Dream Climb Four Spots, Fever Drop Three in WNBA Rankings
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- Atlanta Dream jumped four spots to No. 2 after a perfect 4-0 West Coast road trip, capped by a 78-71 win at Los Angeles in which Angel Reese set a WNBA single-game rebounding record with 26 boards.
- Angel Reese also posted a career-high 31 points in Saturday's 99-89 win at Phoenix, powering the Dream's climb past teams that had been ahead of them.
- Indiana Fever dropped three spots to No. 6 after going 2-2 on the week, with their guards Kelsey Mitchell (121 points in her past four games) and Caitlin Clark (92 points, 33 assists in her past four) still carrying the offense.
- Golden State Valkyries slipped one spot to No. 3 but made a statement with an 80-66 win over league-leading Minnesota — their first victory against the Lynx after going 0-9 against them previously.
- Minnesota Lynx remained No. 1 at 31-8 despite the loss, playing without starting guard Courtney Williams (foot) for the first time since she joined the team in 2024.
- Washington Mystics climbed to No. 7 and clinched their first playoff berth since 2023 behind center Shakira Austin's career-high 31 points in Sunday's 105-100 win over Portland.
- The Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury were officially eliminated from playoff contention, leaving seven of eight postseason spots claimed heading into the FIBA Women's World Cup break (Sept. 4-13).
- Dallas Wings (No. 8) closed in on the final playoff spot after going 2-0 on the week, with Paige Bueckers scoring 32 points (18 in the first quarter) in Sunday's 92-70 win over Seattle.
Why it matters: The Dream's surge and Fever's slide directly reshape the seeding race with just over a week left before the FIBA break, as Atlanta leapfrogs Indiana in the standings battle. Seven of eight playoff spots are already locked up, so the remaining games now determine who gets home-court advantage — and the lone unclaimed eighth berth will be settled by the Dallas Wings' closing stretch.
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