, Sun. vs. DAL

In a June 8 win over Connecticut, the Mystics put up their most points (104) in two seasons and highest FG% (57.1%) in six seasons. Washington had to wait a full week before taking the court again, and scored a season-low 56 points. Keeping up with the rookie watch, both Kiki Iriafen (13.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and Sonia Citron (13.4 ppg 4.2 rpg) continue to shine in their debut seasons.

11. Chicago Sky (3-7 Overall; 1-3 Cup)

• Last Week: 11 ↔️
• This Week: Tue. vs. WAS*, Sat. vs. PHX, Sun. at ATL

Powered by Angel Reese’s first career triple-double (11 pts, 15 ast, 11 ast), the Sky earned a much-needed win over the Sun on Sunday to snap a three-game slide. As Chicago looks to rise up the standings (and these rankings) over the upcoming weeks, they’ve planned ceremonies to rise up the numbers belonging to Allie Quigley (#14 on July 9) and Candace Parker (#3, Aug. 25) to the rafters.

12. Connecticut Sun (2-8 Overall; 1-3 Cup)

• Last Week: 12 ↔️
• This Week: Tue. at IND*, Wed. vs. PHX, Fri. vs. DAL, Sun. at GSV

The Sun remain locked in the 12 spot in the rankings after dropping their only game from last week (78-66 to Chicago). Now, they must go from playing one game over a seven-day period to playing four games in seven days – as they are the busiest team of the upcoming week.

13. Dallas Wings (1-11 Overall; 0-5 Cup)

• Last Week: 13 ↔️
• This Week: Tue. vs. GSV*, Fri. at CON, Sun. at WAS

The good news is that the Wings got Paige Bueckers back from concussion protocol after missing four games and she scored a career-best 35 in her first game back against Phoenix. The bad news is that it wasn’t enough to snap Dallas’ losing streak, which now sits at seven straight entering this week.

Longtime WNBA reporter Brian Martin writes articles on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.