Connecticut and Los Angeles are at the bottom because their owners don\u2019t seem to prioritize their WNBA teams, and the front offices haven\u2019t found the right mix of contending and planning for the future.<\/p>\n
This is the heart of the exercise, as nothing determines a franchise\u2019s success more than the players on the court. The category contributes 35 percent to the overall score. The bulk of this ranking is determined by each organization\u2019s collection of young talent, identified as players 25 or younger who likely will still be under team control on a rookie contract. We prioritized players with All-Star and MVP upside.<\/p>\n
About a third of the \u201cplayers\u201d score comes from the current veterans. We assume a large portion of players will remain with their teams; many of them are free agents only because of the projected rise in salaries, not because they want to leave. However, the uncertainty of the upcoming offseason \u2014 when all but two veterans will be free agents \u2014 forces us to more heavily weigh young players when making forward-looking evaluations.<\/p>\n
Indiana wins this category on the strength of its All-Star duo of Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, followed by Los Angeles, Washington, Dallas and Chicago, all of which have promising young stars. Teams with veteran All-Stars \u2014 Minnesota, New York, Phoenix and Las Vegas \u2014 but with fewer young prospects find themselves in the bottom half of this ranking.<\/p>\n
The majority of WNBA champions are built around a homegrown No. 1 pick, or often around multiple top picks. The expansion of free agency threatens to change that, but for now, there is a premium on high draft picks, particularly the top selection in any draft.<\/p>\n
As a result, the draft assets of a franchise factor into their future success. Given that these rankings project a five-year window, and the 2028-2030 draft picks are currently untouched, the two-year window of draft assets was worth 10 percent of our overall formula. The potential for a top pick was weighted higher than the total war chest an organization has accumulated. Seattle tops this category because it owns two potential lottery picks in 2026 (L.A. and Las Vegas). The Aces are at the bottom, after already trading away their first-rounder in the next two drafts.<\/p>\n
When Las Vegas unveiled the first W-specific practice facility in 2023, it kicked off an arms race of organizations providing dedicated practice environments for players. Nneka Ogwumike said leaving Los Angeles for Seattle, which debuted a facility in 2024<\/a>, added years to her career. Alyssa Thomas publicly castigated Connecticut\u2019s practice set-up before joining Phoenix \u2014 which has the league\u2019s newest facility \u2014 in the 2025 offseason.<\/p>\n Alyssa Thomas told @TheNextHoops<\/a> that Mohegan has to do better in providing facilities for the Sun, who had to share a practice court the day before their first playoff game.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have to share your court with a two-year-olds birthday party, [it\u2019s the] ultimate disrespect.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/FSIRAm1ooS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Noa Dalzell \ud83c\udfc0 (@NoaDalzell) September 23, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Players want a place to work on their game that also has treatment and recovery options. Players are increasingly prioritizing franchises that don\u2019t put their teams in public gyms and force them to find their own places to work out in the offseason. We ranked teams by the quality of their facilities and also gave credit to those who have either broken ground on new facilities or have them planned in the near future.<\/p>\n Future franchise overall rankings1. Indiana<\/p>\n The Fever hold a slight edge in this exercise over the league\u2019s other 12 teams. The duo of Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston lift Indiana to the No. 1 ranking in the player category (our most heavily-weighted section), and the Fever don\u2019t rank lower than eighth in any of the four other categories. A new facility in 2027 should only make Indiana a more desirable place to play.<\/p>\n 2. Golden State<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to imagine a better first half of the 2025 season for the Valkyries. They are hovering around .500 at the All-Star break, while leading the league in home attendance. Owner Joe Lacob wants Golden State to win a title in the next five years, and that goal doesn\u2019t seem too lofty in reality. The Valkyries already have proven their front office is strong, and it\u2019s coupled with an ownership group willing to invest. Their roster is deep, with a number of high-potential young players and facilities that will help them become one of the league\u2019s most appealing teams.<\/p>\n 3. Seattle<\/p>\n The Storm have transitioned from the Big 3 era of Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd into another core with multiple All-Stars (Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Gabby Williams). Ogwumike and Diggins are unlikely to be members of the franchise in five years, but Seattle\u2019s draft capital puts it in a position to remain competitive. The Storm also have a top-of-the-line practice facility and a resourceful ownership group.<\/p>\n 4. New York<\/p>\n The 2024 WNBA champions are looking to maximize their window for as long as Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu are leading the franchise. They have the league\u2019s top front office and ownership combination, with top decision-makers who have a successful track record in investment and winning. New York is the league\u2019s biggest market, and a new practice facility is in the works. Despite those factors, the Liberty aren\u2019t higher in these rankings because this exercise takes into account age and contract statuses for veterans, and Jones and Stewart are in their early 30s.