By: Nina Samone
We have reached the final week of the WNBA regular season, and we can start to visualize much better how the playoffs will go – which teams will be at the top and which teams will be counted out. For the week 14 power rankings, there aren’t too many surprises, but let’s take a closer look.
No. 1 – Chicago Sky
The WNBA defending champions have reclaimed the top spot in the power rankings this week, closing in on a No. 1 seed in the postseason. Currently 25-9 after a Tuesday loss to the Seattle Storm, they have to tighten up for their game tonight against the Aces and on Sunday the 14th against the Mercury – both teams will be hungry for a victory against Chicago.
No. 2 – Las Vegas Aces
The Aces swapped places with the Sky this week, but their matchup tonight could be very telling of what will happen in the postseason. The Aces are 24-10 and will close the regular season by playing Chicago tonight and facing off against Seattle on Sunday.
No. 3 – Connecticut Sun
Connecticut remains in the third spot this week after two wins and a loss last week. They will likely have the same seed in the postseason. Connecticut defeated the Sparks on Tuesday and will be playing them again tonight – hoping for the same result. They will conclude their regular season by playing the Lynx on Sunday.
No. 4 – Seattle Storm
Seattle holds onto the fourth spot in the final week of the regular season. The Storm honored the legendary WNBA icon Sue Bird in her final regular-season home game this week, however the Aces ended up being victorious – spoiling the celebration. Seattle defeated the Lynx to go 1-1 on the week, and they will be finishing up their regular season by playing the Lynx again tomorrow and the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday.
No. 5 – Washington Mystics
The Mystics are currently 20-14 and in the fifth spot this week but have two more regular season games against the Indiana Fever – currently the lowest ranked team in the WNBA. After their close loss to the Sparks on Sunday, August 7th, they will hope to improve their record and close out the regular season strong. The Storm and Seattle are both trying to secure the higher seed in the playoffs – it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
No. 6 – Dallas Wings
The Dallas Wings are performing great at one of the most important times – they had the longest active win streak before their defeat by the Liberty yesterday, and with their remaining season games against Phoenix and the Sparks they have a chance to close out the regular season strong.
No. 7 – Atlanta Dream
Atlanta is in our No. 7 spot and will hope to close out their season strong with games Friday and Sunday against the New York Liberty.
No. 8 – Phoenix Mercury
The Mercury are in a tricky situation currently as they hold onto the No. 8 spot. They secured a win over New York without Diggins-Smith, who was out due to illness, and Diana Taurasi who is out with a quad injury. Taurasi will be out for the remainder of the regular season, and Phoneix will have to face Dallas and Chicago.
No. 9 – Minnesota Lynx
The Lynx hold the No. 9 spot and have the potential to set a new record for consecutive playoff runs – this will be their 12th straight playoff season if they can secure a spot. With the return of Napheesa Collier, who returns less than three months after giving birth to her daughter in May, they might have what it takes.
No. 10 – New York Liberty
Despite record setting efforts by Sabrina Ionescu – the first WNBA player to have 500 points, 200 rebounds and 200 assists in a season – New York finds themselves in the 10th spot and still in the fight for a spot in the playoffs. They will end the regular season with games Friday and Sunday against Atlanta.
No. 11 – Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks are in the 11 spot and will close out their season with a game tonight against Connecticut and Sunday against Dallas – they will try and fight for one of the remaining playoff spots, but they will likely have to win all of their remaining games to do so.
No. 12 – Indiana Fever
The Fever close out the rankings in the final spot, almost snapping their losing streak in an overtime game against the Dallas Wings on Saturday – but still coming up four points short. They have been eliminated from playoff contention and have one of the longest losing streaks on record currently – hopefully they will have a great selection in the next draft to build on their current roster. They have two more chances to snap the losing streak before the end of the regular season, both games against the Washington Mystics.
Sources:
Martin, Brian. August 9th, 2022. WNBA. “2022 WNBA Power Rankings: Week 14.” <https://www.wnba.com/news/2022-wnba-power-rankings-week-14/>
Khan, Aneela & Nemchock, Eric. August 8th, 2022. Hashtag Basketball. <https://hashtagbasketball.com/wnba/wnba-power-rankings>
