WNBA Power Rankings: Liberty pass Aces to take over No. 1

The Los Angeles Sparks broke a 13-game losing streak to Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, beating the Aces for the first time since 2019. It gave the Sparks their first four-game winning streak since August 2021 and has them currently holding the last playoff spot.

And it did something else: It helped the New York Liberty move to No. 1 in ESPN’s WNBA Power Rankings, the first time this season the Aces have been displaced from the top spot.

It doesn’t mean the Aces are no longer favored to repeat as WNBA champions (they are). They still have a comfortable three-game lead in the standings ahead of the Liberty. The Aces might even look back on the past week as having helped them.

Last Tuesday’s Commissioner’s Cup final, a 82-63 Liberty victory in Las Vegas, didn’t count in the standings. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take the game into consideration when evaluating where the Liberty are as a team now.

It was the Liberty’s second double-digit win over the Aces in a row, following New York’s 99-61 victory Aug. 6 in Brooklyn. Las Vegas then beat the Liberty 88-75 on Thursday, also at Michelob Ultra Arena.

But with New York’s 85-63 win at Phoenix on Friday and the Aces’ 78-72 loss to the Sparks, who came in as 17-point underdogs, it all added up to the Liberty getting a shot at our No. 1 slot.

“You see the chemistry of this team,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “Overall, I just love their activity and how they’re connected with each other.”

The Aces clearly miss injured Candace Parker, and coach Becky Hammon has looked for opportunities to increase the playing time of reserves such as Cayla George and Kierstan Bell to get them ready for important minutes in the postseason. There is no timetable on a possible return for Parker.

The loss to Los Angeles also reflected understandable fatigue for the Aces, who played five games between Aug. 11 and 19, while the Sparks had two games in that time span. Plus, the Sparks are playing with urgency as they battle for a playoff berth.

The Aces remain in strong position to be the No. 1 overall seed, which would give them home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Defense, rebounding and slow starts, along with Parker’s absence, are concerns for the Aces. “Concern” is a relative term, of course, when talking about a team with an .875 winning percentage.

But Hammon knows the Aces have to keep improving, because it’s what the Liberty are doing.

New York forward Jonquel Jones was Commissioner’s Cup MVP, reflecting how she’s back to her typical high level of play after a slower start to the season as she recovered from a foot injury. Jones improves every aspect of the Liberty, whose depth is a strength.