WNBA power rankings: Seattle Storm's new direction is validated with strong start

Yahoo

27-05-2025

After a hectic offseason full of veteran stars moving to new teams, this week delivered the first revenge game for one of those franchise stalwarts: Jewell Loyd played in Seattle as an opponent for the first time. Return games often can be an interesting lens into the different directions a team and a player have taken, and Las Vegas' matchup against the Storm provided that contrast.
Loyd entered the contest coming off Friday's game-winning 3-pointer against the Washington Mystics and a hot-shooting night against the Connecticut Sun earlier in the week. Despite an acrimonious departure from Seattle that included an investigation into the coaching staff and a trade request, the Storm gave the two-time champion a tribute video (a gesture that curiously was never extended to Breanna Stewart). Storm fans showered Loyd with affection. She hit her first four shots, an echo of her best times in Seattle, but then proceeded to miss her final 11 in the 20-point defeat, validating the Storm's new direction in 2025.
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Seattle built a big three during the 2024 offseason but failed to supplement that All-Star trio with any meaningful depth. Once stars stopped performing like stars — the case when Loyd dealt with an injury at the end of the 2024 season — there was no backup plan.
Rather than backfill Loyd with one All-Star, the Storm added veterans Alysha Clark and Erica Wheeler as well as a full season of Gabby Williams for a deeper rotation, one that clarifies the roles of stars and everyone else. After what looks like an anomalous defeat to Phoenix to start the season, Seattle has the league's second-best net rating behind New York.
The Aces, meanwhile, are experiencing the problems of the 2024 Storm. Las Vegas doubled down on its star power in the offseason, believing that healthier seasons for the four best players would offset any losses in the back end of the roster, but the Aces have been less than competitive against the W's best teams to start the season. With only A'ja Wilson and Jackie Young playing at All-Star levels, and a collective defensive malaise, Las Vegas is struggling for answers early.
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As the Aces attempt to course correct, another revenge game looms, with two-time champion Kelsey Plum returning to Las Vegas on Friday as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. The Aces would hope to welcome Plum as warmly as Seattle did Loyd.
Here is this week's power ranking:
Three standout performances
1. Is Allisha Gray the Dream's best player?
For all the questions about how Karl Smesko's system would function with two post-up bigs, it almost went under the radar that Allisha Gray is an absolute perfect fit under her new head coach. Whatever inefficiencies existed in Gray's game under the previous administration in Atlanta have been fully excised. Her shot chart is an analytical dream: She is taking 56 percent of her attempts beyond the 3-point arc and 40 percent within 10 feet of the basket. That means she's averaging career-highs in 3-point attempts and free-throw attempts while also stuffing the stat sheet with career-bests in assists, rebounds, blocks and turnovers.
Gray is doing everything for the Dream. She sets great screens from the guard position, springing shooters. She usually has a sight line above her defender, allowing her to find open teammates in the paint, and she has been elite in transition. She also has to guard the best opposing wing, be it Kelsey Mitchell or Paige Bueckers, or even tracking Jacy Sheldon or Ty Harris through screens.
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Gray was particularly good against the Dallas Wings, her former team, last week, tying a career-high with 27 points while putting Bueckers through hell. The Dallas rookie couldn't find any room to get to her pull-up, and the offense stalled with her on the court. Meanwhile, Gray had excellent command as a secondary playmaker for Atlanta, posting six assists to zero turnovers.
While the Dream wait for Rhyne Howard to take the leap to becoming a superstar, Gray might already be there. She's second in the league in win shares behind Napheesa Collier and looks increasingly comfortable in Atlanta's new system.
2. Chicago is already rethinking its identity
One of the Chicago Sky's stated goals entering the season was to expand Angel Reese's offensive repertoire. The second-year forward had mostly played in the post as a rookie, and the Sky hoped to move her around the court, even having her bring the ball up and initiate from the perimeter. But the early returns have not been promising. Reese finished 0 of 8 from the field with five turnovers against the Liberty on Thursday, and the Sky had 23 giveaways that resulted in 27 points for New York.
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Desperate for a win against the Sparks, who had lost their last three, Chicago went away from its new identity. The Sky kept Reese and Kamilla Cardoso close to the basket and attempted to bludgeon the opposition in the paint, similar to what the two bigs did as rookies. It resulted in 50 paint points, equaling the total from the first two games against the Fever and the Liberty.
