Around the W: May and early Season

A look around the entire WNBA on how each team is doing so far.

Monthly Award Winners

Allisha Gray won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for her stellar play with the Atlanta Dream. Napheesa Collier won the Western Conference Player of the Month award for leading the league in scoring and leading the Lynx to an undefeated record in May.

Kia WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month: Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream averaged 21.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 4.6 APG.

Kia WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month: Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx averaged 26.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 3.0 APG.

Kia WNBA Rookie of the Month: Kiki Iriafen of the Washington Mystics averaged 13.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 1.0 APG.

Kiki Iriafen has been one of several impressive rookies so far this season. Iriafen is averaging a double-double. Iriafen beat out her teammate, Sonia Citron, and the #1 overall pick, Paige Bueckers, to win the first Rookie of the Month award.

Sandy Brondello led the New York Liberty to a perfect 6-0 record, including multiple 20+ point victories, to win Coach of the Month in May.

Landscape of the League

New York Liberty (9-0) - 1st

The defending WNBA Champions look primed to reach the WNBA Finals for a third year in a row. They are blowing out most of their opponents, and they aren’t even fully healthy. They have star power and depth, and that’s what makes them such a dangerous team. I picked New York to finish #1 again before this season got underway. They’ve shown nothing that would make me change my mind. They just have so many weapons and top-end talent. It’s early, but anything other than a rematch between the Lynx and Liberty this year would feel like an upset.

Minnesota Lynx (9-1) - 2nd

The Minnesota Lynx are off to an incredible start. They’ve picked up right where they left off last season, where they were a questionable call in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals away from winning the franchise’s 5th WNBA Championship. I’ve already written an “apology” for questioning whether the Lynx could repeat last season’s success, but I’ll do it again. I knew Napheesa Collier would continue to play like an MVP, but I questioned if her supporting cast could be as good as they were last year. Through the first nine games, they’ve answered that with a resounding YES. They lost their first game against Seattle in what was a highly entertaining game between two talented teams.

Atlanta Dream (6-3) - 3rd

The Atlanta Dream might have surprised some with their hot start, but not me. I already liked the Dream’s guards/wings with Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Jordin Canada. Then, in the offseason, they added two excellent post players with Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones. Canada has been out injured and just returned. Yet the Dream still own the third-best record in the WNBA as of this writing. Atlanta has two impressive road victories against the Indiana Fever (with a healthy Caitlin Clark) and against Seattle after trailing by 17 points in the 2nd half. The Dream have the balance on their roster and the talent to finish in the Top 4, which would earn them homecourt advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.

Phoenix Mercury (7-4) - 4th

The Phoenix Mercury have been one of the biggest surprises this season. I figured they’d be a playoff team. That’s not the surprise. It’s the fact that entering the season, the Mercury looked so top-heavy with Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas, and Satou Sabally. And then the rest of their roster was filled with a lot of unfamiliar names, rookies, and role players. Right before the season started, it was announced that All-Star Kahleah Copper would miss 6-8 weeks after a back injury resulted in a knee surgery. Thankfully for Copper and the Mercury, it wasn’t a season-ending injury. But it has cost her at least 25% of the season. Next, Alyssa Thomas has missed the past five games with a calf injury. That means for half this season, it’s been Satou Sabally and a bunch of unsung heroes, which includes Lexi Held, Monique Akoa Makani, and Kitija Laksa. They currently sit in 4th place in the WNBA standings. That is a credit to those lesser-known players and Head Coach Nate Tibbetts.

Seattle Storm (6-4) - 5th

The Seattle Storm have been a middle-of-the-pack team through their first nine games. They’ve had a three-game win streak that was capped off by their best victory over the Las Vegas Aces since they dismantled them in the 2020 WNBA Finals. They won this game by 20 points and led by 27 points in the 4th quarter. But after that great performance, Seattle lost three games in a row. The most disappointing was a home game against Atlanta, where they dominated in the first half and held a near 20-point lead in the third quarter before ultimately losing the game. The Storm have gotten back on track with another three-game winning streak. On Wednesday night, they handed the Minnesota Lynx their first loss, 94-84. That win could push them into the conversation as a potential title contenders, but they’ll have to keep winning against the other top teams. Gabby Williams should earn her first All-Star nomination this season. Rookie Dominique Malonga has shown promise in limited action.

Las Vegas Aces (4-4) - 6th

The Aces have been an interesting team because they’ve had some tough losses to the New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, and (surprisingly) the Golden State Valkyries. But they still have a loaded group of starters featuring the three-time WNBA MVP, A’ja Wilson, plus All-Stars Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Jewell Loyd. They’ve had two blowout wins against Connecticut and Los Angeles and two close wins against the Mystics and at Seattle. It’s difficult to judge the Aces because they’ve played fewer games than the rest of the WNBA. Las Vegas appears to be missing its depth from last season. They are without Tiffany Hayes, Alysha Clark, and Kate Martin this year. Plus, the swap of Kelsey Plum for Loyd hasn’t worked out as well as the Aces had hoped. Jewell is averaging a career-low 9.1 PPG right now and is shooting 29% on her field goals for the season. Rookie Aaliyah Nye and Dana Evans have given Las Vegas some depth off the bench, but it hasn’t been as good as Hayes, Clark, etc. last season. The Aces sit 6th in the WNBA standings currently. They have enough top-end talent to finish in the Top 4, but we are seeing some negative trends through the first month, so they could also slip to 6th or 7th by the end of the year.

