WNBA preseason power rankings: Indiana Fever land outside top three … for now

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The 2025 WNBA season tips off this week, and all 13 teams will take the floor on the opening weekend. With the league expanding for the first time since 2008, a historic 2024 rookie class taking its next steps, and multiple franchises in position to challenge for a title, this figures to be one of the WNBA’s most exciting seasons.

Every week during the regular season, ’s power rankings will provide a deep dive into noteworthy players’ performances and team trends. To start the season, however, I’ll take a look at the league with one statistic I’m keeping an eye on for each team.

As is my tradition, the champions get the top spot until someone knocks them out. Even though the New York Liberty started the preseason with a loss to the likely lottery-bound Connecticut Sun, they open at No. 1. After all, New York did lose to Chicago during the 2024 preseason (by 48 points!) and went on to win the franchise’s first title.

1. New York Liberty

Three-point attempts per game

The Liberty have spent training camp emphasizing a shift in offensive identity that leans into pace and more five-out concepts. Five-out offense doesn’t necessarily mean that New York is exclusively trying to create 3-point looks — the goal of spacing the floor and having credible shooting threats at every position is also to open up the lane as defenders come out to the perimeter. However, New York has led the league in 3-point attempts each of the last four seasons and finished second the year before (worth noting that 2020 was general manager Jonathan Kolb’s first season with the Liberty). We should expect the Liberty to continue pushing the envelope from long range and become the first team in league history to exceed 30 attempts per game.

The return of Marine Johannès, a career 40 percent 3-point shooter who takes about two-thirds of her shots from distance, should help in this regard. More minutes for Leonie Fiebich, who had a similar shot profile in her first season in New York, will also be a boost. Kennedy Burke and Nyara Sabally were already letting it fly from 3-point range in the Liberty’s first preseason game. The five-out offense should especially embolden Jonquel Jones to let loose from deep, and she’s the best-shooting center in the league other than the Washington Mystics’ Stefanie Dolson.

2. Minnesota Lynx

Diamond Miller’s minutes

Miller began last season as the Lynx’s starting two guard. Three games in, the 2023 No. 2 pick got injured, and she was supplanted in the starting lineup by Bridget Carleton for the rest of the season. Miller appeared in only six of Minnesota’s 12 playoff games, exclusively in garbage time and failing to exceed one minute of playing time in any contest.

As the Lynx attempt to avenge their Game 5 loss in the 2024 finals, Miller is one of their best hopes for improvement. She applies more rim pressure than any other Minnesota guard as her drives add a different element to the Lynx’s jumper-heavy offense. Thirty-seven percent of her shot attempts were at the rim last season, compared to 24 percent for the team overall. The problem with Miller, in addition to injuries limiting her availability, is that she doesn’t score efficiently (her effective field-goal percentage was 34.1 in 2024), which disrupts Minnesota’s system. If she can get on the floor for 20 minutes a night, that means she’s doing enough to help the Lynx, which bodes well for their long-term prospects.

With its full starting lineup back, additions of Karlie Samuelson and Marième Badiane and offseason improvement from Alissa Pili, Minnesota would have been a worthy choice for the top spot in these rankings were it not for the deference to the defending champs.

3. Las Vegas Aces

Chelsea Gray’s true-shooting percentage

Gray was hyper-efficient in each of Las Vegas’ two title runs, as the Aces captured the No. 1 seed during the 2022 and 2023 regular seasons. The perimeter-frontcourt duo of Gray and A’ja Wilson was impossible to defend when they were at the peak of their powers, and Gray’s limitations in 2024 put an undue burden on Wilson to carry Las Vegas. They also made life more difficult for Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum, who each had their most inefficient scoring seasons of the quartet’s four-year tenure.

The Aces roster isn’t exactly teeming with individual shot creators, Deja Kelly’s preseason explosion against Phoenix notwithstanding. They need Gray to set the table, and it helps when defenses are forced to treat her as a passer and a scorer. When Gray’s true-shooting percentage exceeds 58, her teams make the finals, whether that was in Los Angeles or Las Vegas. She was at 51.3 last season when the Aces lost in the semifinals.

