WNBA Power Rankings: Liberty, Storm lead the way at the break

The WNBA is season now on hiatus until after the Olympics, and the New York Liberty and Seattle Storm lead our Power Rankings after finishing the first half strongly.

The Liberty defeated the Connecticut Sun for the third time this year to close the first half of the WNBA season at a league-best 21-4. 

The Liberty and the Sun are head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference while the Storm, Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces could be set up for a back-and-forth second half atop the Western Conference. 

The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky have received major boosts from rookie phenoms as they both look to make the playoffs after missing out a year ago. 

At the bottom of the standings, the Washington Mystics have rebounded from one of the worst starts in league history, while the Atlanta Dream lost eight straight heading into the break in a massive slide down the Eastern Conference standings. 

Here is a look at the latest WNBA Power Rankings with the teams off for the next month for both the All-Star break and the Olympics. 

1. New York Liberty (21-4, 1st Eastern Conference)

The Liberty have to be favored to reach their second straight WNBA Finals after knocking the Connecticut Sun off for the second time in less than a week and the third time this season.

New York owns a 2.5-game lead over Connecticut as the powerful inside-outside duo of Sabrina Ionescu (19.4 ppg, 6.2 apg) and Breanna Stewart (19.3 ppg, 9 rpg) have performed to expectations. 

2. Connecticut Sun (18-6, 2nd Eastern Conference)

Brionna Jones’ return (13.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and DeWanna Bonner’s timeless performance (17.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg) have the Sun in contention yet again. However, Connecticut must regain its mojo from a 9-0 start after coming into the break going just 9-6 in its last 15 games.

3. Seattle Storm (17-8, 1st Western Conference)

The Storm closed the first half as hot as anyone, winning eight of 10, including victories over both Connecticut and Minnesota. Jewell Lloyd is scoring almost 20 points a game to lead Seattle. 

4. Las Vegas Aces (16-8, 3rd Western Conference)

Las Vegas lost as many games (six) in its first 12 contests as it did all last year. However the two-time defending WNBA champions have righted the ship, winning 10 of 12 to close the first half right on the heels of Western Conference-leading Seattle and Minnesota.

5. Minnesota Lynx (17-8, 2nd Western Conference)

The Lynx won the Commissioner’s Cup, but limped into the break with leading scorer Napheesa Collier (20 ppg) missing the last five games with a foot injury. 

6. Phoenix Mercury (13-12, 4th Western Conference)

The return of Brittney Griner (18.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg) has bolstered and solidified the Mercury. She joins leading scorer Kahleah Copper (23.3 ppg) and Diana Taurasi (16.1 ppg) on the US Olympic team.  

7. Indiana Fever (11-15, 3rd Eastern Conference)

The Fever have not reached the playoffs since 2016. With Caitlin Clark (17.1 ppg, league-leading 8.2 apg) sparking the squad, Indiana has the momentum to reach the postseason. 

8. Chicago Sky (10-14, 4th Eastern Conference)

Kennedy Carter has been a steal for the Sky, as she leads the team with 16.4 points per game. Rookie Angel Reese (13.5 ppg, league-leading 12 rpg) has also come in and made headlines with a long double-double streak. The team defeated Las Vegas in its last game, but later traded second-leading scorer Marina Mabrey to the Sun.   

9. Dallas Wings (6-19, 6th Western Conference)

An 11-game losing streak derailed the Wings’ season, but a 101-93 win over Indiana on Wednesday night could spark a second-half resurgence. Arike Ogunbowale (22.2 ppg, 5.2 apg) has been as consistent as ever.  

10. Washington Mystics (6-19, 6th Eastern Conference)

Washington closed the first half 6-7 after losing its first 12 games of the season. Ariel Atkins (15.9 ppg) and co. have designs on exiting the Eastern Conference basement soon. 

11. Los Angeles Sparks (6-18, 5th Western Conference)

A 98-93 overtime win over the Aces and Dearica Hamby’s (19.4 ppg, 10 rpg) performances are lone highlights for a Sparks team that lost promising rookie Cameron Brink for the season. The team has lost 11 of 13.  

12. Atlanta Dream (7-17, 5th Eastern Conference)

An eight-game losing streak to close the first half has quickly turned the Dream's season into a nightmare. The return of Rhyne Howard (15.4 ppg) from an ankle injury will help. Atlanta went 1-9 in her absence.