Indiana Fever (4-5) - 7th (Tied)

The Indiana Fever have struggled as Caitlin Clark has missed the team’s last five games. They’re 2-3 in her absence. They’ve fallen to the Washington Mystics and the Connecticut Sun, two teams below them in the standings. When Clark was healthy, they beat a good Dream team in Atlanta and lost to the defending champions, the New York Liberty, by only two points. Even with Clark, the team had a .500 record, and DeWanna Bonner has struggled to find her rhythm. Bonner is averaging a career-low 7.4 PPG. The team has also dealt with injuries to Sophie Cunningham, which has hurt their depth and three-point shooting. We won’t know how good this team can be until everyone is healthy and they have more time to gel on the court.

Golden State Valkyries (4-5) - 7th (Tied)

The Golden State Valkyries have been the biggest surprise of the season so far. While they have lost to the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, they’ve generally been competitive this season. They’ve picked up big wins against the Washington Mystics and LA Sparks (twice). Most impressively, they took down the Las Vegas Aces by 27 points. While the Valkyries still have plenty to work on, they’ve already done so much better than just about anyone expected. Veronica Burton and Janelle Salaun have been standouts for the expansion team. I say that if the Valkyries earn a playoff spot this year, then Coach Natalie Nakase deserves serious Coach of the Year consideration, even if New York or Minnesota finishes with 40 wins.

Washington Mystics (4-6) - 9th

Despite their below .500 record, very few teams have been as fun as the Washington Mystics. They appear to have hit with their draft picks, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. The latter won Rookie of the Month, and Citron was arguably the runner-up. Citron is averaging 13.7 PPG and 4.3 RPG. Iriafen is at 14.6 PPG and 9.4 RPG. They also have other recent Top 5 picks in Shakira Austin and Aaliyah Edwards. Both have dealt with some injuries but are back to playing now. Former Storm draft pick Jade Melbourne has also played well off the bench for Washington. Brittney Sykes is having a career year so far, averaging 20.6 PPG and leads the WNBA in Free Throw attempts per game at 10.6 FTA. Many predicted the Mystics would be a bottom-three team this season after they traded away Ariel Atkins and Karlie Samuelson. However, they’re fighting for a playoff spot, and if their young players develop and get better throughout the season, they have a legit chance to make it.

LA Sparks (4-7) - 10th

The LA Sparks have struggled out of the gate despite some high scoring from Kelsey Plum. Plum is 2nd in the WNBA in scoring with 21.0 PPG. Dearica Hamby is nearly Top 10 in both scoring and rebounding. The Sparks have lost two games already to the expansion team, the Valkyries. But they just picked up a big win against the Aces in Las Vegas. Despite their poor start, the Sparks have plenty of time left in the season to earn a playoff spot. They should have some reinforcements coming at some point as the 2024 #2 overall pick, Cameron Brink, should return later this season from her torn ACL. Rae Burrell may also return sometime in July. Los Angeles has three difficult games coming up: two at Minnesota and one at home against Seattle. Depending on the outcome of those games, we should have a clearer picture on where the Sparks may be headed in another month.

Chicago Sky (2-6) - 11th

Things have not gone well for the Chicago Sky this season. Whereas the Phoenix Mercury and Golden State Valkyries have exceeded expectations. The Chicago Sky have fallen well below expectations. Instead of building through the draft, they traded the #3 overall pick to acquire Ariel Atkins. They added some additional veterans in Courtney Vandersloot, Rebecca Allen, and Kia Nurse, but it hasn’t worked out. Sadly, Vandersloot tore her ACL in the 7th game of the season. The Sky could have kept their first-round draft pick and drafted Sonia Citron or Kiki Iriafen. Then build around a younger core. In retrospect, it feels like they tried to cut the line earlier than they should have. Chicago’s only two wins have come against last-place Dallas.

Connecticut Sun (2-7) - 12th

It was expected to be a tough season for the Connecticut Sun this year, and so far it has been. They’ve already had several blowout losses, including a 100-52 loss to the New York Liberty and a 104-67 defeat to the Washington Mystics. Surprisingly, they defeated the Atlanta Dream 84-76 in between those two blowout losses. Marina Mabrey scored 34 points in that win and leads the team in scoring at 17.1 PPG. Rookie Saniya Rivers has given Sun fans something to be excited about for their future. She’s averaging around 7 PPG, 3 RPG, and 3 APG. Mabrey has taken Rivers under her wing, and they’ve been bonding a lot on social media. The Sun are likely headed to the lottery where they can draft another top prospect to build around. The question will be, will Connecticut fans get to enjoy that new player? Earlier this year, reports came out that said the franchise owners are exploring options to sell the team. The team would relocate from Mohegan Sun Arena to a new location. Whether that’s some place relatively close, like Boston, or a city and state much further away is yet to be determined.

Dallas Wings (1-10) - 13th

The Dallas Wings have been a train wreck this season. They should not be playing this poorly. Losing Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard appears to be an even greater problem than expected. Head Coach Chris Koclanes has really struggled to get his players to buy in and execute properly on both ends of the floor. The Wings are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Arike Ogunbowale is averaging a career-low 15.7 PPG and a career-worst 34% field goal shooting overall. DiJonai Carrington has been a solid addition, but NaLyssa Smith and Myisha Hines-Allen have been disappointing. Worse news for the Wings, the team recently announced that Ty Harris will miss the rest of the season after undergoing left knee surgery. Paige Bueckers suffered a concussion and missed four games. Thankfully, she is back healthy and scored a career-high 35 points in her first game back from injury. Outside of Bueckers, the only bright spot for Dallas right now is the fact that they currently own the best odds to land the #1 overall pick again in 2026.

Notes:
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