The 2026 WNBA regular season has officially entered its third act.

With two-thirds of the season complete, four tiers have emerged from the standings:

• Tier 1: The Minnesota Lynx hold a four-game lead over their nearest competitor.
• Tier 2: Only 3.5 games separate the second-place Aces from the eighth-place Liberty, with the Valkyries, Dream, Wings, Fever and Mystics in between them.
• Tier 3: Sitting five games back of Tier 2, only 1.5 games separate the ninth-place Sparks from the 13th-place Tempo, with Chicago, Phoenix and Portland in between them.
• Tier 4: Sitting 3.5 games back of Tier 3, the Sun and Storm are the only teams with single-digit wins.

Three takeaways from looking at these tiers:

1. The Lynx are in the driver’s seat to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs for the second straight season.
2. The battles between the seven teams in Tier 2 for a top-four seed and home-court advantage in the opening round will be fascinating to follow and likely come down to the wire. Head-to-head matchups will be key as tiebreakers may come into play in such a tightly packed group.
3. The five-game gap between Tier 2 (teams in the playoffs if the season ended today) and Tier 3 (teams headed to the lottery) is large, but not insurmountable. However, time is of the essence for those teams to make their move.

Note: All stats and records are through games played Sunday, Aug. 2.

1. Minnesota Lynx (25-6) ↔️

Napheesa Collier #24 and Kayla McBride #21 of the Minnesota Lynx

• Last Week: 1
• This Week: Thu. vs. LAS, Sat. vs. LVA, Sun. vs. DAL

The Lynx are rolling, picking up their 10th straight win on Sunday for their longest win streak in a decade. The keys to the run:

• Kayla McBride is on fire, averaging 22.7 points on 53.3% FG, 48.7% 3P, 95.8% FT shooting splits over the past 10 games.
• There is no rookie wall for Olivia Miles, who continues to elevate her game as the season progresses, averaging 22.3 points, 6.1 assists and 50% 3-point shooting during the streak.
• Napheesa Collier has seamlessly fit back into a winning squad, averaging 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks while playing only 25 minutes per game over her first four contests of the season.

2. Golden State Valkyries (20-9) ↔️

• Last Week: 2
• This Week: Tue. vs. TOR, Fri. at DAL, Sun. at LAS

After squandering a 13-point lead in a loss to Phoenix in their first game after the All-Star break, the Valkyries bounced back with a win over Toronto on Sunday. Golden State opens this week with a rematch with the Tempo before heading to Dallas on Friday looking to clinch the season series against the Wings with a victory.

3. Las Vegas Aces (20-9) ⬆️

• Last Week: 4
• This Week: Mon. at ATL, Thu. at IND, Sat. at MIN, Sun. at NYL

The Aces won their first two games following the All-Star break before falling to the Sky on a last-second shot on Saturday despite A’ja Wilson’s 36-point effort. It was Wilson’s third 30+ point performance in her last four games and 10th of the season, double any other player’s total this season. Wilson and the Aces will be tested this week with a four-game slate all against teams in the top two tiers.

4. Indiana Fever (19-11) ⬆️

• Last Week: 5
• This Week: Thu. vs. LVA, Sat. at CHI

Kelsey Mitchell’s season-high 37 points were not enough for the Fever to cool down the Lynx on Sunday in a clash of hot teams. Indiana’s five-game win streak was snapped, while Minnesota extended its run to 10 in a row. The Fever find themselves in the middle of Tier 2, surrounded by teams with similar records battling for playoff positioning.

5. Atlanta Dream (18-10) ⬆️

Angel Reese #5 and Naz Hillmon #00 of the Atlanta Dream

• Last Week: 6
• This Week: Mon. vs. LVA, Wed vs. PHX, Fri. at WAS

The Dream entered the All-Star break on a high note — winning three straight games before sending three players to Chicago for the midseason festivities — and have picked up right where they left off. Atlanta won its first two games coming out of All-Star, including a victory over Dallas on Wednesday to complete a 3-0 season sweep, extending its win streak to five. Allisha Gray (21.6 ppg, 56.3% FG) and Angel Reese (19.4 ppg, 11.0 rpg) have combined for 40 points per game during this run.

6. Washington Mystics (16-12) ⬆️

• Last Week: 8
• This Week: Wed. vs. DAL, Fri. vs. ATL, Sun. vs. PHX

On June 28, the Mystics outlasted the Fire in a four-overtime instant classic. Starting with that game, Washington has gone 8-3 over its last 11 games to climb from ninth to seventh in the standings. The Mystics enter this week riding a four-game win streak, looking to close out their six-game homestand strong as they host the Wings, Dream and Mercury.