Gray looked much healthier in Unrivaled and in the Aces’ preseason, which is why Las Vegas is ahead of the Fever. But that could change in a hurry.

4. Indiana Fever

Defensive rating

Let’s not bury the lede here. The Fever had last season’s best offense in the WNBA after the All-Star break but the third-worst defense, even though they often got to set their defense after making a basket on the other end. Indiana cannot have realistic title hopes unless that unit gets into the top six. Recent champions, including the 2019 Mystics and the 2022 Aces, also had sixth-ranked defenses with historically good offenses, which is a reasonable path for the Fever.

Coach Stephanie White presided over the league’s second-best defense in Connecticut in 2023 and the top-ranked defense there last season. Although she doesn’t have the same level of defensive talent in Indiana, adding DeWanna Bonner, Sophie Cunningham and Natasha Howard gives the Fever significant size and versatility.

How Indiana puts it all together will be one of the most fascinating questions of this season. The fulcrum of its offense in 2024 was the Caitlin Clark/Aliyah Boston pick-and-roll, with Kelsey Mitchell working off the ball. Now, Bonner and Howard will require touches, and the Fever have to find minutes for Lexie Hull after she set the league on fire during last season’s second half. Having more options is a better problem, but it’s nonetheless a riddle to sort through.

5. Seattle Storm

Bench production

Seattle’s most common starters were the sixth-best five-player group in the league (minimum 100 minutes) last season. The Storm should have a similarly effective starting group this season, with the returning core of Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams, Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor supplemented by veteran Alysha Clark. The certainty of that lineup is why Seattle slots in at fifth, ahead of teams such as Atlanta and Phoenix that are working in new players.

However, depth is a concern. Li Yueru and Dominique Malonga might be the two most reliable reserves, but they’re backing up all-stars, making their contributions less necessary. Lexie Brown, though a 36 percent 3-point shooter, hasn’t played a full season since 2022 as she navigates Crohn’s disease. Erica Wheeler hasn’t had a positive net rating in her WNBA career, and the rest of the roster is rookies plus Zia Cooke, who couldn’t regularly crack the rotation for a bad Sparks team.

The Storm relied heavily on Katie Lou Samuelson for perimeter contributions off the bench. How they survive in those minutes will determine whether this is a playoff team or something more.

6. Chicago Sky

Sloot’s assists to Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso

Courtney Vandersloot is one of the best point guards in WNBA history (top three at least), and even at this stage of her career, her playmaking is a dramatic improvement for the Sky. Her pick-and-roll chemistry with Cardoso during the first preseason game was already on point, as Vandersloot’s first four assists went to the 6-foot-7 center, all for easy paint finishes. The Sky brought in veterans to immediately compete, and Ariel Atkins and Rebecca Allen, plus Elizabeth Williams returning from injury, should help add to their win total.

However, the most interesting part of Chicago will be how Reese and Cardoso grow and how they play together. Vandersloot’s playmaking is necessary to unlock the partnership between the two bigs. Plus, Vandersloot seems particularly motivated after being de-emphasized during the postseason in New York’s title run. She can help the Sky succeed in the present and build their foundation for the future.

7. Atlanta Dream

Who will play point guard?

The Dream have two all-star wings, two all-star bigs and a coach who is coaxing the right shots out of his new roster. After 40 3-point attempts in the first preseason game, Atlanta is the best bet to challenge New York for the league lead in 3s. However, the Dream lost starting point guard Jordin Canada to a knee injury in the opening minute of their first preseason game, creating a real pickle. Canada isn’t just their only true point guard (RIP to the Haley Jones PG experiment), but also the only guard who regularly breaks the paint, a necessity for drive-and-kicks and dump-offs in the lane.

In her absence, Atlanta started Shatori Walker-Kimbrough in its second preseason game but essentially handed lead guard duties to Rhyne Howard. My hope when the Dream hired coach Karl Smesko was seeing the Dream unleash Howard as an uber-effective play finisher, but giving her extra creation responsibilities is a new wrinkle. It could make Howard even more dangerous as a scorer and creator, or it could burden her further when she already has difficulty shooting at a high clip. For what it’s worth, Howard does look good defending at the point of attack.

