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AIPROPX ReportCBS Sports · 42m ago
WNBA Power Rankings: Valkyries enter FIBA break on a hot streak as Lynx get a 'wake-up call
The 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup break has arrived. The WNBA will take the next two-plus weeks off as the best of the best travel to Berlin for the right to be crowned world champions. Young stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will make their major tournament debut and, along with veterans like Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, will hope to lead Team USA to a fifth consecutive gold medal.
When the WNBA's regular season resumes on Sept. 17, there will be just one week of action remaining. Following the Dallas Wings ' win over the Portland Fire on Tuesday, all eight playoff spots have been locked up, but there's still plenty to be determined.
As the WNBA takes a rare late-season break, here's a look at where things stand:
The Minnesota Lynx still have not locked up the No. 1 seed, but have a two-game lead on the Golden State Valkyries and the tiebreaker between the teams. With four games remaining for both clubs, it would take a real meltdown for the Lynx to fall out of the top spot.
The Valkyries, meanwhile, have won four games in a row to keep their hopes of the No. 1 seed alive and hold off the hard-charging Las Vegas Aces . While Golden State has a two-game lead, Las Vegas has the tiebreaker there, which gives them hope.
Below the Lynx and Valkyries are two separate groups: 3-5 and 6-8.
The Aces (No. 3), Atlanta Dream (No. 4) and Indiana Fever (No. 5) are separated by one game. The Aces have the tiebreaker over the Dream, the Fever have the tiebreaker over the Aces and the Dream currently have the tiebreaker over the Fever, though that could change by the end of the season.
Two games separate the Fever from the New York Liberty , Washington Mystics and Dallas Wings, all of whom have identical 24-16 records. The Liberty have the tiebreaker over the Mystics, the Wings have the tiebreaker over the Liberty and the Mystics have the tiebreaker over the Wings. The second tiebreaker in this scenario is record against .500+ opponents. The Liberty are 11-10, the Mystics are 10-10 and the Wings are 8-15, which is why the Liberty are sixth, the Mystics are seventh and the Wings are eighth.
Down at the bottom of the standings, there's also a major battle brewing for the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft. Expansion teams will use single-year records, while non-expansion teams will still use two-year aggregate records. The Connecticut Sun are 21-63 over the last two seasons for a .250 winning percentage, while the Toronto Tempo are 11-29 this season for a .275 winning percentage, which means they could "catch" the Sun for the best odds.
We'll have to wait nearly a month for all of the playoff seeds and lottery odds to be determined. For now, here are CBS Sports' latest WNBA Power Rankings:
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