This past week offered a bit of a round-robin tournament among the consistent top three teams in the power rankings this season – Las Vegas, New York, and Connecticut – including the first meeting between the two “super teams” created this past offseason.

The Aces hosted both the Liberty and Sun and picked up two more wins by 15+ points giving them eight such wins so far this season. The Liberty were on the road for both games, beating the Sun in Connecticut, but falling to the Aces in Las Vegas. The location did not matter for the Sun as they lost to the Liberty at home and the Aces on the road, suffering their first consecutive losses of the season.

Las Vegas (2-0)

• Win vs. New York 98-81 (June 29)
• Win vs. Connecticut 102-84 (July 1)

New York (1-1)

• Win at Connecticut 89-81 (June 27)
• Loss at Las Vegas 98-81 (June 29)

Connecticut (0-2)

• Loss vs. New York 89-81 (June 27)
• Loss at Las Vegas 102-84 (July 1)

These three teams remain at the top of the rankings this week as they are the only three teams in the league with double-digits and a win percentage above .700. It is once we get below this tier that the rankings really begin to shake up this week.

Rankings and stats through games played on Sunday, July 2.

1. Las Vegas Aces (15-1)

• Previous Ranking: 1
• Last Week: (3-0) W vs. Fever 88-80; W vs. Liberty 98-81; W vs. Sun 102-84
• This Week: Wednesday vs. Wings; Friday at Wings; Sunday at Lynx
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 114.1 (1) DefRtg: 94.5 (1); NetRtg: 19.5 (1); eFG%: 56.7 (1); Pace/40 Min: 82.34 (3)

Each week, we have to find a new way to put Las Vegas’ dominance into perspective. This week, we look at point differential on the season, with the Aces having outscored their opponents by a total of 250 points. There are only four other teams with positive point differentials so far this season: New York (+102), Connecticut (+73), Washington (+44,) and Dallas (+20). If we add those four teams together (+239), they still don’t match what Las Vegas has done on its own through 16 games.

The Aces enter this week riding an eight-game win streak – the longest single-season win streak since the team has been in Las Vegas. They will need four more wins to match the longest single-season win streak in franchise history, a 12-game run by the San Antonio Silver Stars back in 2012.

2. New York Liberty (11-4)

• Previous Ranking: 2
• Last Week: (2-1) W at Sun 89-81; L at Aces 98-81; W at Storm 81-66
• This Week: Wednesday vs. Mercury; Saturday vs. Storm
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 107.2 (2) DefRtg: 98.9 (4); NetRtg: 8.3 (2); eFG%: 53.2 (2); Pace/40 Min: 80.50 (7)

The Liberty opened the week by taking care of the Sun in Connecticut to extend their win streak to four straight and improve to 2-0 on the season against the Sun. But that win streak was snapped with authority in Las Vegas two days later as the Aces pulled away from the Liberty in the second half in the first of four meetings this season between the top two teams in the league. As Jonquel Jones said after the loss, the Aces are “the team you can gauge yourself against” and the Liberty will have to another month before getting that test again when the Aces come to Brooklyn.

3. Connecticut Sun (12-5)

• Previous Ranking: 3
• Last Week: (0-2) L vs. Liberty 89-81; L at Aces 102-84
• This Week: Thursday vs. Storm; Sunday vs. Mystics
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 102.8 (3) DefRtg: 98.0 (3); NetRtg: 4.8 (3); eFG%: 48.9 (5); Pace/40 Min: 80.79 (T-5)

The loss of Brionna Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury is going to be difficult to overcome, particularly against the league’s best teams. We got evidence of that this past week as the Sun fell to both the Aces and Liberty for their first winless week of the season. On a positive note, Alyssa Thomas recorded her fifth career triple-double, the most all-time in league history.

