WNBA power rankings: Why the Indiana Fever's small lineup is working

New York Times

9 hours ago

The undefeateds are no more. After they started the season 9-0, New York and Minnesota both suffered their first losses in dramatic fashion. Nine teams in league history have won their first nine games; six of the previous seven advanced to the WNBA Finals, but only half of those six ended up capturing the title. Therefore, even though the Liberty and Lynx have separated themselves in the standings, hope is not lost for the rest of the pack.
Advertisement
Let's start in Seattle, where the Storm have been among the most up-and-down teams in the league. They've gone 2-1 against the Phoenix Mercury and split with the Las Vegas Aces as well as with Minnesota. Seattle has scored in the 50s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the 100s through 11 games, winning with its defense and its offense. What it hasn't been is consistent, which is worrisome in a long playoff series. But in a three-game set? Count out the Storm at your own peril.
Seattle accomplished a feat no other team has this season: flustering Napheesa Collier. She has shot below 40 percent in both of their meetings. She has been below 50 percent only once in her other seven games. Ezi Magbegor and Dominique Malonga have been effective in disrupting Collier in isolation, Malonga especially so in the second half of the Storm's win.
Seattle's overall body of work doesn't scream contender, and the Storm followed up their best win with a loss to the surging Golden State Valkyries. But their ceiling is high enough, as is the other team that played giant-killer this week: the Indiana Fever.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Caitlin Clark's return sparked a return to form for Indiana. Considering how much Clark improved over the course of her rookie season, the heights she showcased against New York are potentially the baseline for what she can accomplish as a WNBA sophomore.
The Liberty were without starters Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich, which eliminated most of their margin for error, and the Lynx were without backup center Jessica Shepard. Jones' impending return keeps New York atop the rankings for now, but with other teams starting to approach full strength — in addition to Clark coming back, Kahleah Copper made her season debut for Phoenix on Sunday — a shakeup in the near future seems more likely now than last week.
Here is this week's ranking:
One of the more befuddling outcomes of the offseason was the Fever choosing to fill out their roster with six bigs and five guards. This is a team that wants to play up-tempo and one that should run and spread the floor. That's easier to accomplish when waves of players can come in and play at high energy for shorter stints, not unlike what Indiana's NBA counterpart, the aptly-named Pacers, have accomplished.
Advertisement
In their win against New York, the Fever elected to play starting power forward Natasha Howard for 14 minutes and leave one big on the court for most of the game. The Liberty were missing Jones and 6-foot-4 Fiebich, so they didn't have the size to punish Indiana the way they've done to other opponents during the regular season, but most teams aren't as big as New York anyway.
Instead, the Fever spaced the floor with Sophie Cunningham or Lexie Hull as the nominal four, forcing the Liberty to defend in space. Indiana attempted 35 3-pointers, its most of the season (the previous high was 28), and outscored New York by 33 points from beyond the arc. The Fever lost the points-in-the-paint battle by only eight and outrebounded the Liberty, making it a worthy trade-off. Indiana coach Stephanie White went with Sydney Colson off the bench instead of another frontcourt player, getting Colson her second-most minutes of the game, many of them next to Clark when she'd previously been a direct replacement for the star guard.
Sydney Colson uses the ball fake and hits her second triple of the day 🏹🏹 pic.twitter.com/a2Ifqtb1mP
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 14, 2025
It should be clear that this identity works for Indiana, not a mashing, two-big unit that is more physical than its opponents. The Fever play fast and shoot early in the clock, and it would behoove the front office to balance the roster in that direction. They can trade a big for a small or simply sign another wing later in the season when they have the cap space for a 12th player. Even against a team as big as New York, Indiana should play to its strengths and not try to match those of its opponent.
The Wings led the Aces 82-71 with less than four minutes to play in Las Vegas on Friday. They proceeded to commit 10 fouls and six turnovers (though some of those overlapped as offensive fouls) in the final 3:55, ultimately losing the game 88-84. The cherry on top of the disaster sundae was a possession with 22 seconds left, with Dallas down two. Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale made the same cut to come to the ball, and the Wings turned it over before even getting to attempt a game-tying shot.
Dallas had called a timeout with 28 seconds remaining in the game.
This would have been the Wings' second win of the season. Instead, it was their seventh consecutive loss to fall to 1-11.
