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WNBA Power Rankings: Triple-doubles happening at historic rate; Aces match best start through 25 games – CBS Sports
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This has already been a historic season in the WNBA. The Las Vegas Aces are on pace to have the best record ever, No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston is doing things we’ve never seen from a rookie and the single-season 40-point games mark has been smashed. Now, after a number of brilliant performances this week, it appears the single-season triple-double record will fall as well.
Sabrina Ionescu got the action started by putting up 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in the New York Liberty’s victory over the Seattle Storm. That was her fourth career triple-double, which is tied for the second-most all-time.
Then, it was Satou Sabally’s turn. The Dallas Wings forward, a leading candidate for Most Improved Player, went for 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over the Washington Mystics. In addition to the first triple-double of her career, it was the first by any player since the Wings moved to Dallas.
Finally, Alyssa Thomas reasserted herself as the triple-double queen with the sixth of her career when she finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the Connecticut Sun’s loss to the Minnesota Lynx. No one else in WNBA history has ever reached those stats in a game.
After these three efforts, there have now been seven triple-doubles by four different players this season – both tied for the most all-time with 2022 — with more than a quarter of the way to go. It took over 20 years for the league to reach seven triple-doubles, and now there have been that many in each of the past two seasons, which is a testament to the increased level of depth and talent in the league.
Now, on to this week’s power rankings.
More of the same from the Aces this week, who extended their winning streak to seven games. All of those wins have come by double digits, which is tied for the second-longest such streak in WNBA history. In addition, they matched the 1998 Houston Comets for the best record in league history through 25 games and improved to 12-0 at home, which is tied for the third-best home start ever.
This was an extremely busy week for the Liberty, who had to make up their postponed game with the Lynx and ended up playing four games in six days. They went 3-1, with the lone loss coming against the Lynx on the second night of a back-to-back. Breanna Stewart made more history by joining Maya Moore as the only players to have at least 500 points, 200 rebounds and 50 3-pointers through 25 games.
Only two games for the Sun this week, who picked up a nice win over the Wings before falling to the Lynx despite Alyssa Thomas recording her fourth triple-double of the season and DeWanna Bonner becoming the first player over 35 to have at least 30 points and five rebounds in back-to-back games. Those two, who recently got engaged, have combined for 40.3% of the Sun’s points this season and 48.8% of their assists.
In the first six seasons of her career, Allisha Gray scored 25 points in a game just once. After two more such performances this week, including a career-high-tying 27 points in their win over the Mystics on Sunday, she’s done so six times this season. With Gray leading the way, the Dream got back on track this week and are now tied with the Wings in the race for the No. 4 overall seed.
This was one of the tougher weeks on the schedule for the Wings, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped by the Sun and also lost to the Aces. There’s no shame in losing to two of the top-three teams in the league, however, and the Wings shouldn’t be too upset with their effort in either contest. Plus, their dominant win over the Mystics in between those defeats was a reminder that they’re still arguably the best team outside the big three.
Here come the Lynx. Despite losing Napheesa Collier to a sprained ankle, the Lynx went on the road and beat the Liberty and the Sun to run their winning streak to three games. They’re now back to .500 and all alone in sixth place after their 0-6 start. All three victories on this winning streak have come by five points or fewer, running their record in five-point games to a remarkable 8-3.
The Mystics’ devastating injury situation has persisted, and as a result, so too has their poor run of form. They’ve dropped three games in a row (their longest losing streak since 2021), and seven of their last 10, and have fallen to seventh place in the standings. All of a sudden, their two-game homestand against the Sparks this week is crucial to the playoff race. If they are to lose both, they would no longer have a comfortable cushion on a postseason spot.
Five different players scored in double figures in the Sky’s win over the Mercury on Sunday, which is the type of diverse production they need, but have not been getting in recent weeks. Kahleah Copper has led the team in scoring in eight consecutive games, and during that stretch is averaging 23.8 points per game on 49.3% shooting; Marina Mabrey (11.6 points) is the only other player averaging double figures in that time.
The Sparks welcomed the Fever to town for a back-to-back early this week, which was just the cure for their franchise-worst eight-game losing streak. Those two wins were likely just a brief reprieve though. They lost to the Liberty on Sunday and only four of their remaining 15 games are against non-playoff teams. Of course, missing the playoffs at this point would be for the best long-term.
The Storm’s franchise-worst losing streak reached 10 games early in the week, before they bounced back with victories over the Sky and Fever to secure their first winning streak of the season. Gabby Williams, who missed the first 18 games while recovering from a concussion, is starting to find a rhythm. She put up a combined 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the two wins.
On Saturday, the Mercury announced that Brittney Griner would miss the team’s upcoming road trip in order to focus on her mental health. She sat out of their loss to the Sky on Sunday and will miss at least their matchup against the Fever on Tuesday, though it seems likely she’ll be out longer than that. In more positive news, Diana Taurasi has returned to the lineup, and the race for 10,000 points is back on. She needs 47 more to become the first WNBA player to reach that milestone.
The Fever’s season is starting to spiral out of control. After three more defeats this week they’ve lost four in a row and 12 of their last 13. Their 106.7 defensive rating remains the worst in the league, and has them on pace to finish last in that category for the fourth consecutive season – a league record. The San Antonio Silver Stars in 2004 and 2005 and the Phoenix Mercury in 2009 and 2010 are the only other times in WNBA history that a team has finished last in defense even two seasons in a row.
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