But that strategy also made painfully obvious Chicago's spacing challenges. Opponents do not fear Kia Nurse nor Courtney Vandersloot as shooters in the starting lineup, letting them fire from long range and sucking in their defense to contain Reese and Cardoso. Rebecca Allen, the best movement shooter on the roster, is inexplicably coming off the bench; the Sky have also paired Michaela Onyenwere with Elizabeth Williams rather than letting either of the sophomore bigs play at center with a shooting power forward next to them.
There might be enough shooting on the roster for Chicago to go back to a two-post look, but it isn't on the court at the same time. If the Sky aren't going to manually space the floor by repositioning Reese, they need more shooters around her and Cardoso, and that isn't yet happening.
3. Lynx's 18-0 run
Although Minnesota is 4-0 to start the season, the Lynx have been tested, in no game more so than against winless Connecticut. The Sun played Minnesota better than just about any team did in 2024, but that shouldn't have translated into 2025 with a different coach and only two returning players. Yet, the Sun were up 15 points Friday with 5:20 to play at the Target Center, poised to capture their first win of the season. Instead, the Lynx reeled off an 18-0 run to steal the victory.
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The finish was a reminder of Natisha Hiedeman's importance to Minnesota. On a night when Courtney Williams didn't have it (0 of 11 with three turnovers), the Lynx had a backup point guard who could push the pace in transition, resulting in a foul, a score and an assist to a trailing Collier.
Hiedeman also hit the game-sealing 3, a 28-foot bomb with 1:05 remaining that gave Minnesota its first lead of the game. Teams around the league hemorrhage points when their lead guard sits (think of Caitlin Clark in Indiana or Plum in Los Angeles), but the Lynx have a secondary option who can play next to Williams and replace her if need be.
Minnesota locked in on defense in that final stretch as well, showing high on screens and pushing Connecticut farther and farther from the basket. Jessica Shepard has been an excellent addition for the Lynx in this regard, as she has the lateral mobility on the perimeter to play that aggressive style, leaving minimal drop-off from Alanna Smith. Minnesota forced four turnovers during those four minutes, two of which were shot-clock violations.
Even if this isn't the way the Lynx want to win every game, they're trying to relish these experiences as they grind through the season in pursuit of another trip to the finals.
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'To get to the championship is not one game, it's the journey, and that's the part that's enjoyable,' Williams said before the game. 'I love this. … This is what gets you ready for that moment, this is what builds the chemistry, this is what makes holding up that championship mean more. If we could just skip to the finish line, it wouldn't be worth nothing.'
Rookie of the week
Carla Leite, Golden State Valkyries
It was common practice to suggest that a young French player could challenge Bueckers for rookie of the year, but the expectation was that it would be Dominique Malonga. Instead, her compatriots on the Golden State Valkyries have gotten a head start in that race. We'll surely come back to Janelle Salaün at a later date, but for now, 21-year-old point guard Carla Leite has been a revelation, especially considering she was left unprotected by Dallas in the expansion draft.
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She's incredibly hard to keep out of the paint and too versatile to defend once she gets there. Leite is comfortable with the little runner or putting her head down to get all the way to the rim, especially in transition. She always has her head up for kickouts to the 3-point line or dump-offs to a rolling big. As a WNBA rookie, she's also held up on tough defensive assignments, even giving Plum real difficulty in Golden State's win in Los Angeles.
If you're a fan of Georgia Amoore and awaiting her return, Leite bears a shocking resemblance: her boundless enthusiasm (she celebrates everything), her penchant for getting up 3s and the way her ponytail bounces as she runs. Leite has palpable joy on the court, and she has earned it with her play during her WNBA debut.
Game to watch
Seattle (3-1) at Minnesota (4-0), 8 p.m. (ET) Tuesday
Two of the league's hottest teams — plus an Unrivaled Lunar Owls reunion for Skylar Diggins, Collier and Courtney Williams. This was a matchup that gave Seattle particular difficulty in 2024, while beating the Storm twice to start that season clarified the Lynx's championship aspirations. Minnesota is still a clear contender, and Seattle hopes to be one. This is a good opportunity for the Storm to get on that level.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Chicago Sky, Connecticut Sun, Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA
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