7. Dallas Wings (19-11) ⬇️

• Last Week: 3
• This Week: Wed. at WAS, Fri. vs. GSV, Sun. at MIN

The Wings dropped their first two games coming out of the All-Star break before getting back on track with a win over Connecticut on Sunday despite a season-low six points from Paige Bueckers in 25 minutes. While Dallas is eight games over .500, its last win over a .500 team came on July 7 against New York. Among teams in the top two tiers, Dallas has the worst record (7-10) against winning teams.

8. New York Liberty (17-13) ⬇️

• Last Week: 7
• This Week: Mon. vs. SEA, Wed. vs. SEA, Sun. vs. LVA

Over a 10-game stretch from June 19 to July 18, the Liberty went just 2-8, including an 0-4 mark in games that featured clutch time — defined as the score within five points in the game’s final five minutes. Since that 2-8 stretch, New York has bounced back, going 4-1 over its last five games, with all five decided by five points or less. Can the Liberty remain on the upswing and improve their position in the playoff picture?

9. Chicago Sky (11-18) ⬆️

• Last Week: 11
• This Week: Mon. vs. PHX, Wed. vs. LAS, Sat. vs. IND

After hosting All-Star weekend, Chicago opened its post-All-Star slate with wins over the Sun and Aces. The win over Las Vegas came via Sydney Taylor’s last-second game-winning 3-pointer to stun the defending champs. The Sky are 4-2 in their last six games as they try to make the leap from Tier 3 to Tier 2 with 15 games to play.

10. Phoenix Mercury (11-19) ⬆️

Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury

• Last Week: 13
• This Week: Mon. at CHI, Wed. at ATL, Fri. at CON, Sun. at WAS

The Mercury made the biggest splash at Sunday’s trade deadline by acquiring All-Star guard Kelsey Plum from the Sparks. At 11-19, the Mercury sit six games back of the Liberty, who currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot. Can the addition of Plum ignite a late postseason push? That quest begins with a four-game road trip this week. Here’s the key question: How soon will Plum, who has been out since June 21 with ankle and lower leg injuries, suit up for the Mercury?

11. Los Angeles Sparks (11-17) ⬆️

• Last Week: 12
• This Week: Wed. at CHI, Thu. at MIN, Sun. vs. GSV

On the other end of the biggest deal of the trade deadline are the Los Angeles Sparks, who beat Portland on the same day the Plum deal became official to snap a six-game skid. The Sparks are now 4-12 without Plum this season, compared to 7-5 when their former leading scorer was in the lineup. With the trade saga behind them, the ninth-place Sparks sit five games back of the final playoff spot with 16 games to play. Can they make a late-season push to get into Tier 2?

12. Portland Fire (11-19) ⬇️

• Last Week: 9
• This Week: Thu. vs. TOR, Sat. vs. SEA

The Fire have dropped five straight games and have gone just 5-15 over their last 20 following a promising 6-4 start through the first 10 games of their revival season. Despite their recent struggles, there have been many bright spots for the Fire so far this season, including the play of Carla Leite, who became the youngest player in WNBA history (22 years, 106 days old) to have multiple games with 20+ points and 10+ assists. Her second such game came Friday against Indiana and Caitlin Clark, who previously held that distinction.

13. Toronto Tempo (10-19) ⬇️

• Last Week: 10
• This Week: Tue. at GSV, Thu. at POR

The Tempo opened their post-All-Star slate against the top two teams in this week’s rankings, dropping two games to Minnesota and one to Golden State to extend their losing streak to six. Toronto has four games remaining on a five-game road trip, as the Tempo look to improve on their 4-8 road record and get back into the win column. First up is a rematch with the Valkyries in the Bay Area before heading to Portland in a clash of expansion teams. Will the newly-acquired Aneesah Morrow make her Tempo debut this week after joining Toronto at the trade deadline?

14. Connecticut Sun (7-23) ↔️

• Last Week: 14
• This Week: Fri. vs. PHX

Connecticut closed out a six-game road trip on Sunday with a loss to Dallas. The Sun will look to snap their five-game skid when they host the Mercury on Friday in their only game of the week. That contest begins a four-game homestand for the Sun, who are 4-10 at home with eight home dates remaining in their Sunset season.

15. Seattle Storm (6-25) ↔️

• Last Week: 15
• This Week: Mon. at NYL, Wed. at NYL, Sat. at POR

The Storm have dropped eight straight games, are 1-10 since the start of July, and risk becoming the first team officially eliminated from postseason contention. Seattle opens this week with back-to-back games in New York — the team that currently holds the final playoff spot. The Storm trail the Liberty by 12 games in the loss column with 13 games left to play. With the Liberty leading the three-game season series 1-0, a Seattle loss in either game against New York will seal the Storm’s lottery fate.