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Michael Voepel, ESPN Senior Writer
The New York Liberty are certainly tired of reminding themselves that they are the original WNBA franchise that has yet to win a league title. But that heartbreaking history is part of what makes the excitement about this future so palpable for Liberty loyalists. This could be the year.
Even the oddsmakers get on board with the Liberty, who remain No. 1 in ESPN’s WNBA Power Rankings. On Sunday, ESPN BET listed the Liberty as +155 favorites to win the title.
The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces are +160, not far off. But this is the first time in two years – since August 11, 2022 – that Las Vegas has not been the betting favorite to win the WNBA championship.
Last season the Aces beat the Liberty 3-1 in the WNBA Finals after defeating Connecticut 3-1 in the 2022 Finals. But New York’s run this season shows no signs of stopping. Liberty has defeated the Aces in two regular season meetings – 79-67 on Friday and 90-82 on June 15, both in Las Vegas – with one more matchup set for September 8 in Brooklyn.
Just four days after New York stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu won Olympic gold medals with Team USA, New York played its first game after the Paris Games and blew out Los Angeles 103-68 on the road on Friday. With Saturday’s win, the Liberty became the first team this season to clinch a spot in the WNBA playoffs.
New York has 13 games remaining, including seven against teams not currently in a playoff position.
Ionescu was asked there if clinching a playoff spot with a win over the two-time champion Aces made it more special, and he said it wasn’t. At this point, Liberty isn’t motivated by what other teams are doing or not doing, it’s just about reaching their potential – which can be their best.
“We are very happy to get a place in the playoffs,” Ionescu said. “Our goal is not just to get there, but to keep winning these games that we’re going to do. And keep getting better as a team. We’re just coming back to it (after the Olympic break). But it’s great that we’ve been able to pick up where we left off.” and keep grinding.”
Previous ranking: Preseason | May 20 | May 27 | June 3 June 10 June 17 | June 24 | July 1 July 8 July 15th
Previous ranking: 1
This week: against DAL (August 20), against DAL (August 22), against CON (August 24)
In a scheduling quirk, the Liberty have yet to face Dallas, with the first of four games between the teams coming Tuesday. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum: New York leads the WNBA in net rating (+13.1), while Dallas is last (-10.1). But Liberty has been blocked in bringing the same efforts no matter who they are playing. All three of New York’s games this week are in Brooklyn, where the Liberty are 12-1 in 2024.
Previous ranking: 6
This week: @ LV (August 21), vs LV (August 23), vs IND (August 24)
The Lynx, dealing with an injury to star Napheesa Collier, slipped to No. both against Washington) and have vaulted up. Collier, who has been dealing with plantar fasciitis, played well to win gold in Paris. Now he and Team USA coach Cheryl Reeve are focused back on Minnesota, with next week against the Aces and Fever. After that, the Lynx have seven of their last 10 games on the road, where they are 7-5 this season.
Previous: 3
This week: vs. MIN (August 21), @ MIN (August 23), @ CHI (August 25)
The Aces have yet to finish the Liberty this season. But since the first loss to New York dropped to 6-6 in mid-June, they are 11-3. A’ja Wilson continues to make video game stats, including a combined 58 points, 24 rebounds, 8 steals and 5 blocks in a loss to New York and a win over Los Angeles last week. The Aces are in fourth place in the WNBA standings. Can he move into the top three?
Previous ranking: 2
This week: vs. LA (Aug. 20), vs. CHI (Aug. 23), @ NY (Aug. 24)
The Sun welcomed guard Marina Mabrey, acquired through a trade with Chicago before the Olympic break, as they beat Dallas but fell to Atlanta last week. Mabrey combined for 28 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in the two games. She should be a key asset as the Sun, who are second in the WNBA standings, look to solidify their playoff spot in the coming weeks.
Previous ranking: 5
This week: @ MIN (August 24)
The Fever won two games last week in different ways: just beating Phoenix in a 98-89 victory and then playing one of its better defensive games — plus hitting 15 3-pointers — in beating Seattle 92-75. Caitlin Clark broke the rookie season assist record, earning 19 assists in the two games, as the headliner. But he also scored together with fellow guards Kelsey Mitchell (they had a combined 107 points) and Aliyah Boston who rebounded (a combined 24), plus a career-high 8 assists Sunday. With 13 wins, Indiana has tied for the most wins in the past seven seasons — with 12 games to go.
Previous ranking: 7
This week: @ ATL (August 21), @ ATL (August 23)
The Mercury got two wins against Chicago and fell to Indiana in the first week after the break. Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner all made important contributions. Phoenix also got some much-needed help moving forward, signing Monique Billings to a seven-day contract after Dallas had to release her from a tough contract. Billings had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals Sunday in his first game with the Mercury.
Previous ranking: 4
This week: @ WAS (August 20)
It was a tough first week for the Storm, who lost to Atlanta and Indiana. In both games, Seattle was outscored in double figures and didn’t get much bench help. Seattle remains in the Eastern time zone for one game this week, and looks to get back on track before ending August with three consecutive home games.
Previous ranking: 12
This week: vs PHO (August 21), vs PHO (August 23)
No team needed a fresh start more than the Dream, who had lost eight in a row and 11 of 12 before the Olympic break. He had the most rebounds of the season. The return of guard Jordin Canada, limited to four games by injury in the first part of the season, helped lead Atlanta to home victories over Seattle and Connecticut last week. He had a combined 29 points, 8 rebounds, 14 assists and 9 steals. The Dream aren’t in a playoff position yet, but they’re getting close.
Previous ranking: 8
This week: @ CON (August 23), vs. LV (August 25)
The Dream is still in eighth place in the standings, but went 1-2 last week, with two losses to Phoenix by the same score: 85-65 and 86-68. When Chicago scored 90 points to beat Los Angeles, the Dream had to worry about the offense. She has the third lowest scoring average (78.7 PPG) in the WNBA. Angel Reese continues to look for a double, but now has 20.
Previous ranking: 9
This week: against SEA (August 20), against LA (August 23)
Three starters are back — Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes and Karlie Samuelson — but we’ll see if this injured team can stay healthy game to game. It’s a big challenge for Washington, which last week looked competitive but still lost twice to Minnesota. The Mystics’ goal for the rest of the season is to see growth from their young players and perhaps pull off an accident or two that affects their playoff team.
Previous ranking: 11
This week: @ NY (August 20), @ NY (August 22), vs LA (August 25)
Dallas’ Satou Sabally, Maddy Siegrist and Jaelyn Brown were medically cleared to join the roster. But it means parting with signs of grief Odyssey Sims, who went to Los Angeles, and Monique Billings, who went to Phoenix. Sabally looked good in his first game of the season, getting 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. But it came in a 109-91 loss to Connecticut, a game that highlighted the Wings’ defensive shortcomings. Like the Mystics, Dallas appears to be in spoiler mode the rest of the way after last year’s semifinal appearance.
Previous ranking: 10
This week: @ CON (August 20), @ WAS (August 23), @ DAL (August 25)
Sims, a former Sparks player, is back in Los Angeles. But there was only so much he could do for a Los Angeles team that lost its first three games after the break: to New York, Chicago and Las Vegas. The Sparks can be pleased with the progress of rookie Rickea Jackson – she has scored in double figures in nine of the last 10 games – but not much else as they project to miss the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.
