WNBA Power Rankings: Alyssa Thomas leads Mercury into top spot; Lynx stumble for the first time all season

The Mercury entered this week having lost back-to-back games for the first time all season. After a stellar start to their experiment in the desert, a tiny bit of doubt about its long-term feasibility had started to creep in, especially after a surprise defeat to the lowly Dallas Wings.  

Alyssa Thomas quickly assuaged those fears. 

In a 30-point win in a rematch against the Wings, Thomas put up 15 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists for her first triple-double of the season and 12th of her career, extending her all-time record. A few days later, Thomas went off for a career-high 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a victory over the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. 

Thomas' excellent week continued yet another MVP-caliber season for one of the league's most unique players. She's now averaging 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, a career-high and league-leading 9.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game on a career-high 53.8% from the field. Aside from tweaking her calf, which caused her to miss a few weeks early on, Thomas has not put a foot wrong this season. 

Fever's Caitlin Clark, Wings' Paige Bueckers reflect on first WNBA matchup, share admiration for one another

Jack Maloney

Among all players, Thomas is 19th in scoring, 11th in rebounding, first in assists, ninth in steals and sixth in win shares. It should come as no surprise that no one in league history has ever put up a 15/7/9 season, which she is on pace to do. 

The Mercury are 12-3 this season when Thomas plays and 2-3 without her. In 460 minutes with on the court, they have a plus-13 net rating, and in 340 minutes without her they have a minus-2.0 net rating. All told, the Mercury are 14-6, good for second place, and well on their way to earning homecourt advantage in the playoffs. 

Napheesa Collier has established herself as the clear favorite for MVP thus far, but if Thomas and the Mercury keep playing like this, an actual race may develop for the league's top honor. 

Here are CBS Sports' latest WNBA Power Rankings:

WNBA Power Rankings

1	Mercury
Any concerns about the Mercury's mini two-game losing streak were quickly resolved with big wins over the Wings and Lynx. Sami Whitcomb continued her terrific season with a career-high 36 points against the Wings and DeWanna Bonner debuted against the Lynx after officially signing earlier in the week. Bonner, who spent the first 11 seasons of her career with the Mercury, has reunited with her fiancée, Alyssa Thomas.
2	Lynx
The Lynx have hit their first rough patch of the season. Their two losses over the last five days were as many as they had all summer up to this point. The defeats say more about the schedule than the Lynx's status as a contender, however. Including the Commissioner's Cup championship, the Lynx will play 10 games in 18 days leading up to the All-Star break. "We're in the midst of one of the most illogical schedules in my 25 years of doing this," Cheryl Reeve said. "We're not done. We're still in it."
3	Liberty
This was a big bounceback week for the Liberty, who beat the Aces and Dream to win back-to-back games for the first time since their 9-0 start. Their 19-point comeback over the Dream was even bigger than the 17-point comeback they had against them last month. Leonie Fiebich's return from EuroBasket has been a huge boost. She had a career-high 21 points against the Dream and is shooting 55.9% from the field this season, including 50% from 3-point range.
4	Fever
The Fever's up-and-down season continued with a blowout loss to the Valkyries followed by double-digit wins over the Dream and Wings. Caitlin Clark returned to action after missing two weeks with a groin injury, and while her shooting slump has continued -- she's now 6 of 42 from 3-point range in her last six outings -- she's been excellent as a playmaker. Her 13 assists against the Wings were a season-high and she has 28 assists to eight turnovers in her first three games back.
5	Mystics
Three games, three wins this week for the Mystics, who climbed above .500 for the first time since May. They took down the Aces and Storm in consecutive games, and held both of them below 75 points. During this three-game winning streak, the Mystics have a 90.4 defensive rating, which ranks first in the league in that span. If it wasn't already, it's time to take the Mystics seriously as a potential playoff team.
6	Storm
Are the Storm actually good? The answer depends on which quarter or game you happen to catch. After beating the Dream and Liberty in back-to-back road games last week, they lost to the Sun and Mystics this week -- blowing double-digit leads in the process -- to continue an incredibly inconsistent season. Skylar Diggins had a strong start to the season, but has gone cold in July. She's averaging 14.2 points on 36.6% shooting this month. The Storm need her to get back to her best.
7	Dream
After another disappointing week, which included blowing a 19-point lead to the Liberty, the Dream have lost five of their last seven games to fall to 12-9. As the collapse against the Liberty emphasized, they continue to struggle with closing games out. Here are their net ratings in each quarter this season: first quarter, plus-4.1; second quarter, plus-7.9; third quarter: plus-12.8; fourth quarter, minus-5.6.
8	Aces
A'ja Wilson took an awkward fall in the Aces' loss to the Liberty, which led to an extremely nerve wracking 16 hours for the organization. She avoided a serious injury, though, and only missed one game with a wrist sprain. Her return against the Valkyries was incredible, as she put up 34 points and 16 rebounds for her fifth career game with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds. Only Tina Charles (six) has more such games.
9	Valkyries
Aside from a huge win over the Fever, in which they shut Caitlin Clark down for the second time this season, the Valkyries' frustrating travels continued. They went 1-3 on their road trip to fall to 3-7 away from home this season, compared to 7-3 at the Chase Center. On Sunday, they waived veteran forward Stephanie Talbot, clearing a roster spot that is expected to be filled by French center Iliana Rupert, who spent the first half of the season fulfilling overseas commitments.
10	Sky
The Sky won back-to-back games for the first time since May and picked up by far their best victory of the season with an upset over the Lynx. In fact, that was their first win against a team above them in the standings; their previous six wins were all against the Sparks, Wings and Sun. Angel Reese put up 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Lynx to record her eighth consecutive double-double and continue her impressive mid-season resurgence. She's averaging 17.6 points, 15.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game on 48.6% shooting over that stretch.
11	Sparks
Only two games for the Sparks this week, a loss to the Lynx and a win over the Sun, both of which were expected results. The big news out of L.A. this week was that Cameron Brink has returned to five-on-five action, per John Davis, and Sparks coach Lynne Roberts expects her to return to action before the end of July. Brink, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, has not played since June 18, 2024 due to a torn ACL and meniscus.
12	Wings
The Wings' mid-season turnaround came to a sharp halt this week with three defeats by a combined 60 points. Arike Ogunbowale's return from a thumb injury that had kept her out for over two weeks was forgettable. She went 0 of 10 from the field in their loss to the Fever and has now scored in single digits six times this season; she had six such games over her last five seasons combined.
13	Sun
The Sun snapped their 10-game losing streak -- the longest in franchise history -- in stunning fashion with a 14-point comeback against the Storm. They promptly returned to losing ways, however, with two more defeats to fall to 3-18 and remain on pace for the worst season in franchise history. To make matters worse, they are on pace to join the 2022 Fever, 2011 Shock, 2006 Sky and 1998 Mystics as the only teams to finish last in both offensive and defensive rating.