WNBA Power Rankings After World Cup Break: Lynx Still No. 1

The WNBA resumes its regular season Thursday with every playoff berth already clinched. Minnesota, Golden State, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Indiana, New York, Washington, and Dallas make up the field. Portland, Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Toronto, Connecticut, and Seattle have been eliminated.

Every team has four games left. The regular season ends Sept. 24, and the best-of-three first round opens Sept. 27.

Teams last played Aug. 30 before breaking for the FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin. On Sunday, Team USA erased a 14-point deficit and beat France 97-79 for its fifth straight World Cup title. The Americans have won 36 consecutive World Cup games.

Records below are through Aug. 30.

Minnesota went into the break with two straight losses for just the second time this season. Golden State won 80-66 at Target Center on Aug. 24, and Atlanta won 89-81 on Aug. 30.

The Lynx are 31-9 and two games ahead of Golden State. They won three of four meetings with the Valkyries and own the tiebreaker, so any combination of two Lynx wins or Valkyries losses clinches the No. 1 seed.

In Atlanta, rookie Olivia Miles scored 21 points. It was her eighth game this season with at least 20 points and five rebounds. Napheesa Collier added 17 points and seven rebounds and passed Sylvia Fowles for third in franchise history with 1,408 made field goals. Collier had left ankle surgery in March and did not make her season debut until July.

Courtney Williams returned against the Dream after a sprained right foot cost her one game. It was the first game of her career she had missed because of injury.

Minnesota hosts New York on Friday, visits Connecticut on Sunday, and then plays Indiana twice.

The Aug. 24 win in Minneapolis was the first in franchise history for the Valkyries over the Lynx. Golden State had been 0-6 against Minnesota in the regular season and 0-3 in the playoffs. The 14-point margin was the largest by any Lynx opponent this season.

Golden State finished a five-game road trip with four straight wins. In an 86-69 win at Portland on Aug. 30, Tiffany Hayes scored 18 points in a rare start and Kayla Thornton added 17. Gabby Williams, Janelle Salaün, and Cecilia Zandalasini had already left for the World Cup.

Williams scored 20 points for France in the final. Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase served as an assistant on the U.S. staff.

At 29-11, Golden State plays all four remaining games against eliminated teams. The Valkyries host Portland on Friday and Seattle on Saturday before road games at Portland and Los Angeles.

A'ja Wilson withdrew from the World Cup less than a week before the U.S. opener, with USA Basketball citing health reasons. She appeared on the Aces' injury report twice with a back issue in the week before the announcement but did not miss a game.

Her 26.0 points per game lead the league. She is also averaging 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Aces coach Becky Hammon said she expects Wilson to be in position to help over the final four games of the regular season.

"She's needed some time, obviously," Hammon said to USA TODAY. "I still think she's dealing with some back stuff. Some days it's a little sorer than others."

Las Vegas lost NaLyssa Smith to a season-ending injury and signed center Kalani Brown. Jackie Young scored 18 points in the World Cup final, and Chelsea Gray also came home with gold.

The Aces are 27-13, have won three straight, and are 3-0 against Golden State. They visit Seattle on Thursday, host Seattle and Los Angeles, and close at Phoenix.

Indiana has won seven of its last nine. Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell each scored 34 points in a 111-91 win over Connecticut on Aug. 28, the fourth time this season both have scored 30 or more in the same game.

Clark added 12 assists. She became the first player in WNBA history with 30 points and 10 assists in consecutive games. Her six career 30-10 games are two more than the rest of the league has combined.

Mitchell has scored at least 20 points in 24 straight games.

In Berlin, Clark scored 12 points in the final. By her count, France made eight of its 14 3-point attempts.

"I think we felt really good about where we were at," Clark said, according to The Associated Press. "I think France was 8 for 14 (from 3-point range). We dug ourself a hole, but we climbed out of it, and I felt like we were never rattled by anything."

At 26-14, Indiana is tied with Atlanta and sits fifth on the tiebreaker. The No. 4 seed hosts Games 1 and 3 of the first round. The Fever visit Toronto on Friday, host Washington on Sunday, and finish with Minnesota twice.

Angel Reese set a WNBA record with her 29th double-double of the season in the 89-81 win over Minnesota. Allisha Gray made six 3-pointers and finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Dream took the season series 2-1.

Two days before that, Atlanta lost 101-83 at home to Portland.

Since a 13-10 start, Dream coach Karl Smesko's team is 13-4. Brionna Jones is out indefinitely with a leg injury. Atlanta added DeWanna Bonner, whose contract Phoenix bought out.

Reese made her senior national team debut in Berlin.

Atlanta hosts Connecticut on Thursday and Chicago on Saturday, then plays at New York on Sept. 21 and Sept. 23.

