The WNBA offseason is finally coming to a close, and teams are ready to officially open the 2022 regular season this week. Free agency saw a number of recent league MVPs return to their respective teams, but it also welcomed in countless changes. There were major trades, a draft littered with surprises, some notable coaching hires and even a new full-scale fantasy game for fans.
Before the first game tips off Friday, Sports Illustrated gets you set for where each of the league’s 12 teams stand heading into the season.
12. Indiana Fever
The Fever are in full-on rebuild mode, having loaded up their roster with young talent. They had four of the first 10 picks in the 2022 draft and snagged one of the most league-ready draftees in the second round: former South Carolina guard Destanni Henderson.
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In recent seasons, Indiana has struggled to hit on its draft selections, with both 2020 No. 3 pick Lauren Cox and ’21 No. 4 pick Kysre Gondrezick each lasting less than two full seasons with the franchise. Such shortcomings help to explain why it has won just 12 combined games over the past two seasons, and why Tamika Catchings stepped down as the team’s VP of basketball operations and general manager in February. Interim GM Lin Dunn, a former coach for the Fever, is now calling the shots. How her draftees perform will go a long way in determining how exciting the team is this season, and what it looks like in the years to come.
11. Atlanta Dream
The Dream, like the Fever, are rebuilding, but there is also plenty of immediate reason for optimism about the franchise’s future. Over the offseason, Atlanta brought in both Tanisha Wright, from the Aces, as its next coach and Dan Padover, a two-time reigning Executive of the Year with Las Vegas, as its general manager. The pair made an immediate impact on the team, with no decision being more significant than trading up to the No. 1 pick and selecting Kentucky star Rhyne Howard.
Howard should provide Atlanta’s offense with a jolt, as well as complement veteran guard Tiffany Hayes nicely. Plus, continued development by guard Aari McDonald and forward Nia Coffey should help the Dream take steps toward competing. While Atlanta is still a ways away from being a title contender, the roadmap for them getting back to the league’s upper echelon is starting to take shape.
10. New York Liberty
The Liberty sneaked into last year’s postseason on the final day of the regular season, then went on to nearly beat the Mercury (the eventual Finals runner-up) in the opening round. But even after its showing last year, New York is not necessarily bound to rocket up the WNBA standings this summer.
The signing of veteran center Stefanie Dolson should help New York’s frontcourt depth, and star guard Sabrina Ionescu returning from a two-season struggle with an ankle injury will no doubt be a boost, too. But relative to its competition, New York might still find itself on the outskirts of the playoff picture. No matter what, look for the franchise to take further developmental steps in Sandy Brondello’s first year as coach. Perhaps it will result in another playoff appearance, or perhaps it will continue laying the foundation for future big-swing transactions down the line; how the team performs in competitive games will be instrumental in determining how this season turns out.
9. Dallas Wings
The Wings are another difficult team to project, as they have a roster loaded with young talent. Their offseason was highlighted by the acquisition of 6'7" center Teaira McCowan from the Fever, who should only bolster a frontcourt already chock full of high draft picks. Dallas also locked up Arike Ogunbowale with a long-term contract, a star guard who will be surrounded by impactful perimeter players in guards Marina Mabrey and Allisha Gray.
Ogunbowale was the league’s leading scorer in only her second season and remained among the WNBA’s most potent offensive players last year. If either she, or fellow 2021 All-Star Satou Sabally, is able to develop into a possible MVP candidate this season, don’t be surprised if Dallas finishes higher than the No. 7 spot they placed at last year.
8. Minnesota Lynx
Minnesota has not missed the postseason since 2010—which was coach and GM Cheryl Reeve’s first year with the franchise—but it is difficult to pencil the Lynx into the bracket heading into this season. Star forward Napheesa Collier will miss at least the beginning of the year (maybe even all of it) due to the upcoming birth of her first child. With Collier out, the Lynx will need to draw even more out of 36-year-old Sylvia Fowles, a future Hall of Famer, and hope for their role players to take steps forward.
Much of Minnesota’s season will be defined by how players like Aerial Powers, Kayla McBride and Damiris Dantas perform (plus how Angel McCoughtry looks coming off an ACL injury). If they can make up for Collier’s absence, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Lynx in the throes of the postseason picture again. If they struggle and Collier is out for an extended period, then it’s possible Minnesota will find itself in the lottery, snapping its postseason streak.
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7. Washington Mystics
Washington enters the season as one of the league’s most intriguing teams, largely because of the uncertainty surrounding the return of star forward Elena Delle Donne. The two-time MVP has played just three games over the last two seasons and has undergone multiple back procedures since taking home the ’19 league championship. Back in February, she told reporters she felt “phenomenal” and had not experienced pain in months. If she looks like the player she used to be, then Washington will very likely be a playoff team.
However, if Delle Donne struggles and is forced to miss long stretches of the season, then it’s likely Washington will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Last year’s league scoring champion Tina Charles left for the Mercury in free agency, creating a major void on offense. Delle Donne is fully capable of filling it, but key role players Ariel Atkins, Myisha Hines-Allen, Natasha Cloud and Elizabeth Williams will be pressed into bigger roles if the team’s star cannot.
6. Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles bolstered the core of its roster this offseason as it looks to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight year—a feat it has steered clear of since 1997 and ’98. Key to the Sparks’ possible resurgence will be the acquisitions of guard Chennedy Carter and center Liz Cambage. Carter was acquired in a trade with the Dream, having played only 11 games with Atlanta last season before being indefinitely suspended by the team. But in 2020, she was one of the sport’s most dynamic scorers, having averaged 17.4 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the field.
Cambage joins the Sparks after a multiyear run with the Aces. This preseason, she called being in L.A. “a dream come true” and says she feels she’ll be able to become more of an outside presence than she was with Las Vegas, while still remaining an interior force. (She attempted 37 three-pointers in 2018 while with the Wings, but attempted only 26 combined over her two seasons with the Aces.) “She’s been missing for a minute,” Cambage told reporters this preseason of her versatility on offense. How both players mesh with forwards Nneka Ogwumike and Chiney Ogwumike will help determine what L.A.’s ceiling is, but it seems likely that the Sparks will improve on last year’s 12-win season either way.
5. Las Vegas Aces
After making the 2020 title game and coming one win away from returning last year, the Aces have shaken things up considerably entering the ’22 campaign. In addition to Cambage departing via free agency, the team has hired first-year general manager Natalie Williams and first-year coach Becky Hammon to lead the franchise. Hammon has been open about wanting to install a new system on both ends of the floor, which will likely entail playing a style predicated on ball movement and spacing. It’s a decision that could see guards Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum flourish even more than they did under former coach Bill Laimbeer.
Las Vegas also appears to be fully committed to building around 2020 league MVP A’ja Wilson. She agreed to a max contract in February, and with Cambage out of the picture, the former South Carolina star will be the unquestioned focal point. The Aces may not be the deepest team in the league—their bench is relatively thin and unproven—but they still have a number of key players on the roster. It wouldn’t be shocking to see them finish in the top four of the playoffs (for the fourth consecutive year) and even appear in their second Finals in three years.
4. Phoenix Mercury
The detainment of star Mercury center Brittney Griner has upended the women’s basketball landscape and put Griner, the team and the sport in a geopolitical quandary. Phoenix players and coaches have voiced their continued support for their teammate and emphasized they are focused on bringing her home safely.
From an on-court perspective, the Mercury could be tasked with playing without one of the sport’s top players for the entirety of the season. Signing last year’s WNBA scoring champion, Tina Charles, should help offset some of the production lost, but Griner’s dominance also can’t be overstated: She was a first-team All-WNBA center last year and helped guide Phoenix to the Finals. The Mercury, now led by first-year coach Vanessa Nygaard, will try to return to that point in what could also be star guard Diana Taurasi’s last season. First-team All-WNBA guard Skylar Diggins-Smith should continue to stifle opponents, and the acquisition of Diamond DeShields should also pay dividends, especially on offense. Still, it’s hard to assess the team’s ceiling amid all that is going on around it.
3. Seattle Storm
Heading into last season’s Olympic break, the Storm were the league’s best team and held a 16–5 record. Then, in the second half of the season, they struggled, going only 5–6 with star forward Breanna Stewart suffering a late-season leg injury that caused her to miss their final two regular-season games and lone playoff game.
This season, with Stewart now fully healthy, don’t be surprised if Seattle looks like the squad that dominated through the first 20-plus games of last year or the one that took home the league title in 2020. The Storm also added forward Gabby Williams—who has flourished overseas in recent years—in free agency and signed veteran guard Briann January. More important, Stewart returned on a one-year deal, as did star guards Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird (Loyd signed the franchise tag, while Bird is back for what is presumably her final WNBA season). Given this, it could be the last year these core players are with the franchise, and it certainly could result in a title.
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2. Chicago Sky
The defending champion Sky have retained much of the squad that led them to last year’s title. Crucially, Chicago re-signed Finals MVP Kahleah Copper as well as guards Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley, and added 2019 Finals MVP Emma Meesseman in free agency. Would it be surprising to see the Sky compete for this year’s title? Of course not. But it’s still hard to overlook that they were only 10–10 entering last year’s Olympic break and 16–16 heading into the playoffs. In ’21, they certainly benefited from playing their best basketball at the right time, and while they could maintain that level again this season, it’s also possible they look more like the team that struggled for parts of last year—or at the very least, regress ever so slightly from what they exhibited last fall.
1. Connecticut Sun
The Sun were the league’s most dominant team in last year’s regular season, entering the playoffs with a 26–6 record. While they struggled against Chicago in the semifinals, they remain a title contender, if not a favorite, entering the 2022 campaign. Connecticut’s core remains fully intact—their No. 1 defense should be as suffocating as it was last season—and the addition of ’21 All-Star and fan favorite Courtney Williams should only help the offense. Plus, two-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas enters the year fully healthy (she played in only two regular-season games last year) and makes what is already the league’s strongest frontcourt even more dangerous.
The Sun have the reigning MVP in Jonquel Jones, as well as other All-Stars up and down the roster. There is plenty of talent around the WNBA making it hard to confidently pencil them in for a title, but, having lost in three league finals in franchise history, they are certainly positioned to make history and finally bring home their first title.
