The Las Vegas Aces lost by blowout to Phoenix on ring night, then answered with four straight wins, a run capped by Chelsea Gray’s game-winner against the Dream on Sunday, May 17. It was the kind of early swing that can reshape the top of the WNBA standings before the season has time to settle.
That is the story of the first 10 days of 2026: one bad night, then a fast correction. The Aces played five games in the season’s first 10 days, and the loss to Phoenix looked like a jolt because it came after a 33-point defeat in the opener. But Las Vegas steadied quickly, and Gray’s shot against Atlanta gave the group another reminder of how quickly the mood can change in a small sample.
New York has looked just as dangerous, even with one late setback. The Liberty had one last-second loss to the expansion Fire to open the season, then avenged the defeat to Portland with an 18-point win two days later. Through games played on Sunday, May 17, Breanna Stewart was averaging 23.0 points per game and New York was putting up a league-best 100 points per game. That kind of scoring can mask a lot, but it also tells the same story as the Aces: the ceiling is already obvious.
Atlanta has lived on the edge in both directions. The Dream opened by erasing an 18-point deficit to defeat the Lynx, and Angel Reese sealed that season-opening win with a last-second block in her Atlanta debut. Eight days later, the Dream lost on a last-second shot to Gray, a reversal that is hard to ignore when the margins are this thin and the calendar is still in its first week and a half.
Chicago has built its case on the other end of the floor. The Sky opened with four straight road games, beat Portland to spoil the Fire’s return to the WNBA, and through Sunday led the league in defensive rating at 97.2 and opponent field goal percentage at 38.1%. That is the kind of profile that travels, and it gave the Sky an early place near the top of the league’s defensive conversation.
Golden State has also forced its way into that mix. The Valkyries opened with double-digit wins over the Storm and Mercury, then lost to the Sky on Sunday, May 17. Even so, they held the league’s second-best net rating at +8.3 through the opening week, which is a strong opening for a team still trying to establish itself in a new season. The size of the wins mattered as much as the loss.
Phoenix’s start has been the most volatile of the bunch. The Mercury opened by beating the Aces by 33 points, then dropped consecutive games to Golden State and Minnesota before getting back on track against Chicago. Jovana Nogić has been part of that early surge, averaging 16 points per game, 3.3 three-pointers per game and shooting 65% from deep through Sunday. As a team, Phoenix was shooting a league-best 38.5% from beyond the arc. For a team that has already hit both extremes, the shot profile is carrying real weight.
Washington, meanwhile, has made a habit of turning every possession into a test. The Mystics played two overtime games in the WNBA’s opening stretch, beat the Fever 104-102 on Friday, May 15, and then lost to the Liberty 98-93 on Sunday. Their first three games were all decided by five points or fewer, which says as much about their resilience as it does about how little separation exists across the league right now. Washington also held off Toronto in its only non-OT game to spoil the Tempo’s franchise opener, another result that fit the theme of a season where no lead feels safe.
Rickea Jackson suffered a knee injury on Sunday, adding another note of uncertainty to a week already defined by close games, big swings and a standings picture that is still more suggestion than conclusion. But the early read is clear enough: the teams handling the chaos best are already shaping the top of the board, and the ones that have started fast know they cannot count on that cushion for long.
