The 2026 WNBA regular season doesn't end until Sept. 24, more than a month from now. But that period includes a multi-week break from Aug. 31-Sept. 16 for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup (the tournament itself runs from Sept. 4-13 in Berlin, Germany), which means that in terms of actual games, the season is more than three-fourths complete.
Every team has played at least 33 games, and the Seattle Storm have played 37. The first-place Minnesota Lynx and the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces have already clinched playoff spots, while the Storm and the Connecticut Sun have been officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Most years, the stretch run would have battles at both ends of the playoff picture, but that's not the case this season. Due to a number of factors, including expansion, the eight playoff teams are largely set. The Dallas Wings, who sit in eighth place, have a five-game lead on the ninth-place Portland Fire, who would need a miracle to catch them and would be better off in the lottery anyway.
Still, there's plenty to play for down the stretch. The Lynx are trying to hold off the Golden State Valkyries for the No. 1 seed, and in the crowded middle of the playoff pack, just two games separate the No. 3 Aces from the No. 7 New York Liberty. The next few weeks before the break are going to be fascinating.
Here are CBS Sports' latest WNBA Power Rankings:
Biggest Movers
2
Fever
2
Mystics
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Lynx picked up a huge road win over the Aces on CBS on Saturday and have now won four in a row and 14 of 15 to build a three-and-a-half-game lead over the Valkyries and a five-game lead over the Aces in the race for the No. 1 seed. If the Lynx win Wednesday's matchup at Golden State, they'll seal the season series between the clubs and effectively lock up the top overall seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. | -- | |
| 2 |  | The Valkyries cruised past the Sky in their only game this week and have now won five in a row and 14 of their last 16, but haven't been able to make up any ground on the Lynx. The good news for the Valkyries is they host the Lynx on Wednesday and play them again later this month, so there's still a slight chance that they could catch Minnesota for the top seed - but only if they win both of those games. | -- | |
| 3 |  | The Fever escaped Atlanta with a thrilling overtime victory on Sunday that had major playoff implications. Thanks to their win - their fourth in a row and 11th in their last 14 games - they now have a 63% chance of earning a top-four seed; with a loss, it would have been 24%, per ESPN. Not only did the Fever create some separation from the fifth-place Dream, they also moved within half a game of the Aces. Crucially, they own the tiebreaker with Las Vegas. | 2 | |
| 4 |  | The Aces' up-and-down play since the All-Star break continued this week, as they picked up two hard-fought wins over the Mystics to clinch a playoff spot, then lost to the Lynx. They're now 6-4 post-All-Star break, including two losses to the Lynx, which has effectively ended their hopes of chasing them down for the No. 1 seed. Perhaps more notable, they're also one and a half games behind the Valkyries for second and just half a game up on the fourth-place Fever. Seeding matters less to the Aces than to other teams given their experience, but they're in danger of only hosting a first-round series. | -- | |
| 5 |  | The Mystics' seven-game winning streak came to an end with back-to-back defeats against the Aces in Las Vegas. While the Mystics hung right with the Aces in both games, the mini road trip was a reminder of how hard it is for young teams to win in this league. They did bounce back and beat the Sparks, however, to stay in seventh and remain in the mix for a top-five seed. They're one game back of both the Liberty and Dream. | 2 | |
| 6 |  | The Liberty have won nine of their last 11 games to maintain their hold on sixth place and stay within striking distance of a top-four seed - one and a half games back of the Fever - but they've been extremely unconvincing during this stretch. Their only wins over playoff teams in this 9-2 run have been a one-point overtime victory over the Wings and a blowout of the Aces' B team, and they struggled to beat both the Sparks and Sun this week. | -- | |
| 7 |  | The Dream had three shots at the end of regulation to beat the Fever on Sunday, including two layups, but missed all of them and lost in overtime. That defeat dealt a stiff blow to their hopes of earning a top-four seed. They would have had a 55% chance with a win, but have an 18% chance after the defeat, per ESPN. They are now as close to the Fever in fourth - one and a half games - as they are to the Wings in eighth. | -- | |
| 8 |  | The vibes in Dallas remain bad. Azzi Fudd hasn't played since Aug. 5 due to a knee injury and has already been ruled out of the team's game on Monday; a reporter left the beat due to threats from fans and they've lost six of eight to remain in eighth place. The Wings are five games up on the Fire, so they're going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2023, but right now it's hard to see them winning a series when they get there. | -- | |
| 9 |  | The Fire spoiled Diana Taurasi's jersey retirement to win for the fourth time in five games, but that's going to be too little, too late for the expansion club, which remains five games behind the Wings for the eighth and final playoff spot. Long-term, that's for the best anyway. Even though their odds for the No. 1 pick will be slim, a trip to the lottery in a year with a loaded draft class is far better than getting crushed in the first round of the playoffs. | -- | |
| 10 |  | The Sky beat the Storm on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak, but they're just running out the clock at this point. They owe the Mystics a 2027 first-round pick swap, and with Washington set to make the playoffs, that's sure to be called in. The Sky traded the No. 3 pick (Sonia Citron) in 2025 to the Mystics, the No. 2 pick in 2026 (Olivia Miles) to the Lynx, owe the Mystics a 2027 first-round swap and owe the Mystics their 2028 first outright. There's a not-insignificant chance that they trade away the draft rights to Citron, Miles, JuJu Watkins and Sarah Strong in four consecutive years, in addition to trading away Angel Reese. | -- | |
| 11 |  | The Mercury gave up their 2027 first-round pick in the Kelsey Plum trade and are now seven and a half games out of the playoffs, so the rest of their campaign is largely meaningless. Even though they lost again on Sunday to the Fire, the organization and the city enjoyed a memorable night with Diana Taurasi's jersey retirement. The league's all-time leading scorer had her iconic No. 3 raised to the rafters alongside the No. 13 worn by Penny Taylor, her former teammate and now wife. | 1 | |
| 12 |  | The Sparks have actually been pretty competitive lately, but thankfully for their lottery hopes, they've lost four in a row and 11 of their last 13. They'll soon officially be eliminated from the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, extending the longest active postseason drought in the league, but the good news is they'll have two lottery picks in next year's draft. While neither pick is likely to wind up at No. 1, they'll get to add two big talents. | 1 | |
| 13 |  | Two more defeats for the Sun this week, who joined the Storm as the second team to be officially eliminated from the playoffs. The bad news: they'll end their tenure in Connecticut by missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons for just the third time since moving there in 2003. The good news: they own their 2027 first-round pick and are going to have the best odds at the No. 1 pick thanks to their 11-33 finish in 2025. | -- | |
| 14 |  | The Storm finally snapped their 11-game losing streak with a win over the Sky that meant little aside from ending the longest skid in franchise history. They promptly dropped two more narrow contests to fall to 7-30, and are almost certainly going to finish with the worst record in the league. However, they went 23-21 last season, and due to the two-year aggregate record lottery format, they are not going to have the best lottery odds. | 1 | |
| 15 |  | It's full steam ahead toward the lottery and a chance at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft for the Tempo, who have lost 10 games in a row and 14 of their last 15 to fall to 13th place at 10-23. The league has still not announced the 2027 lottery odds now that there are seven teams in the mix, or how they'll handle expansion teams, but the more the Tempo lose, the better their odds will be. | 1 |
