Our WNBA Power Rankings for Week 11 Monday, August 12th:

1. Washington Mystics (17 – 7) – After posting routine wins against the Lynx and Fever, the Mystics are back in first place despite All Star Kristi Toliver sitting with a knee injury in Sunday’s contest. Aerial Powers got the start and had a nice game while Meeseman continues to impress as the Mystics not-so-secret weapon off the bench.
2. Los Angeles Sparks (15 – 8) – The Sparks are riding a 5 game winning streak propelled by the return of Candace Parker (who will apparently have an overall rating of 93 in NBA2k20 coming out this fall). They look like the team I expected them to be at the beginning of the year and they are still missing key players to injury. No one would be surprised if this team made a deep run and took it all this year despite the up and down season.
3. Las Vegas Aces (16 – 9) – Liz Cambage wrote a must-read personal essay for the Player’s Tribune about her recent absences from the W, citing mental health and riptide like anxiety attacks and depression. And she came back with a super strong outing in Vegas’ win over the Sun. Dearica Hamby continues to impress in place of A’ja Wilson and number 1 overall pick Jackie Young is beginning to come into her own. Vegas will need Wilson back to steal a top 2 spot heading into the playoffs.
4. Connecticut Sun (16 – 8) – The streaky Sun have had an off week losing to the Lynx and the Aces. The only top 4 team that is mostly whole (Layshia Clarendon is still out but all 5 starters are active) will need to take advantage of their beleaguered opponents while they can. Holding onto a top 2 spot will be challenging down the stretch as Vegas and LA are cruising in.
5. Chicago Sky (14 – 10) – The Sky have been holding down the 5 spot in our power rankings for a while now and there’s no reason to think that will change anytime soon. They’ve proven that they can compete with anyone in the league but have lost some close games that will come back to haunt them when the playoff seedings come out. The veterans are performing admirably, so if they can get a bit more from their younger players not named Diamond Deshields, they could be dangerous in the playoffs.
6. Seattle Storm (14 – 11) – Jewell Loyd has conceded her starting spot to Sami Whitcomb for the time being who has been absolutely dynamic for the Storm since Loyd went out with Injury. Alysha Clark has been an unsung hero for this team as well providing solid defense and scoring not to mention much needed on the court leadership. Its difficult to predict where the Storm will finish the season though I wouldn’t be surprised if they found a way to win it all or miss the playoffs entirely.
7. Minnesota Lynx (12 – 12) – The Lynx returned WNBA legend Seimone Augustus this week and won 2 out of 3 losing in blowout fashion to the Mystics. However, with Augustus back, the Lynx are considerably more dangerous with significant scoring threats at each position and no one will want to face them in a one game playoff. The Lynx could easily come away with a number of individual year end accolades.
8. Phoenix Mercury (11 – 12) – The Mercury lost more than a close game against Dallas on Saturday. With three players ejected during an on court fight and the league looking into additional sanctions, the Mercury could soon be without Griner, arguably the leagues most valuable player to her team. If that happens, the Mercury may have a difficult time holding onto the last playoff spot as they simply can’t afford to lose anymore players. On a bright note, rookie Brianna Turner has made the most of her recent minutes recording back to back double digit rebounding games
9. Indiana Fever (9 – 16) – The Fever could be the Cinderella story we didn’t think we’d get this year. Picked almost unanimously to finish last this season, the Fever have found answers up and down the roster with contributions night in and night out from the hot hand. It won’t be easy to sneak into the playoff picture but there is most definitely hope, particularly in Phoenix loses Griner for any extended period of time.
10. Dallas Wings (7 – 17) – Many believe Arike Ogunbowale is now the front-runner for Rookie of the year. The Notre Dame grad has shouldered a heavy burden in her rookie season playing out of position and being asked to take the most meaningful shots late in games. Picking up Kristine Anigwe gives Dallas a lot to look forward to in the coming years. It won’t be long before Dallas is pushing for a championship.
11. New York Liberty (8 – 15) – The Liberty have been reeling since the all star break, losing their last 5 and looking fairly lost. Asia Durr is again out with a strained groin and Kia Nurse has been ice cold lately. Tina Charles continues to do her thing, but NY might think about trading the legend for a haul of younger players to plan for the future.
12. Atlanta Dream (5 – 19) – Despite a career high 34 point performance from Tiffany Hayes on Saturday against the Fever, the Dream are winless in their last 9 contests. At this point the silver lining is that the Dream are likely to secure a solid pick in next year’s draft, but beyond that, there isn’t much to look forward to for this team. Angel McCoughtry will likely sit out the rest of the season and be traded in the off season to a contender ready to give up some young talent for the veteran All Star.