Alyssa Thomas is the triple-double machine ⬇️

☑️1st player in WNBA history to record back-to-back triple-doubles
☑️ 1st player in WNBA history to record 3 triple-doubles in a single season
☑️ 1st player in WNBA history to reach 5 career triple-doubles

AT is HER | #MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/WEJyJQa46F

— WNBA (@WNBA) June 28, 2023

4. Washington Mystics (9-7)

• Previous Ranking: 4
• Last Week: (1-2) W vs. Dream 109-86; L at Dream 94-89; L at Wings 89-72
• This Week: Friday vs. Fever; Sunday at Sun
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 98.0 (8) DefRtg: 94.7 (2); NetRtg: 3.3 (4); eFG%: 47.0 (8); Pace/40 Min: 80.47 (8)

The Mystics split a home-and-home set with the Dream this past week, and their loss on Friday was made even worse when Elena Delle Donne went down with a sprained ankle in the game’s final minute. Delle Donne missed the next game, a road loss to the Wings on Sunday, and her status entering this week remains unknown as the Mystics determine the severity of the injury. The good news is that Washington is off until Friday, when they host the Fever.

5. Dallas Wings (8-8)

• Previous Ranking: 8
• Last Week: (2-0) W at Mercury 77-62; W vs. Mystics 89-72
• This Week: Wednesday at Aces; Friday vs. Aces; Sunday at Fever
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 101.6 (6) DefRtg: 99.9 (6); NetRtg: 1.7 (5); eFG%: 46.0 (12); Pace/40 Min: 83.06 (2)

After dropping five of their previous six games, the Wings posted a 2-0 week with wins over Phoenix and Washington to get back to .500 on the season. Despite having the worst effective field goal percentage in the league, the Wings remain in the middle of the pack offensively. The Wings are the best offensive-rebounding team in the league (collecting 35.2% of their misses) and lead the W in second-chance points (14.2 ppg). And they do it as a collective, as the Wings have five of the top 15 ranked players in second-chance points this season.

6. Atlanta Dream (7-8)

• Previous Ranking: 7
• Last Week: (2-1) L at Mystics 109-86; W vs. Mystics 94-89; W vs. Sparks 112-84
• This Week: Wednesday at Sparks; Friday at Sky; Sunday at Sky
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 102.1 (5) DefRtg: 105.3 (10); NetRtg: -3.1 (7); eFG%: 48.4 (T-6); Pace/40 Min: 84.26 (1)

Rhyne Howard may have had a slow start to the week offensively – scoring a combined 22 points in 65 minutes in two games against Washington – but she ended the week with a career-best scoring performance, racking up 43 points and knocking down six 3-pointers as the Dream routed the visiting Sparks. Since the start of June, the Dream have been a teeter-totter of three-game streaks: three losses from June 2-11, three wins from June 13-18, three losses from June 20-28, and now two wins in a row entering this week. Can they make it another three-game streak with a win over the Sparks on Wednesday? And can they find a way to avoid these up-and-down swings moving forward?

7. Minnesota Lynx (7-9)

• Previous Ranking: 10
• Last Week: (3-0) W vs. Storm 104-93; W at Storm 99-97; W at Mercury 86-76
• This Week: Wednesday vs. Fever; Friday vs. Mercury; Sunday vs. Aces
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 98.6 (7) DefRtg: 104.2 (8); NetRtg: -5.6 (10); eFG%: 46.8 (9); Pace/40 Min: 80.00 (9)

After opening the season 0-6 (their worst start since an 0-6 start in 2007), the Lynx have bounced back in a huge way, winning seven of their next 10 games to improve to 7-9 on the season entering this week on a three-game win streak. The turnaround has been fueled by Napheesa Collier, who has averaged 23.9 points (2^nd in WNBA), 9.3 rebounds (6^th), 1.9 steals (tied-4^th), and, 1.2 blocks (tied-12^th) during this 10-game stretch, and hit a game-winning jumper to beat the Storm this week. The return of Diamond Miller has helped as well. The rookie has averaged 20.7 points while shooting 55.8% from the field and 44.4% from 3-point range since returning to the lineup on June 27 after missing nearly a month with an ankle sprain.

