The biggest surprises from the start of the WNBA season

New York Post

7 days ago

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Two weeks into the WNBA season, and there's some teams playing the way that was expected.
It's no surprise the Liberty and Lynx — the only two undefeated teams entering Thursday night — are the league's top teams.
After meeting in the WNBA Finals last season, the Lynx got a more-motivated-than-ever Napheesa Collier, who's been dominant to start this season.
The Liberty got better, too, with the addition of Natasha Cloud and an improved bench.
But while the Lynx and Liberty are playing as well as expected, there's been some surprises of note.
Here are some good and bad revelations from the first two weeks of action:
Overachievers
Phoenix Mercury
4 Satou Sabally celebrates after making a 3-pointer during the Phoenix Mercury's win over Chicago Sky on May 27, 2025.
Getty Images
When news broke that Kahleah Copper would be sidelined for a minimum of a month due to a knee injury, it was fair to question how good the Mercury might be.
There were already questions regarding the team's depth. The Mercury went all-in on bolstering their starting lineup by adding star forwards Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally in the offseason.
The Mercury trusted their international scouting, adding guard Monique Akoa-Makani (Cameroon), forward Kitija Laksa (Latvia) and guard Sevgi Uzun (Turkey).
It's paid off so far. The Mercury are 4-1 and have been the second-best defense in the league (behind the Liberty).
Their starters have posted the league's third-best net rating (8.7), sitting behind only the Liberty and Lynx, and Phoenix's reserves have provided key minutes.
Mystics rookies
4 Washington Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen takes the ball to the basket during a game against the Indiana Fever in Baltimore on May 28, 2025.
NBAE via Getty Images
Some thought the Rookie of the Year race would be equivalent of Usain Bolt running 100 meters with Dallas' Paige Bueckers being the obvious front-runner.
But a pair of Mystics rookies, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, have been impressive, which has added some intrigue to the way-too-early Rookie of the Year conversation.
Citron leads first-year players with 15 points per game while positing an elite shooting split of 50.8/40/90.9 through six games.
Iriafen is averaging 14.2 points and 10.7 rebounds per game (third in the WNBA).
Together, they helped the Mystics to a 3-3 start that includes wins against the Dream and Caitlin Clark-less Fever. They also managed to hang around against the Aces and Mercury, losing both of those games by single digits.
Underachievers
Chicago Sky
4 Angel Reese and Courtney Vandersloot high-five during the Chicago Sky's game against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 25, 2025.
NBAE via Getty Images
The Sky made history for all the wrong reasons to start this season.
They lost their first two games with a point differential of minus-60, a record for a team's opening two games. They've been outscored by 78 points through an 0-4 start.
The Sky tried fast-tracking their rebuild by trading this year's No. 3 pick to the Mystics for Ariel Atkins, and they signed veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot as a free agent. Getting back to the playoffs is the goal. But the Sky are winless and identity-less after four games.
Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso continue to struggle balancing their roles in the post, and the floor spacers the Sky added in free agency haven't helped the case.
Valkyries shooters
The expansion Valkyries' defense has been solid. They're good at forcing live ball turnovers, and before getting blown out by the Liberty on Tuesday, actually led the league in defensive rating.
4 Kayla Thornton dribbles upcourt during the Golden State Valkyries' loss to the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on May 27, 2025.
NBAE via Getty Images
Offensively, though, Golden State is reeling.
No team has taken more 3-pointers this season than the Valkyries. And no team has missed more shots from deep than the league's newest team.
The Valkyries are shooting a league-low 27.3% from behind the arc through four games.
Former Liberty reserve Kayla Thornton is averaging a team-high seven 3-point attempts per game while converting at a lousy 17.9% rate from downtown.
The Valkyries are also averaging a league-low 24 paint points per game.