WNBA: Week One Recap
The opening week of the 2023 WNBA season has come to a close, with rookies' debuts, major comebacks, and the OG's doing what they do best! It's been a remarkable start to a competitive year. Here’s where the league stands after its first week back!
1. Las Vegas Aces – 4 - 0
The Aces ate and left no crumbs, leading with an immaculate 4-0 record. But are we shocked? Candace Parker joined the Aces' already unstoppable lineup with MVP A’ja Wilson, and it seemed this team would be the ones to dominate, and they're doing precisely that.
Photo: SportsCenter
2. Connecticut Sun – 3-1
The Sun opened the week with the second-straight win over the Mystics, taking both games of their home-and-home set. They followed that up with a loss to the New York Liberty, but Connecticut will look to bounce back when they host Indiana.
3. Chicago Sky – 3-1
The Sky is keeping the bar high. The Sky own the second-best point differential (+21) in the league through the first 10 days of the season, as their only loss of the season came by just two points to Washington on Friday.
4. New York Liberty – (2-1)
It was a rough start, to say the least, for the Liberty. Let's be real, that first game? Atrocious. I mean, certainly, a lot of that loss had to do with the Mystics’ lockdown defense. One thing remains, through three games in New York, Breanna Stewart has been outstanding – the league’s second-leading scorer (26 PPG), third-leading rebounder (10 RPG), eighth-leading shot blocker (1.7 BPG), and the only player averaging 20 and 10 to start the season. Not a bad start for the Liberty!
5. Dallas Wings – (2-1)
There are seven players averaging at least 20 points per game so far this season – and two of them represent the Dallas Wings. It starts with league leader Arike Ogunbowale (26.7 points per game), who has scored 25 or more points in all three games this season. The other 20 ppg scorer is Satou Sabally, who averages 22 ppg. Last Week's Stats: (1-1) W at Storm 95-91; L at Sky 94-88.
6. Washington Mystics – (2-2)
The Mystics have handed the only losses of the season to both the 3-1 Liberty and the 3-1 Sky. Washington faces its first back-to-back of the season, hosting the Wings on Friday and the Lynx on Saturday.
7. Los Angeles Sparks – (1-2)
After opening the season with a 23-point win over Phoenix, the Sparks drew consecutive games – and suffered consecutive losses – against the defending champion Aces. In their first matchup in Los Angeles, the Sparks held a 10-point halftime lead, but the Aces rallied in the third quarter to seize control of the game. The Sparks try to get back on track with another battle with the Mercury, this time in Phoenix on Friday.
8. Indiana Fever – (1-2)
On Sunday, the Fever not only earned their first win of the season, but they also snapped a 20-game losing streak that dated back to last season. NaLyssa Smith led the way in the Fever’s win over the Dream, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds as six Indiana players scored in double figures. They’ll have some competition this week with games against Connecticut and Las Vegas on tap this week.
9. Atlanta Dream – (1-2)
After being held to 10 points in her debut game with the Dream against her former team in Dallas – where she spent the first six seasons of her WNBA career –, Allisha Gray posted 26 points in a win over Minnesota and 19 points in a loss to Indiana. Gray currently leads the Dream in points (18.3 ppg), rebounds (7.0 RPG), and assists (4.0 APG), while Cheyenne Parker and reigning Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard each added 17 points per game. After splitting two of their games last week against the Lynx and Fever, the Dream will face the 3-1 Sky and 4-0 Aces this week.
10. Phoenix Mercury – (1-2)
The opening week of the season featured two emotional moments for the Mercury – Brittney Griner’s first WNBA game in 579 days (a loss in Los Angeles) and her first home game in 585 days (a loss to Chicago). After opening the season 0-2, the Mercury earned their first win over the season on Thursday against Minnesota behind 23 points and 10 assists from Diana Taurasi and 19 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks from Griner.
11. Seattle Storm – (0-2)
After being on the wrong end of the most lopsided season-opening game ever with their 41-point loss to the Aces, the Storm were much more competitive against Dallas in a game that featured a scoring duel between Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale (26 points) and Seattle’s Jewell Loyd (30 points) – who enter this week ranked first and tied for second in the league in scoring, respectively. The Storm are still seeking their first win.
12. Minnesota Lynx – (0-4)
Sheesh. For the third straight year, the Lynx have opened the season 0-4 after facing losses to Atlanta, Phoenix, and Las Vegas this past week. Minnesota will look to make that turnaround a bit earlier this season and get their first shot at doing so Tuesday in Dallas against the Wings.