8. Chicago Sky (8-9)

• Previous Ranking: 11
• Last Week: (3-0) W vs. Sparks 80-63; W vs. Sparks 86-78; W at Fever 89-87
• This Week: Friday vs. Dream; Sunday vs. Dream
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 97.9 (9) DefRtg: 101.4 (7); NetRtg: -3.4 (8); eFG%: 49.4 (4); Pace/40 Min: 79.65 (10)

The Sky may have lost their head coach and general manager as James Wade accepted an assistant coaching role with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors this week, but the Sky did not lose a game. Chicago picked up two home wins over the Sparks and a road win over the Fever to post a 3-0 week, a much-needed win streak after the Sky had dropped their previous six games. In their first game under interim head coach and general manager, Emre Vatansever, on Sunday, the Sky knocked off the Fever, 89-87, behind 28 points and the game-winning jumper from Courtney Williams. Can the Sky keep this momentum going when they host the Dream for a pair of games later this week?

9. Los Angeles Sparks (7-10)

• Previous Ranking: 5
• Last Week: (0-3) L at Sky 80-63; L at Sky 86-78; L at Dream 112-84
• This Week: Wednesday vs. Dream; Sunday at Mercury
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 96.8 (11) DefRtg: 99.8 (5); NetRtg: -3.0 (6); eFG%: 46.7 (10); Pace/40 Min: 80.79 (T-5)

The Sparks had a tough week as they came up empty on a three-game road trip with two losses in Chicago and a loss in Atlanta. Not only have the Sparks lost three straight, they are just 2-6 in their past eight games after a 5-4 start to the season. The Sparks will look to bounce back from a 28-point loss in Atlanta when they host the Dream on Wednesday. The Sparks are 5-4 at home this season compared to just 2-6 on the road – only Dallas has a larger disparity of success between home and road this season.

10. Indiana Fever (5-11)

• Previous Ranking: 6
• Last Week: (0-3) L at Ace’s 88-80; L at Mercury 85-63; L vs. Sky 89-87
• This Week: Wednesday at Lynx; Friday at Mystics; Sunday vs Wings
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 102.6 (4) DefRtg: 106.6 (11); NetRtg: -4.0 (9); eFG%: 48.4 (T-6); Pace/40 Min: 79.16 (11)

After matching last year’s win total on May 22, the Fever have dropped four straight games, including two road losses to Las Vegas, another to Phoenix, and a home loss to the Sky in a two-point game – it was Indiana’s fifth loss this season by five points or less. The Fever open this week with a pair of games on the road, which has been where they’ve played best so far this season. Indiana is 4-6 on the road compared to just 1-5 at home so far this season.

11. Seattle Storm (4-12)

• Previous Ranking: 9
• Last Week: (0-3) L at Lynx 104-93; L vs. Lynx 99-97; L vs. Liberty 81-66
• This Week: Thursday at Sun; Saturday at Liberty
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 96.9 (10) DefRtg: 105.1 (9); NetRtg: -8.2 (11); eFG%: 46.4 (11); Pace/40 Min: 81.24 (4)

The Storm endured an 0-3 week that included a heartbreaking 99-97 overtime loss to Minnesota at home on Thursday despite a career-high 41 points from Jewell Loyd. With the game tied with 11 seconds remaining in overtime, the Storm had possession, looking to either win the game or head to a second overtime. However, a turnover by Loyd gave the ball back to Minnesota, leading to a game-winning fadeaway jumper by Collier. No team has played more home games so far this season than Seattle with 11 games at home compared to just five on the road. That disparity will change soon as the Storm hit the road for four straight games, beginning this week with stops in Connecticut and New York.

12. Phoenix Mercury (3-12)

• Previous Ranking: 12
• Last Week: (1-2) L vs. Wings 77-62; W vs. Fever 85-64; L vs. Lynx 86-76
• This Week: Wednesday at Liberty; Friday at Lynx; Sunday vs. Sparks
• Team Stats: OffRtg: 96.4 (12) DefRtg: 107.2 (12); NetRtg: -10.8 (12); eFG%: 50.1 (3); Pace/40 Min: 79.10 (12)

The Mercury went 1-2 in their first week under interim head coach Nikki Blue, who took over for the remainder of the season after Vanessa Nygaard was let go on June 25. Behind a combined 39 points from Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi, the Mercury got a much-needed win over the Fever on Thursday to snap a six-game losing streak. However, the Mercury were unable to build on it as they fell to the Lynx two days later in the final game of a three-game homestand. This week, the Mercury hit the road for matchups in New York and Minnesota before returning home to host the Sparks.

Longtime WNBA reporter Brian Martin writes articles on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.