The past week was a competitive one in the WNBA. The Wings and Sky traded barbs, the Fever won a game (over the Sun, no less) and the Dream played two good games before dealing with controversy.

As a result, there aren’t any dramatic risers and fallers in this week’s edition of the power rankings. But it could mean that we see some teams ride their momentum up the rankings before the WNBA breaks for the Olympics.

12. Indiana Fever (2-16) —

The Fever had their best week of the season, putting up a fight against the Sun in an 86-80 loss before defeating them two days later. What is discouraging about those results is Indiana didn’t necessarily play any better than Connecticut. The Sun shot far below their season averages from the field and 3-point range, and the games turned into battles of attrition.

11. Los Angeles Sparks (6-11) -1

The Sparks have one of the best defenses in the league — and that’s about where the positives end. Even when you hold the Aces to 66 points on 37.7 shooting from the field, you’re not going to win when you’re as inefficient from the field as the Sparks were. In that game last Friday, Los Angeles went 6 for 21 from deep and scored a season-low 58 points, epitomizing their offensive struggles.

10. Atlanta Dream (6-11) +1

For so long, we were wondering just how much better the Dream’s offense could be when a healthy Chennedy Carter returned to the lineup. Now, the second-year guard is serving an indefinite suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team” after an incident during Sunday’s game. The Olympic break is coming at a good time for the Dream.

9. Phoenix Mercury (7-9) -1

It’s surprising, to say the least, that a team with Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner and Kia Nurse has its offense and rebounding to blame for recent losses. Oddly, the Mercury are averaging the fewest field-goal attempts per game at 64.8. And in both of their losses to the Lynx last week, they were out-rebounded by a significant margin.

8. Washington Mystics (7-10) -1

Tina Charles scored 31 points in the Mystics’ latest loss to the Liberty. The next highest scorers on the team, Ariel Atkins and Sydney Wiese, had nine points. That’s been the story of Washington’s season. Until they figure out how to spread out the offense, Charles can only win them so many games by herself.

7. New York Liberty (10-9) +2

We’ve harped on this before, but it bears repeating: New York scores 38.4 percent of its points from 3-point range, the highest in the WNBA. So when the Liberty are connecting on their shots from deep, they’re hard to beat. That will only be truer when Natasha Howard returns from injury and drags opposing defenses farther into the paint.

6. Dallas Wings (9-10) -1

We realize Liberty fans might not like this placement given New York has the winning record and has beaten Dallas in each of their meetings this season. I remain bullish on the Wings because they have more quality wins — they’ve beaten the Storm and the Lynx and Sky with their star players on the floor — and they have more scoring weapons. That said, I also remain confused why Marina Mabrey isn’t starting and Ty Harris’s playing time has dwindled.

5. Minnesota Lynx (9-7) +1

The Lynx have finally seemed to find some roster stability amid the injury chaos, with Layshia Clarendon signed for the season, Jessica Shepard back in the lineup and Kayla McBride hitting her stride. That roster depth has helped them win four straight games and get over .500.

4. Connecticut Sun (12-6) -1

The WNBA has increasingly become a league that favors 3-point shooting. So it’s interesting that, other than the Storm, the top teams in the power rankings lead the league in the percentage of their points that come in the paint. That includes the Sun, who are at their best when Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones win their battles down low.

3. Chicago Sky (10-9) +1

The Sky have been winning in the second quarter of the season by playing the Aces’ game. They draw a lot of fouls on drives to the hoop and hit their free throws, currently leading the league in that category at 86.5 percent. Unfortunately, we have to wait until September for the Sky-Aces matchups.

2. Seattle Storm (14-4) —

The most promising sign for the Storm over the past week was that their role players stepped up when the stars were absent or not at their best, something we hadn’t seen consistently yet from Seattle this season. Ezi Magbegor, for one, took advantage of the increased playing time, scoring in double digits in both of the Storm’s wins.

1. Las Vegas Aces (14-4) —

The Aces continue to lead the WNBA in points per game (91.8), field-goal percentage (47.3), trips to the free-throw line (10.3) and rebounds (38.7), and they’re in the top percentiles in nearly every other category besides 3-pointers. That’s hard to beat.

Expansion team WNBA Golden State has officially brought on New York Liberty assistant GM Ohemaa Nyanin as general manager, the team announced in a Monday afternoon statement.

The move marks one of the first major personnel hires for the highly anticipated franchise, set to begin league play in 2025. Nyanin will oversee all basketball operations for the Bay Area addition, including building out the roster, shaping the team, and developing talent. 

Nyanin joins team president Jess Smith and senior vice president of marketing and communications Kimberly Veale in the WNBA Golden State front office.

"Ohemaa is the perfect fit to lead our WNBA basketball operations as we prepare for our inaugural season in 2025," Warriors co-executive chairman and CEO Joe Lacob said in the release. "As we moved through the GM hiring process, it became more apparent each day how impressive and well-versed Ohemaa is in all facets of the business, and as a person."

Nyanin was with the Liberty for more than five years, most recently serving as the team’s assistant general manager. Prior to that, she spent five years as the assistant director of the women’s national team at USA Basketball, helping to oversee team operations through gold medal wins at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

"I am truly honored to be chosen as the first general manager of WNBA Golden State," Nyanin said. "Throughout the interview process, it was clear that bringing a WNBA team to the Bay Area was meticulously thought out and those involved are motivated changemakers who will be proactive in growing the league. I look forward to joining this franchise and building a competitive basketball team that the fans deserve."

In a July 2023 profile published by The Next, Liberty assistant coach Roneeka Hodges described Nyanin as the New York team's “Ms. Make-it-Happen."