Dallas enters the restart on a four-game winning streak and does not face another playoff team. The Wings host Los Angeles on Thursday and Phoenix on Saturday, then play at Phoenix and at Seattle.

Arike Ogunbowale scored 18 points, and Jessica Shepard had 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 97-71 win over Connecticut on Aug. 30. Dallas led by as many as 32 and finished a 3-0 season sweep of the Sun. Five days earlier, Paige Bueckers scored 22 points in a 96-78 win over Portland.

Bueckers leads the Wings with 20.6 points and 5.9 assists per game. Shepard averages 11.1 rebounds.

Bueckers played for Team USA for the first time in Berlin. Alanna Smith played for Australia, which lost 89-66 to Spain in the quarterfinals.

At 24-16, Dallas is tied with New York and Washington and sits eighth. As the standings sit, the Wings would open against Minnesota.

On Aug. 27, New York scored a season-low 60 points in a 79-60 home loss to Golden State. Two days later, Han Xu scored a career-high 19 points in 17 minutes off the bench in an 85-66 win over Chicago. Breanna Stewart added 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Liberty are 11-4 since July 20. They beat Las Vegas 93-85 on June 30 to win the Commissioner's Cup.

Stewart scored 22 points in the World Cup final and won tournament MVP for the second time. The final was a chance to let the rest of the world know the American goal is always gold, and Stewart was proud of how the team delivered it.

"We are the standard," Stewart said. "USA Basketball has continued to show up and go for gold and to have done that however many times consecutively is an insane stat. We want to make sure that we continue to build on that standard and everybody else knows it."

New York holds sixth on the tiebreaker. The Liberty play at Minnesota on Friday and at Toronto on Sunday before hosting Atlanta twice.

Up 17 points in the first half at Los Angeles on Aug. 28, Washington lost 88-82. Sonia Citron scored 22 points, and Shakira Austin had 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Kiki Iriafen added 12 points and 10 rebounds. She is the first player in Mystics history with 20 double-doubles in a season.

The loss ended a three-game road winning streak. Washington won 105-100 at Portland, then won 94-84 and 80-73 at Phoenix.

Iriafen and Citron replaced Wilson and Kelsey Plum on the U.S. roster. Plum will also miss the rest of the WNBA season.

At 24-16, Washington sits seventh. Three of its four remaining games are against eliminated teams, and the other is at Indiana on Sunday. The Mystics open at Chicago on Thursday.

Emily Engstler scored a career-high 25 points in the Fire's win at Atlanta. Portland went 1-3 over its final four games before the break, losing to Washington, at Dallas, and to Golden State.

The Fire are 16-24 in their first season. Neither Portland nor Toronto will reach the playoffs in its expansion season.

Portland hosts Phoenix on Thursday and plays Golden State twice.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting against Washington, and Rae Burrell scored 12 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles won 90-74 at Seattle two days later.

The Sparks are 15-25 and have won two straight. Los Angeles signed Shyanne Sellers to a development contract before the break.

The Sparks visit Dallas on Thursday, host Portland on Sunday, visit Las Vegas, and close at home against Golden State.

Chicago played without DiJonai Carrington (foot) in the loss at New York. Natasha Cloud scored 14 points on 75% shooting, the fourth time this season she has shot better than 70% from the field. She is shooting a career-high 49%.

Sydney Taylor, an undrafted rookie, added 13 points for her 22nd double-figure game. She is averaging 16.1 points since moving into the starting lineup.

The Sky are 15-25 and lost 87-81 at Connecticut on Aug. 25. Chicago hosts Washington on Thursday and visits Atlanta on Saturday.

After two home losses to Washington, Phoenix beat Toronto 101-69 on Aug. 29. The Mercury are 14-26.

Phoenix eliminated Minnesota in the second round of the 2025 playoffs.

The Mercury play at Portland on Thursday and at Dallas on Saturday, then host Dallas and Las Vegas.

Over its final three games before the break, Toronto lost 90-78 at Seattle, 93-73 at Las Vegas, and 101-69 at Phoenix. The expansion Tempo are 11-29.

Toronto hosts Indiana on Friday and New York on Sunday.

Diamond Miller scored 19 points, and rookie Nell Angloma added a season-high 17 off the bench in the loss at Indiana. The Sun led that game 28-14 in the first quarter.

Connecticut beat Chicago on Aug. 25, then lost to Golden State, Indiana, and Dallas. The Sun beat Minnesota 90-89 on July 6.

At 10-30, Connecticut visits Atlanta on Thursday and hosts Minnesota on Sunday.

On Aug. 26, Seattle beat Toronto 90-78. The Storm lost to Los Angeles four days later and are 8-32.

Dominique Malonga scored 21 points for France in the World Cup final. Ezi Magbegor and Jade Melbourne played for Australia.

Seattle hosts Las Vegas on Thursday, visits Golden State on Saturday, and still has games against Las Vegas and Dallas.