WNBA Power Rankings 5/20

We are now two weeks into the 2022 WNBA season! With that let’s take a look at our WNBA Power Rankings as of 5/20. Be sure to come back here to Fantom Sports for our updated power rankings for the WNBA every two weeks!

1. 1. Las Vegas Aces (5-1)
   1. The Aces are clearly the best team in “The W”. With the best record and best offensive rating they control their own fate game to game. They have three top 15 scorers in the league they can turn it on whenever they need. They’ve won games big, they’ve blown leads and come back, and gone down big and come back. Each game seems to be in the palm of their hands.
2. 2. Washington Mystics (4-1)
   1. The Mystics are tied for second in the standings and are in the top five in the league in offensive, defensive and net rating. Their only loss of the season was to the Dallas Wings who they were sure to deliver a blowout win against just days later. The team is led by Elena Delle Donne who is seventh in the league in scoring, and appears to be right back in 2019 form.
3. 3. Atlanta Dream (4-1)
   1. The Dream have been the pleasant surprise of the season. With rookie Rhyne Howard leading the way they are second in defensive rating. Howard’s league-leading 20.4 points-per-game lead the way for an offense that is effective at all three levels. Upcoming games against the Mystics will be telling for how real this team is.
4. 4. Connecticut Sun (2-1)
   1. The Sun have played the fewest games in the league but have made the most of them. Number one in the league by a mile in defensive and net ratings, their defense is spurring them to wins. They force a league high 23 turnovers per game. With two games against the Indiana Fever coming up that record could look more like the ones above them by the end of the weekend.
5. 5. Chicago Sky (2-2)
   1. Chicago is in the top five in record, net rating, offensive rating and defensive rating. However those rankings are probably in large part due to their dominating win over the New York Liberty on May 11 (83-50). Still, they get points for a win in that dominating a fashion. A big game on Sunday against the Mystics will tell us more.
6. 6. Dallas Wings (3-2)
   1. We are now in the middle part of the league. Teams six through nine are the toughest to rank, and you could tell me any combination of the four and have a good argument. But of the remaining teams the Wings were the only ones with a winning record and positive net rating. And they did just beat the Mercury Thursday night, albeit without Skylar Diggins-Smith.
8. 7. Phoenix Mercury (2-3)
   1. The Mercury are in a bit of a slide losing two straight after starting 2-1. They are fourth in the league in offensive rating but 11th in defensive rating. Some of that might be bad luck as opponents are shooting a league best 39% from three-point land against them. A regression there could help their defense a lot, since they are very good defensive rebounding team.
9. 8. Los Angeles Sparks (2-3)
   1. The Sparks are in a similar slide to the Mercury, only their losses include a blowout loss to the Sun and then a loss to the lowly Minnesota Lynx. Right now they are just an average team ranking between sixth and eight in offensive, defensive and net ratings. As well as points and opponent points-per-game.
11. 9. Seattle Storm (2-3)
    1. The Storm were 1-3 before a good win Wednesday night against the Sky. They are just 10th in the league in offensive rating and 9th in net rating. Seattle plays Sunday then has some time off before playing the Liberty twice.
12. 10. Indiana Fever (2-4)
    1. While Indiana isn’t in the very bottom tier of the league, they are clearly in a one team tier just above the bottom. A clear 10th in net rating, they are 11th in offensive rating and 9th in defensive rating. Their only two wins are against the two teams below them. This team is still working in veterans who were overseas to start the year, and have five rookies in their rotation. The slow start isn’t necessarily a surprise.
13. 11. Minnesota Lynx (1-5)
    1. We’re getting to the bottom of the barrel here. The Lynx are 11th in net rating and 12th in defensive rating. They give up the second most points-per-game, highest field goal percentage, and a very close second highest three point percentage. They did however get their one win in strong fashion against the Sparks on May 17th.
14. 12. New York Liberty (1-4)
    1. The Liberty have lost four straight games and are last in net rating and offensive rating by a mile. They are at -17.8 and 85.8 for those two categories, respectively. 11th in each of those categories is -8.9 and 93.9. So there is a large gap for the Liberty and it stems from the offensive end. This teams needs to find some flow on offense if they want to start competing before it’s too late.

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Obviously these rankings are fluid. They will change as the season goes, and give both a snapshot of the previous two weeks of games and the entire season. Be sure to come back here to Fantom Sports and follow along on Twitter for updates!

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