The second week of the WNBA season completely reshaped our 2026 WNBA Power rankings.
The Atlanta Dream have climbed to No. 1 in our latest 2026 WNBA Power Rankings after combining the league’s best record with elite defense, physical rebounding, and consistent performances against quality competition.
Meanwhile, the New York Liberty are no longer sitting comfortably atop the rankings. Injuries, defensive slippage, and a shocking home loss to the Golden State Valkyries have tightened the race at the top.
Read on for this week’s 2026 WNBA Power Rankings for Monday, May 25.
The biggest surprise in the league may still be Golden State. The Valkyries already look like a playoff-caliber defensive team instead of a typical expansion franchise, while the Dallas Wings suddenly own the league’s top offensive rating behind rookie sensation Paige Bueckers.
At the bottom, the Connecticut Sun continue struggling on both ends of the floor, while teams like Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington are fighting to avoid falling into the league’s lower tier.
Unlike traditional rankings that focus mostly on wins and losses, our updated system now weighs:
- Advanced stats
- Quality wins
- Bad losses
- Home vs. road performance
- Injury impact
- Momentum
- Strength of schedule
Here are the updated Crush & Rush News 2026 WNBA Power Rankings entering the final week of May.
Tier 1 — Championship Contenders
1. Atlanta Dream (4-1)
Net Rating: +5.4
The Dream has earned the top spot.
Atlanta holds the league’s best record while continuing to defend at an elite level. Opponents are struggling to generate easy offense against this physical roster, and the Dream continue winning even though the offense still has room to improve.
The dominant win over Dallas helped solidify Atlanta’s climb to No. 1.
2. Indiana Fever (4-2)
Net Rating: +8.4
No team currently looks more balanced statistically than Indiana.
The Fever continue playing at one of the fastest paces in the league while maintaining elite offensive efficiency and strong rebounding numbers. Caitlin Clark remains the engine, but Aliyah Boston’s interior dominance has been just as important.
Indiana’s wins over Portland and Golden State strengthened an already impressive résumé.
3. Las Vegas Aces (4-2)
Net Rating: +4.8
The Aces remain one of the league’s most dangerous teams, but the defense has slipped compared to previous championship seasons.
The home loss to Los Angeles hurt this model badly because elite teams are expected to protect home court.
Still, A’ja Wilson and the league’s most proven core keep Las Vegas firmly inside the top tier.
4. Minnesota Lynx (4-2)
Net Rating: +6.9
Minnesota continues stacking wins quietly behind one of the WNBA’s best defensive profiles.
The Lynx are rebounding at a high level, limiting second-chance opportunities, and consistently forcing difficult shots. Blowout wins over Toronto, and a road victory in Chicago helped stabilize the season after an uneven start.
Tier 2 — Legitimate Contenders
5. Golden State Valkyries (3-2)
Net Rating: +7.2
Golden State is no longer just a fun expansion story.
The Valkyries already own one of the league’s best defensive identities and recorded one of the season’s biggest wins by crushing New York on the road.
Even their loss to Indiana looked respectable because they stayed competitive against one of the league’s hottest teams.
6. New York Liberty (3-3)
Net Rating: +3.6
The Liberty is becoming one of the hardest teams to rank.
Sabrina Ionescu’s absence from the beginning of the season matters enormously when evaluating New York’s record and offensive rhythm. The Liberty remains statistically dangerous offensively, but the defense has slipped noticeably.
The ceiling still looks championship level once fully healthy, but the résumé is no longer dominant.
7. Dallas Wings (4-3)
Net Rating: +4.5
Dallas may have the league’s highest ceiling outside the top tier.
The Wings now own the WNBA’s top offensive rating while also leading the league in assist ratio. Paige Bueckers has completely accelerated this rebuild.
The issue remains consistency. Dallas can look explosive, as in Sunday’s blowout win over New York, and then completely collapse defensively, as they’ve done twice against Atlanta.
8. Los Angeles Sparks (3-3)
Net Rating: -6.0
The Sparks are the ultimate eye-test team right now.
The defensive metrics remain ugly, but road wins at Phoenix and Las Vegas carry enormous weight in these rankings. Kelsey Plum has transformed the offense into one of the league’s most explosive attacks.
If the defense stabilizes even slightly, Los Angeles could rise quickly.
Tier 3 — Dangerous but Flawed
9. Chicago Sky (3-3)
Net Rating: +0.4
Chicago continues competing hard every night behind strong rebounding and disciplined defense.
The concern is offensive upside against stronger teams. Losses to Dallas and Minnesota exposed some scoring limitations, especially late in games.
10. Phoenix Mercury (2-5)
Net Rating: +1.3
Phoenix may be the league’s most confusing team.
The offensive talent is obvious, but the résumé continues getting worse. Home losses to Toronto and Los Angeles significantly damaged the Mercury’s ranking.
The defense has also struggled to consistently contain perimeter shooting.
11. Seattle Storm (3-4)
Net Rating: 0.0
Seattle has stabilized after a rough opening week.
The Storm have climbed back into neutral net rating territory and have been defending better recently, but the offense still lacks consistency and late-game shot creation.
12. Portland Fire (3-3)
Net Rating: -5.6
Portland continues improving faster than expected.
Portland boasts quality wins over Connecticut and Toronto while showing legitimate offensive upside. Defensive consistency remains the biggest issue, but Portland no longer looks like a clear bottom-tier team.
13. Toronto Tempo (3-4)
Net Rating: -3.5
Toronto’s expansion season has already included massive highs and lows.
The win in Phoenix showed the offensive upside, but blowout losses to Minnesota and Portland highlighted the growing pains defensively.
Tier 4 — Searching for Answers
14. Washington Mystics (2-3)
Net Rating: -8.4
Washington continues competing defensively, but the offense and turnover issues remain major concerns.
The blowout loss in Dallas exposed the current limitations of this roster against elite offensive teams.
15. Connecticut Sun (1-6)
Net Rating: -16.1
The Sun remains the league’s weakest overall statistical team.
Connecticut ranks near the bottom offensively while also allowing opponents to score efficiently both inside and outside the arc.
At the moment, no team in the WNBA owns a worse overall résumé.
What’s Next?
Several games this week could dramatically reshape the next edition of the rankings.
The biggest matchup comes Sunday when the Las Vegas Aces visit the surging Golden State Valkyries. A Golden State win could immediately push the expansion franchise into the top-tier conversation.
The Indiana Fever also face an important road test against Portland, while the Liberty continue trying to stabilize as Sabrina Ionescu works back into the lineup.
Dallas may have the most volatility of any team in the league. If the Wings continue scoring at this level while improving defensively, they could climb quickly.
Meanwhile, Phoenix, Seattle, Washington, and Toronto are all trying to avoid falling into the bottom tier as the season begins separating contenders from rebuilding teams.
The early season has already shown one thing clearly:
These rankings are changing fast.
And for the first time in years, the WNBA may have more true contenders than ever before.
