The WNBA schedule-makers did the young Atlanta Dream no favors once the calendar flipped to June. Of their 10 games in the month, eight are against the top-four teams in the league, including three against the New York Liberty. To little surprise, they got off to a rough start, losing three in a row to fall to 2-5.
With a brutal four-game road trip up next, their season could have easily gone completely off the rails. Instead, they locked in, started to click on offense and are now the hottest team in the league outside of the Aces. They've won three in a row, with victories over the Connecticut Sun and Liberty, and are back to .500 at 5-5.
"Just their fight. That's what I've learned most," head coach Tanisha Wright said after they beat the Indiana Fever on Sunday. "One that they're bought in to what we're trying to do here. I think that's really important. I think the things that we're trying to tell them, the things that we're trying to instill in them, they're really buying into it. And then they just fight. We have a team of people who don't quit, who don't give in to certain things. They don't give in, they don't give up."
A big reason for their turnaround is the play of Allisha Gray, whom the team acquired in a big offseason trade. They gave up two first-round picks, including the No. 3 overall selection in this year's draft, but decided it was worth it to get one of the most underrated wings in the league. As she pushes for the first All-Star selection of her career, Gray is showing exactly why the Dream were willing to pay that price.
She went for 27 points and 10 rebounds while playing all 45 minutes in their overtime win over the Sun, then added another 25 points against the Fever. For the season, she's averaging career-highs across the board: 18.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on 49.2% shooting.
"Allisha's somebody who at times you don't realize she's doing what she's doing and then you look up like 'holy s—' Allisha did what she did," Wright said. "She's somebody who puts on her hard hat, goes to work and just does what she does."
Now, on to this week's power rankings
1. Las Vegas Aces (10-1) – Last week No. 1
Another week, another set of dominant performances by the Aces, who beat the Storm by 33 points and the Lynx by 31. They've now won three games by at least 30 points already and have the four biggest wins of the season; no other team even has one 30-point win. The last time one team had at least three 30-point wins in the same season? The Aces in 2019.
2. Connecticut Sun (9-3) – Last week No. 2
The Sun suffered just their third loss of the season early in the week, when they were stunned in overtime by the Dream, but responded well by pulling away from the Sparks on Sunday. Their win over the Sparks was the first time all season that they've made fewer than 10 free throws in a game, but overall they continue to bully opponents. They're first in the league in free throw attempts per game (22.8) and second in points in the paint (39.0).
3. New York Liberty (7-3) – Last week No. 3
Breanna Stewart is in the middle of one of the greatest offensive seasons we've ever seen, but even she isn't perfect. In the team's loss to the Dream this week she had the worst shooting performance of her career, finishing with 12 points on 1-of-14 shooting from the field. After she shot 7.1% in that contest, it was worth checking her career numbers; she's shot below 25% just nine times in 192 career games.
4. Washington Mystics (7-4) – Last week No. 4
The blowout loss to the Fever was a strange one, but we can probably chalk that up to a schedule loss after they bounced back with two comfortable wins to close out the week. Even with a strong 4-1 stretch, this team's extensive offensive problems remain somewhat confounding; their 50% shooting performance in their win over the Mercury was the first time they shot even 40% in a game since May 23.
5. Atlanta Dream (5-5) – Last week No. 9
This time last week, the Dream were on a three-game losing streak and staring at a brutal road trip. Now, after wins over the Liberty, Sun and Fever, they're the hottest team in the league and back to .500. During this winning streak, Allisha Gray has shown why the team traded two first-round picks for her in the winter; she's averaging 22.6 points and six rebounds on 60 percent shooting in the last three games.
6. Los Angeles Sparks (5-6) – Last week No. 7
Though the Sparks started the week with an impressive win over the Wings, they ended it in disappointing fashion with two more narrow defeats. They are now 2-4 in their last six, and could have reasonably won all six. Those four losses have come by a combined 22 points; in three of them they've blown double-digit leads and in all four they were within a single possession in the final two minutes.
7. Dallas Wings (5-6) – Last week No. 5
Not even a career-high 41 points from Arike Ogunbowale against the Storm was enough for the Wings to get back to winning ways. They've now lost three in a row, in large part because their defense has fallen off a cliff. Shoring up that side of the ball was a key focus heading into the season, and though they started relatively well they're allowing 118.4 points per 100 possessions during the losing streak, which is by far the worst mark in the league in that stretch.
8. Chicago Sky (5-7) – Last week No. 6
The wheels have started to come off for the Sky, who have now lost four in a row and are 2-6 since their strong start. Injuries and absences that have sapped their depth are certainly part of the issue, but so too is poor play from their backcourt. Kahleah Copper and Courtney Williams have combined for just 49 points on 21-of-64 shooting and turned the ball over 21 times during this losing streak.
9. Indiana Fever (4-7) – Last week No. 10
The Fever's first winning streak in over a year came to an end on Sunday against the red-hot Dream, but this young team continues to impress; they're already just one win away from matching last season's total. This week they beat the Mystics by 21 to record their first 20-point win since 2019 and stunned the Sky with a late fourth-quarter comeback and last-second shot by Kelsey Mitchell.
10. Seattle Storm (3-7) – Last week No. 12
Even with a 33-point loss to the Aces, this was the most successful week of the season to date for the Storm, who picked up road wins over the Mercury and Wings. The latter came thanks to Jewell Loyd, who poured in a career-high 39 points during a historic scoring duel against Arike Ogunbowale. Loyd's league-leading scoring average is now up to 25.4 points per game, which puts her on pace to become just the second player in league history to average 25 points for a season.
11. Minnesota Lynx (3-8) – Last week No. 11
The Lynx started the week by stealing a second consecutive game from the Sparks, and at that point it seemed like perhaps they were getting back on track. Then they had to play the Aces, and their 3-1 stretch was halted in extremely harsh fashion. The 31-point defeat was the first time they've lost by 30 since 2013 and their worst loss since 2010. In two games against the Aces this season they've lost by a combined 52 points.
12. Phoenix Mercury (2-8) – Last week No. 8
The last thing the struggling Mercury needed was injuries to Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi, but that's just what happened this week when they went down with hip and hamstring issues, respectively. Neither appear to be long-term problems, but after three consecutive losses the Mercury now sit in last place at 2-8 and are going to have a hard time climbing out of this hole no matter when their stars return.
