WNBA Power Rankings: Dallas Wings are a rolling ball of chaos

USA Today

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WNBA Power Rankings: Dallas Wings are a rolling ball of chaos
The Dallas Wings are a rolling, swirling ball of chaos, and the downward spiral might not stop anytime soon.
Welcome to the Week 5 edition of For The Win's 2025 WNBA power rankings, and if you know a Wings fan, tell them to look away. (They do not want to read this. They're probably already going through a lot.) Looking at the team's stats, Dallas surprisingly ranks around the middle of the pack in most league categories. However, defense seems to be the downfall of such a young squad.The Wings are ranked 11th in defensive rating (109.1) and have given up 80 or more points in 11 out of their 12 matchups this season, including 90-plus points five times. Dallas also gives up the second-most fastbreak points to opponents (14) in the league. The Wings' defense has become a painful sight, and it's costing them games, begging the question: When will it end?
These are For The Win's WNBA power rankings for Week 5:
13. Dallas Wings (1-11)
The good news: Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers is back after missing three games with a concussion. She even dropped 35 points in her return.The bad news: Even with Bueckers, the Dallas is a mess. Perhaps there was no larger indictment of the state of the Wings than this week's loss against the Aces. The Wings gave up a brutal 17-2 run to end the game after leading Vegas before the fourth quarter. Making matters worse, a clip of head coach Chris Koclanes and guard DiJonai Carrington in a back-and-forth exchange about a potential challenge with the game on the line went viral, leading to more scrutiny.But it doesn't stop there. The Wings recently had to sign two hardship contracts because of injuries. Forward Maddy Seigrist is expected to miss a portion of the season after she suffered a bone fracture in her right knee, and guard Ty Harris is out for the season.
12. Connecticut Sun (2-8)
During their lone game of the week, the Connecticut Sun's offense sputtered down the stretch. As much as center Tina Charles and forward Marina Mabrey are doing their part to help, it hasn't been enough to power the team to many wins. The Sun have dropped three of their last five games. Hopefully, when rookie Saniya Rivers (illness) comes back, things will start moving again.
11. Chicago Sky (3-7)
Hello, Big Barbie Energy. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese earned the first triple-double of her career on Sunday, and the Sky needed it badly. Unfortunately, forward Rhyne Howard and the Atlanta Dream dropped buckets all over Chicago just days before ― nine 3-pointers from Howard alone ― and that's enough to make anyone feel defeated.
But, as head coach Tyler Marsh told the team following the loss, sometimes you have to be as desperate as 90's R&B singers were to get that much-coveted win when you're in a slump. Lint in our pocket says he played Jodeci's Cry for You.
10. Washington Mystics (4-7)
The Sky weren't the only team to suffer against the Atlanta Dream. The Washington Mystics had zero answers in the second half against Atlanta, their only matchup during Week 5. It probably didn't help that rookie Sonia Citron was the only starter in double figures or that Washington shot a gross 29 percent from the field.
They also gave up *checks notes* 18 3-pointers and only had 12 total assists. Just punt the film into the wind, Washington, and never speak of it again.
9. Los Angeles Sparks (4-8)
The Los Angeles Sparks are still on the ugly roller coaster that comes with being a banged-up team. The week went a little something like this. First, Veteran guard Kelsey Plum went scorched earth on WNBA referees after a loss to the Golden State Valkyries. Then, everything seemed alright as Rickea Jackson found her groove with a 30-point game against the Las Vegas Aces. (Los Angeles even won. That's nice, right?)
However, the Sparks ran into the Minnesota Lynx and Napheesa Collier. Collier had 16 points in the first half, if that's any indication of how the 101-78 loss looked. Get healthy soon, Sparks.
8. Las Vegas Aces (5-5)
The Las Vegas Aces are going through it. A'ja Wilson suffered a concussion during a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks and missed two games during Week 5. The Aces did manage to win a gritty matchup against the Wings without Wilson. But days later, against the Phoenix Mercury, they had 19 turnovers, and no amount of scoring from their guard trio of Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Jewell Loyd was enough.
Wilson is also expected to miss Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Lynx. So, if production is not coming from Young, Gray and Loyd, the points will have to come elsewhere. Kiah Stokes? Tiffany Mitchell? Dana Evans? Aaliyah Nye? Somebody.
