mid-season Ranking wnba championship favorites
The WNBA comes back this week after the All-Star break and this is my current rankings on best odds to win the title this year. (written 7/21/25 9:05 AM)
Minnesota Lynx - currently the most dominant team in the league with the reigning DPOY and most likely MVP of this season Napheesa Collier. The rest of the rest remains loaded as well and I expect this team to go far in the playoffs if not win the whole thing.
Seattle Storm - The Storm have been really solid this season and outside of good performances from Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike, Gabby Williams has been very impressive this season. I believe they have the roster to pull off a deep playoff run and Williams playing great, alongside the top talent on the team, turns them from a playoff team to a championship contender.
New York Liberty - The Liberty could be way too high on this list when its all said and done this season with the injury to Jonquel Jones. However I can’t find myself betting against this Coach and the top talents of Stewart and Ionescu. Do they still have enough talent throughout the roster to go back to back? Right now i’m not so confident but it’s very possible.
Atlanta Dream - This is a team that should be taking the step towards legit championship threats but there are still times where I feel like they are trying to find their identity. Are they a team that attacks the paint with Griner and Grey cutting to the basket? Or are they a team that shoots a ton of 3’s and pushes the pace? It sometimes feels like they pick one player to rely on depending on the day instead of a team like the Lynx who move the ball throughout the lineup and rely on the hot hand. If they can hone in on their strategy in late game situations I believe they can win it all.
Phoenix Mercury - This is maybe the most challenging team to place on this list. They currently sit 2nd in the standings and have gotten MVP level performance out of their leader Alyssa Thomas. The rest of the roster bolsters a ton of talent with Sanally, rookie Akoa Makani, Copper, a refreshed Bonner, Whitcomb, and the list goes on. It almost feels as though they can play a 11-player rotation but in the playoffs who will be the 5 they can really count on to close out a tight game. If they can have some of the solid role players separate form the pack into more reliable scoring threats then this team could go far. Howver if Thomas body breaks down and theres not a different player picking up the scoring slack this team could be a quick out.
Washington Mystics - The next section of this list is where we start to get into fun stories but not legit contenders for the title. The Mystics have been awesome to watch and a fun story with their rookies, Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, but I don’t see them being able to compete with the elite teams just yet. Shakira Austin has been impressive and could be an X-factor in a playoff game with but with the youth of this team I wouldn’t expect them to go further than the second round. They still have a bright future and I can’t wait to see what they can add to this team in the off-season.
Golden State Valkyrie - This has been the most exciting surprise team to watch this season. Coach Nakase has this defense playing at an elite level and turned their young talent into a solid rotation. They have already surpassed expectations and proved they belong in the playoffs. I think making the playoffs alone is already more than the organization could have asked for but depending on the matchup this team could actually win a playoff game. I still believe they are a st- ar player or another elite scorer away from being real threats but with their performance this season they should have no problem recruiting top talent to join them this off-season.
Indiana Fever - It’s been a weird season for the Fever. While they are definitely better than last year, they just haven’t hit the ground running like we expected in year 2 of Caitlin Clark’s career. The Dewanna Bonner aquisition did not work out and that may have set their rotation back a bit, along with Clark’s injuries this year. However, this team has had the talent to look impressive and win games without Clark. It just feels like this team has been playing two distinctly different styles with and without Clark and they haven’t been able to put it all together cohesively. I would hope they rest Clark enough to get fully healthy and hope she can lead them to a deep playoff run, but as it stands currently I would not be surprised with a first round loss for this Fever squad.
Las Vegas Aces - I don’t know why this conversation has not been louder by the media but the Aces have fallen far from the dominant team they were the past few years. The Aces believed that swapping out Plum for Jewell Lloyd would be a simple exchange and they would keep the championship level play going without interruption but they greatly underestimated Plum’s impact while overestimation Lloyd’s. Lloyd’s scoring is way down this season and she has struggled to fit into this offense, despite how many times the players and coaches praise her impact outside of the stat sheet, it’s hard not to clearly see that the Aces offense has turned into A’ja Wilson iso ball more times than not. The team at least noticed the trouble they were, in particular the bench struggles, and made a trade for NaLyssa Smith who could make up for the lack of scoring form Lloyd. Smith has seemed to already fit it in well with her role in Vegas but will it be enough for this team to make a push for the title?
Los Angeles Sparks - This team is very confusing because on one hand they are a very talented group at the top of their roster with Plum, Hamby, Stevens, and Rickea Jackson. On the other hand they just have struggled to win games. The main thing that has been an issue for this sparks team is bench play. If the 4 players metioned above do not all score in double figures in the same game than it is an uphill battle to keep up with opposing teams scoring wise. I think getting to a fresh start next season with the return or Cameron Brink and another young player from the draft to add to this roster will put them in a much better place to compete next season. It feels like they are not panicking despite the win loss record but it will be interesting to see how they handle the second half of the season if the win total doesn’t start to turn around and missing the playoffs becomes more of a reality.
Chicago Sky - The Sky were an exciting team coming into the season and they have definitely been entertaining but an early season injury to Vandersloot pretty much took their hope of competing for a playoff spot away. This young team would have benefited greatly with the presence of a veteran guard like Vandersloot to direct the offense. The coaching decisions on handling the rotation with Cardoso and Reese at times have been very questionable with Cardoso getting the worst of it becoming a non factor in some games due to being pulled early. When Angel Reese plays the style she is best at she is a dominant big who can create for other, keep plays alive, and get to the free throw line. There does need to be a coaching staff in Chicago the tells Reese she is not Kyrie Irving and to stop asking for Iso plays at the top of the three point line. If they can reign in Reese to stick to her dominant skills and find better guard play next season this team will be interesting as a playoff team. Expect an uptick in Hailey Van Lith’s minutes the rest of the season while the team evaluates what she could do for them next year.
Dallas Wings - I don’t want to make this section all about firing the coach but the second the season ends the Wings need to fire Coach Koclanes. He has been awful this year from keeping Paige Bueckers on the bench early in the season when she was clearly ready to perform in the league, to fumbling through press conferences when asked about Ogunbowale’s bad game only to have Bueckers save him with a much better response to the media. It’s not just Paige that he has mishandled in the rotation as there have been time that Dijonai Carrington has been pulled after getting into rythm on offense as well. It is not all on the coach here as the Wings clearly do not have the roster to compete with most teams but after watching what the Valkyrie have been able to pull off with a solid coach I think this team needs to look for a different answer at that position. In this upcoming draft I think the Wings need to look to towards keeping the franchise centerpiece Bueckers happy. Either draft Azzi Fudd and build the franchise around the duo or take top level bigs in Flau’jae Johnson or Chloe Kitts.
Connecticut Sun - Not much to say about the worst team in the league this season. They are nearly 20 point underdogs in every game at this point and have accepted their fate as by far the worst coached and least talked about team in the league. Mabrey And Charles have not been the leaders to carry this squad to wins as both have had good games here and there but have not been able to rally this team around them to create a distinct style and generate wins. There are some bright spots however. Morrow, Rivers, and Nelson-Ododa have show flashes and have proven to be pieces worth building on going forward. There is a lot more room for growth with their young so maybe they turn out to be the future stars of this team or the Sun look to add a star in the offseason but either way their current season is over.