When a double-digit lead is blown so quickly, there are many contributing factors. In this case, Dallas getting outrebounded 6-0 by the Aces' lineup of four guards and Kiah Stokes is the most damning, especially since the Wings were playing two bigs during that stretch. The first-shot defense was good enough to win the game, but Dallas didn't box out, letting perimeter players make plays on the glass. The Wings attempted only one field goal during that stretch, excluding Bueckers' meaningless jumper at the buzzer.
Advertisement
From a point-differential perspective, Dallas hasn't been terrible in 2025, especially when compared to Chicago and Connecticut. The Wings have been competitive in losses to Seattle, Minnesota and Atlanta. But Chicago and Connecticut have at least stacked a couple of wins alongside their blowout losses. The Wings, on the other hand, can't figure out that part; a team trying to make the playoffs can't have rookie Aaliyah Nye beating five players to an offensive rebound or leave Jewell Loyd open in the corner in the final minute.
The young core in Los Angeles was quickly reduced to Jackson, and Jackson alone, to start the year. Cameron Brink was already out with a torn ACL and Rae Burrell injured her knee seconds into her season debut. And then Jackson suffered a concussion in the second game and was understandably not herself when she made her way back.
The problem is that the Sparks don't really have a shot at success without Jackson playing well. They need another perimeter creator to take some of the defensive pressure off of Kelsey Plum, and Odyssey Sims and Julie Allemand are not that type of player, at least not consistently. L.A. also hasn't done a great job of featuring Jackson; those habits can be learned only through more reps together.
The Sparks made every effort to feature Jackson early against Las Vegas on Wednesday, and they were rewarded for it. Jackson was confident in her jumper, attempting five 3-pointers in the first quarter and sinking four as L.A. built a double-digit lead. Jackson likes to work to get to her pull-up but fired off the catch when the defense gave her an opening for 14 first-quarter points. As the Aces worked to run her off the line later in the game, Jackson attacked the basket, scoring six paint points in the fourth quarter to close out the win. She ended with a career-high 30 points.
Rickea Jackson had her way vs. the Las Vegas Aces 😤
30 PTS (career-high)
7 REB
4 3PM
11-17 FG
WNBA Commissioner's Cup presented by @coinbase pic.twitter.com/QePvcYMlAW
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 12, 2025
'Rickea hit a couple 3s that made everybody feel really confident and that set the tone,' coach Lynne Roberts said. 'Her confidence and aggressiveness, I think that everyone fed off of it.'
The Sparks laid an egg against Minnesota the next time out, but Jackson had another solid individual outing with 18 points and three 3s. L.A. needs her to maintain that level to stay afloat until Brink can return.
Even in a bad week for the Wings, Bueckers still impressed in her return from concussion protocol, setting aside her late-game box-out failures against Las Vegas. In Phoenix, Bueckers looked like a seasoned All-Star, repeatedly getting to her sweet spots in the midrange against a top-five defense. She became the first rookie since A'ja Wilson to score at least 35 points on 65 percent shooting, per Across the Timeline. Only Bueckers and Cynthia Cooper have done so while making at least five 3s. Bueckers is third in the league in assists per game and seventh among guards in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Paige Bueckers 35 points on 19 shots last night. This bucket was nice.
[image or embed]
— Steph Noh (@stephnoh.bsky.social) June 12, 2025 at 9:10 AM
On the other end of the court, Bueckers is collecting steals and blocks at nearly the same rate as in college. Dallas is having her defend multiple positions, and she's held up reasonably well against guards. Look at how she sticks with Chelsea Gray on the three-time champion's patented free-throw jumper.
The Wings have been much worse than expected, but Bueckers is coming in as advertised. Although the Washington rookies have taken the early lead in rookie of the year, Bueckers is right on their tails.
Tuesday is the final day of Commissioner's Cup games, and the WNBA has 12 of 13 teams playing, so for this week, there are a few extra games to circle. In the East, Dream versus Liberty is the cream of the crop. Atlanta controls its destiny and can earn a spot in the championship game with a win at New York. A loss puts Indiana in pole position, and the Fever can win the bid by beating Connecticut. If both the Dream and Indiana lose, the Liberty make the final for the third straight season.
Advertisement
On the other side of the draw, reigning Cup champion Minnesota is in control, needing a win over Las Vegas to get back to the final. If the Lynx lose, Seattle can take the Western Conference bid with a victory in Los Angeles. If A'ja Wilson returns from concussion protocol by Tuesday, the Aces' game in Minnesota will have top billing.
(Photo of Indiana Fever: Brian Spurlock / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)