Perhaps Canada comes back soon and Te-Hina Paopao proves to be a quick study at point guard, making this a moot point. But for all the talk of positionless basketball, someone needs to organize the offense. We’ll see if Smesko and the Dream can buck that trend.

8. Phoenix Mercury

Net rating of the big three

Any team that could have acquired Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas this offseason would have, especially when the cost was two rotation players and one draft pick. Phoenix has once again assembled a hilariously top-heavy roster. The experiment could work if Mercury’s big three of Sabally, Thomas and Kahleah Copper are so dominant that they can hemorrhage points in the other minutes. If the big three put up a plus-15 net rating, Phoenix might be in business. At the very least, the front office needs this trio to play together a lot so it can learn how to build around the trio at the trade deadline and next offseason.

9. Los Angeles Sparks

Kelsey Plum’s assists

When Plum was introduced in Los Angeles after being traded from Las Vegas, she said she had “a lot more in the tank” as a playmaker and planned to be top-five in the league in assists while playing more point guard. Coach Lynne Roberts’ system is fast paced, and if Plum and the Sparks play with tempo — she’s one of the best-conditioned players in the W — there will be opportunities for assists, especially in early offense. As L.A. seeks a postseason return, offensive improvement is its best chance to jump up the standings, especially with defensive anchor Cameron Brink returning from a torn ACL. Plum has the keys to showcase her full skill set with the Sparks, and it will fall on her (at least early) to get the veteran frontcourt and the younger core of Rickea Jackson, Rae Burrell and Sarah Ashlee Barker going.

10. Dallas Wings

Myisha Hines-Allen’s starts

The Wings have a glut of quality backcourt options, and their main perimeter concern will be what combinations to use among Paige Bueckers, DiJonai Carrington, Ty Harris, Aziaha James and Arike Ogunbowale. Within that grouping is all of the creation, shooting and defense Dallas needs. The frontcourt, on the other hand, is less certain. NaLyssa Smith and Teaira McCowan started Dallas’ lone preseason game against a WNBA opponent, and that defensive tandem simply isn’t good enough in this league. Although Myisha Hines-Allen is small for a center, she reads the floor well and knows how to position herself. If she can provide defensive integrity, Dallas will shoot up the rankings. However, players currently being prioritized limit the Wings’ upside.

11. Golden State Valkyries

Wins

Maybe this is a bit too reductive, but expansion teams historically struggle quite a bit. The last two teams to enter the league each won fewer than 15 percent of their games in Year 1, and Golden State has the lowest over-under (11.5) of all 13 teams. I have more hope for Valkyries than some teams thanks to high-quality veterans such as Tiffany Hayes and Kayla Thornton, and young players like Laeticia Amihere looking to prove themselves in a new environment. This franchise has been explicit about its desire to be immediately competitive. The best way to measure that is in the win-loss column.

12. Connecticut Sun

Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers’ all-rookie votes

The Sun aren’t positioned to win this season, but they need to learn what they have in their rookie class, specifically first-round picks Morrow and Rivers. While most awards prioritize winning, that isn’t the case with all-rookie, and Morrow’s and Rivers’ abilities to stand out in their draft class will be the best indicator for Connecticut’s success. Unfortunately, neither has played this preseason due to injury and bereavement leave, but Connecticut hopes they hit the ground running soon.

13. Washington Mystics

Number of veterans on roster in September

Washington is the lone franchise to explicitly state its desire to take a step back and rebuild through the draft. Major offseason decisions have followed that ethos: trading Atkins for the pick that became Sonia Citron (as well as future draft assets), plus trading Samuelson for a 2026 first-rounder. The Mystics now have two players with more than three years of WNBA experience, and both — Dolson and Brittney Sykes — would be attractive to contending teams at the trade deadline, particularly Dolson with her shooting ability. It will be interesting to see if Washington’s commitment to accumulating draft capital extends to its last remaining veterans, or if the Mystics keep them to help mentor the younger players.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA

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