"She’s a jack of all trades," added Hodges, while Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb paid Nyanin a particularly prophetic compliment.

"She needs to be a general manager in this league," Kolb said. "Full stop, it needs to happen, and that’s her goal."

Chelsea began Sunday with their WSL title hopes a distant dream... before closing out the weekend right back in the thick of the title chase.

The Blues made a last-ditch effort to claim their fifth consecutive Barclays WSL title on Sunday with an 8-0 win over relegation-bound Bristol City. The victory came after a visiting Arsenal upset current table-toppers Manchester City at Joie Stadium, besting the home side 2-1 on back-to-back goals from Stina Blackstenius. With the win, the third-place Gunners re-opened the door for Chelsea to finish level at the top of the table on points.

Chelsea remains second in the standing, with 49 points to Manchester City's 52. But the barrage of goalscoring over the weekend could be enough to overtake City's potential tiebreak advantage in goal differential, leaving even coach Emma Hayes in awe.

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Chelsea holds a game in hand, but the Blues will need to win their May 15th match against Tottenham to give them a shot at the title. Should they take all three points, the title race will come down to the final weekend, when Chelsea squares off with Manchester United while City faces Aston Villa on Saturday, May 18th. 

Set to take over the USWNT in June, Hayes acknowledged the likelihood of finishing out her time at Chelsea with zero trophies, after losing in both the Conti Cup final and UWCL semifinal last month. But for now, her initial pessimism has subsided.

"Let me be clear, it's not f*****g over," Hayes said after coaching her last home match with Chelsea on Sunday. "There's no time for sentimentality, all work drinks are canceled. There's a title to be won.

"This group of players taught me something so special this week — that you never ever give up."

A WNBA League Pass error left fans scrambling to watch Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso make their preseason debuts for the Chicago Sky in Minneapolis on Friday. 

Despite indicating streaming availability via YouTube before tip-off, the evening’s game was later removed from the league’s platform. With no streaming options — along with no live TV broadcast — WNBA fan Alli Schneider began livestreaming the game on X from her seat inside Target Center. As many as 400,000 people logged on to watch the game live, and by Saturday, the resulting two-hour video had amassed over 2 million total views. 

In the lead-up to the preseason showdown, fans on both sides voiced frustrations over the WNBA's error. The league apologized in response, saying their app was "incorrectly showing that every preseason game (including CHI vs MIN) is available on League Pass."

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"The growth is happening so fast, it’s so accelerated. Business as usual isn’t going to work anymore, you’re going to get left behind," Reeve said of the blunder. "This is an example... We have to capitalize on those things."

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon echoed Reeve's sentiments, calling it "awesome" that so many fans followed along via Schneider's DIY livestream.

"We would love for us to be on and for everyone to take a look, especially for this team, you have a great group of young women who are exciting to watch play," said Weatherspoon. "Tonight we had an opportunity to kind of get a feel for where we are and what we need to do. It’s awesome to know that a lot of people really tuned in."

On the court, Reese had a near double-double in her first professional outing, notching 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. A viral pass inside to set up fellow rookie Cardoso's bucket served as the icing on the cake. The Sky ultimately lost to the Lynx 92-81, despite Minnesota newcomer Alissa Pili netting just two points and one rebound in 13 minutes of playing time.

Due to overwhelming fan demand, the WNBA confirmed today that it will indeed stream the Sky's next preseason game against the New York Liberty on League Pass. The two teams square off on Tuesday, May 7th at 8 PM ET.

The Caitlin Clark WNBA era has officially begun, with the star-studded rookie making her preseason debut with the Indiana Fever on Friday. 

Clark scored a team-leading 21 points — including five threes — and recorded a game-high 16 points at the half. But it was Arike Ogunbowale who got the last word for Dallas, knocking down a splashy buzzer-beating three-pointer in front of the sold-out crowd to deliver the Wings the 79-76 win.

"I think there's gonna be a lot to go back and look at and learn from, because a lot of it is kind of different from college," Clark said shortly after the Fever's loss. "Just from, you know, a technique standpoint or you know, scheme standpoint, and what we do is not always always going to be the same. So I think those are the biggest things, but I think overall, I just played really hard and that's always something to be proud of."

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For Clark, the biggest transition challenges lie in WNBA's physicality and talent levels. 

"No matter who steps into the game, you can never really relax, because that’s how competitive the league is," she added.

Fever coach Christie Sides also commented on's Clark on-court adjustment in her postgame remarks. Noting that the team will have to take steps to protect their star as she navigates the W's upgraded athleticism, Sides shared that at one point in the game, Clark was "completely gassed" and called for a sub. 

"We have to do better, we can't let her get to that point," Sides said. "She just won't be able to last and the way people are guarding her — I mean, she's seeing a double team, she's seeing hard hedges, they're being real physical with her. That's how it's going to be for her. And so we've got to make sure we're doing what we can to protect her so she's able to go into fourth at the same level she is in the first."

Clark wasn't the only rookie making their pro debut in Dallas that night. Ohio State ace Jacy Sheldon racked up six points and one rebound in her 13 minutes on the court (plus an unfortunate viral moment), but the breakout performance of the night went to Jaelyn Brown, a Cal grad who went undrafted in 2020 and spent the last few years playing overseas. On Friday, she carried the Wings to the finish line with 21 points in 29 minutes on 7-of-15 shooting.

After the game, Brown attested that she's "ready to compete" in an atmosphere that she "belongs in."

"I just try and treat it as any other game," she continued. "The crowd was amazing, it’s a little different from overseas, a little bit, but it’s the same game. I just [came] out there with a calm composure and did what I can do."