Winsidr Power Rankings: Volume 1
The WNBA is back, and what an opening few weeks it has been throughout the league. With the return of action on the court, that also means it’s time for the return of our Winsidr Power Rankings!
Though we are just over a handful of games into the 40-game regular season, we have begun to see some teams quickly rise up the standings behind strong starts, as well as other teams dropping to the bottom of the league with early struggles or a roster that has yet to fully click.
If you are a loyal reader of our rankings, welcome back, and thank you for reading! If it is your first time checking us out, welcome and we hope you return to view our rankings throughout the season. Each week, our entire Winsidr staff gets together to rank all 12 teams in the WNBA. The rankings are not necessarily how we rank the teams talent-wise, but rather how we rank them 1-12 at that current point in the season.
Without further ado, let’s jump into our first Winsidr Power Rankings of the season.
Exceeding Expectations
Minnesota
After an offseason that was highlighted by the additions of Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams, and Natisha Hiedeman, many expected Minnesota to be an improved squad in 2024 as it builds off a return to the playoffs last year. But I don’t know that many expected the Lynx to play this well so early, especially with the new players trying to build chemistry with Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, and the rest of the existing Lynx roster.
However, Minnesota has built chemistry faster than expected, which has resulted in it jumping up the league standings through the first half-dozen games. Not only have the Lynx gotten off to a hot start, but they have taken down some top-tier opponents, notably Seattle (twice) and New York, while coming up one point short in overtime against Connecticut and going back-and-forth with Las Vegas in an eventual defeat. On top of all that team success, Minnesota is seeing Collier return to an MVP level of play early on in the year, and those three offseason additions coming up big for its new squad.
Chicago
Entering 2024, expectations weren’t very high for Chicago as it flipped the page into a new era with Teresa Weatherspoon entering as the franchise’s new head coach and the Sky returning just three players from the 2023 team. However, the Sky have gotten off to a relatively solid start, floating right around .500. But looking at who Chicago has played, that being Dallas (twice), New York, Connecticut, and Seattle, the Sky have pulled out big wins against the Wings and Liberty while losing by an average of just seven points in their defeats.
Chicago has impressed early on, though it will be seen if that trend continues or starts to taper off as the season progresses. But the Sky have exceeded expectations so far, and are getting solid contributions from leading scorer Marina Mabrey, rookie Angel Reese, and others. It will also be key to get rookie Kamilla Cardoso, who is expected to make her WNBA debut on June 1, back after missing the start of the season with a shoulder injury.
Slower Starts Than Expected
Dallas
Dallas was a team that went on a run and took a nice step in the right direction in 2023, reaching the semifinal round of the postseason where it fell to the eventual champion Las Vegas. Feeding off of that successful season with the core of the team returning, some expected the Wings to take another step this year while sitting near the top of the standings. Though that could eventually occur, Dallas has gotten off to a bit of a slower start, and a big reason for that is due to injuries it is dealing with right out of the gate.
The Wings have their best player and biggest contributor, Arike Ogunbowale, healthy and thriving once again, but they are still without two key players in the paint that have been key pieces to that success the team saw a season ago. Entering the year, Satou Sabally was already set to miss the first half of the season with a shoulder injury, but Dallas has also dealt with the absence of Natasha Howard as she recovers from a broken foot. The Wings will turn things around once they get back to full strength, but they have understandably gotten off to a bit of a slower start than expected while being shorthanded.
Indiana
Maybe it’s the Caitlin Clark factor, the hype around Indiana entering the year, or other reasons, but the Fever have gotten off to a slow start to the year. Which, in reality, that shouldn’t be a surprising thing — this team was the worst team in the WNBA the last few years. Many believe or maybe expected Clark to come in and turn this team around immediately, but that’s just not a realistic expectation as she still tries to adjust and figure out how to play in the WNBA.
Indiana still has a lot to work on, though Clark turning things up a notch as of late and the potential of her and Aliyah Boston being a dynamic duo for years to come being bright spots to look forward to. The Fever, sitting near the bottom of the league standings, near the 10-game mark with the second-worst offensive rating and the worst defensive rating in the WNBA. Some fans expected Clark to take things over and immediately make the Fever a much better team. Don’t get us wrong—she does make Indiana better and will continue to do so, but that doesn’t immediately translate to wins and that’s what we’ve seen thus far.
Team to Watch
Seattle
One team we are keeping our eyes on is Seattle. The Storm are fielding a new-look team in 2024 following the additions of Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith this offseason to join Jewell Loyd and company, and the chemistry on the team has understandably gotten off to a bit of a slow start.
Seattle is floating right above the .500 mark while nearing the 10-game mark in the season, but it feels like we haven’t seen this team at its full capacity just yet. That will obviously take some time as the chemistry evolves and improves throughout the year, which is a reason we are keeping our eyes on the Storm for if—or rather, when—they figure things out a bit more and start clicking on all cylinders.
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