7. Golden State Valkyries (5-5)
The Golden State Valkyries are one of the most feisty teams in the entire WNBA, and at .500, their record is impressive for an expansion team. "We're a team of sixth women", center Temi Fagbenle told the media after a win over the Seattle Storm. "We know what it takes to be great teammates, and we know what it takes to step up ..." As simple as that concept sounds, it's harder to execute when everything is new. (Players, coaches, etc.) However, Golden State is making it work. It is currently riding a three-game win streak, and grinding through it down several players, who are either out with injury or are playing in EuroBasket.
6. Indiana Fever (5-5)
Caitlin Clark is back. We repeat: Caitlin Clark is back. Govern yourselves accordingly. Despite missing five games. Clark is seemingly incapable of being rusty. The Fever star had 32 points against the New York Liberty on Saturday, including seven from shots from beyond the arc. Clark brought a lot of life into a Fever team that was, at times, struggling without her.
Having four other players in double figures and shooting 48.6 percent from deep is a great reflection of what Clark's presence does for the team. The Fever were able to capitalize on a New York Liberty squad that was down two starters, and Indiana rolled 102-88 against the reigning champs after losing to the Atlanta Dream earlier in the week.
5. Seattle Storm (6-5)
Over the last several weeks, it's been impossible to tell what version of the Seattle Storm will appear from game to game, and Week 5 didn't help that conclusion. Seattle was able to overcome an 11-point deficit to hand the Minnesota Lynx its first loss of the season. Five players were in double-digits, and their defense was huge down the stretch.
Three days later, they lost to the Golden State Valkyries despite a furious fourth-quarter surge. A brutal moving screen with under 30 seconds remaining only poured salt in the wound. Will the real Seattle Storm please stand up?
4. Phoenix Mercury (8-4)
The Phoenix Mercury should feel really good right now. Forward Alyssa Thomas is back, and with Thomas in the fold, the ball moves. Over the last three games she's played in, Thomas has had 10-plus assists (15 on May 27, 10 on June 11, and 13 on June 15). Additionally, guard Kahleah Copper is back, and that means more production on both sides of the ball.
What makes Phoenix a particularly dangerous team is that outside of their big three, the bench is also very productive. For example, guard Sami Whitcomb had 18 points on 50 shooting against the Aces, and that's momentum Phoenix could potentially use through the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
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3. Atlanta Dream (8-3)
If you've been sleeping on the Atlanta Dream, time to wake up. (Get it? Sleeping? Dream? Okay. I'll show myself out.) Atlanta has won seven of its last eight matchups, including every game during Week 5. Without Caitlin Clark, the Dream took care of the Fever with little to no problems. Against the Sky, Rhyne Howard's 36 points were Chicago's undoing. Howard let it rain from deep, draining a mind-boggling nine 3-balls.
The Dream also unraveled the Mystics with 18 3-pointers en route to an 89-56 win. Guard Allisha Gray (32 points) was one of several players with a career-high in scoring that day. Gray has been having a career year and should be in the MVP conversations behind Napheesa Collier. Plus, here's one more player to watch: Forward Bri Jones has been quietly building a case for an All-Star nod, averaging just under a double-double (13 points and 8.7 rebounds) per game, and not enough people are talking about it.
2. New York Liberty (9-1)
The New York Liberty lost a game. (Shocking, we know.) Without starters Jonquel Jones (ankle) and Leonie Fiebich (playing in EuroBasket), New York couldn't make up for the production loss against the Indiana Fever on June 14, despite beating the Chicago Sky earlier in the week.
Here's something to keep an eye on: Starting point guard Natasha Cloud hasn't eclipsed double digits since May 24. The Liberty don't need Cloud to be a scoring machine every matchup, but without that extra punch, New York could find itself on the losing end of more games if its guard play continues to lag.
1. Minnesota Lynx (10-1)
The Minnesota Lynx also dropped a game this week. (*gasp*) Minnesota lost to Seattle in a 94-84 game that felt like a playoff battle, and truth be told, it wasn't hard to see coming after escaping the Dallas Wings the game before. The Lync eventually got back in with win column with a 101-78 rout of the Los Angeles Sparks.
MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier had 16 points in the first quarter against Los Angeles and ended her day with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Those sorts of shenanigans shouldn't fool anyone. Collier's been putting together performances like that all season to help the Lynx in their quest to get back to the WNBA Finals. She leads the league in points per game (26.1) and is top-ten in rebounds, steals and blocks per game. As long as Collier is rolling like that, the Lynx will be hard to beat.