<\/p>\n The Mystics look like they can continue to add to their roster of young talent through the draft. (Mike Lawrence \/ NBAE via Getty Images)5. Washington<\/p>\n The Mystics\u2019 future is bright mainly because of two aspects. Washington has the league\u2019s deepest collection of 25-and-younger talent, with two All-Star rookies and multiple other cost-controlled players with future All-Star potential. Although the Mystics\u2019 arena and amenities might be lacking in comparison, they also rank No. 2 in draft capital, owning Minnesota\u2019s 2026 first-round and second-round selections and a 2027 first-round pick swap with the Chicago Sky.<\/p>\n 6. Phoenix<\/p>\n Despite failing to advance past the first round of the playoffs since 2021, the Mercury have become an appealing destination and are well-positioned for future success. Phoenix ranks second in front office and ownership, and first in facilities and amenities. The Mercury are No. 12 in our players category, but that placement is largely due to the fact they are built around a veteran trio, each of whom has the ability to leave in free agency, with only two players under 26 on the roster.<\/p>\n 7. Atlanta<\/p>\n The Dream are still trying to make the leap into the league\u2019s upper echelon, and they find themselves placing in the middle of the pack in this exercise as well. They achieve the highest marks for front office and ownership, as general manager Dan Padover has demonstrated an ability to build competitive rosters, whether in his prior stint in Las Vegas or now with Atlanta. They also have an above-average combination of young players and veterans. The Dream currently rent their practice facility and are one of the few WNBA teams that didn\u2019t started construction on a new complex or move into its own modern facility.<\/p>\n 8. Minnesota<\/p>\n With star forward Napheesa Collier leading on the court and coach\/president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve leading on the sideline and in the front office, the Lynx are poised for success this season. This exercise, however, is forward looking, and Minnesota is dinged some for having a veteran roster on short-term contracts with few standout 25-and-younger options. A new ownership group is also now running the team<\/a>, and though it seems to mostly want to leave the operation unchanged, how it impacts the Lynx is worth monitoring.<\/p>\n The Sky have a young star in Angel Reese but have other issues. (Daniel Bartel \/ Getty Images)9. Chicago<\/p>\n The recent string of success for forward Angel Reese should help elevate the Sky\u2019s ceiling in future seasons. Questions, though, remain about the rest of the organization\u2019s future. The Athletic\u2019s anonymous player poll ranked Chicago as the worst-run organization<\/a>. Although their ownership group appears to be investing more than ever, other teams still earn higher marks in that category, too. The young core beyond Reese also has question marks.<\/p>\n 10. Dallas<\/p>\n Although the Wings have a potential future MVP candidate in rookie Paige Bueckers and are well-positioned to continue adding young contributors over the next two drafts, Dallas still lags behind some teams when comparing facilities and arena attendance. General manager Curt Miller was an executive of the year in Connecticut, but the Wings have had coaching instability in recent years, which makes predicting their future difficult. Dallas ranks relatively low, but little separates it from Chicago, Minnesota and Atlanta. Convincing cases could be made to re-order these four teams.<\/p>\n 11. Los Angeles<\/p>\n Despite being under .500 yet again at the All-Star break, the Sparks still have one of the most appealing long-term roster outlooks. Second-year players Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson will be central to future success, and the Sparks added veteran stars Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby in recent years. Despite all that as well as playing in a major market, Los Angeles lags because of how it measures in other metrics. The Sparks said in November that they are beginning to plan for a practice facility, but few public updates have been made about that project. Members of Sparks LA Sports, their ownership group, have invested handsomely in their other sports franchises, yet Los Angeles\u2019 WNBA team has not received comparable investment. That plus a lack of draft picks limits its future output.<\/p>\n Roster questions loom in the Aces\u2019 future. (Ethan Miller \/ Getty Images)12. Las Vegas<\/p>\n The Aces are less than two years past winning their second of two WNBA championships, but what is clear in the intervening years is just how much Las Vegas\u2019 orbit revolves around star forward A\u2019ja Wilson. Las Vegas ranks No. 13 in draft capital, after trading away its first-round picks in each of the next two years, and it still doesn\u2019t have an official general manager. If Wilson and star guard Jackie Young re-sign next offseason, the Aces would improve their championship odds over the next five years. But in a forward-looking exercise, there is too much current roster uncertainty \u2014what if either player leaves? \u2014 for them to net out any higher.<\/p>\n 13. Connecticut<\/p>\n No franchise appears to have more overall uncertainty than the Sun, as all options are on the table related to their future. Perhaps the team will be sold and relocated<\/a>, or perhaps a minority sale will occur and the franchise will remain in Connecticut. A lot could happen, and the Sun\u2019s current facility will pale in comparison to its peers in future seasons if change isn\u2019t made. Their arena attracts an engaged crowd when they are competitive, and the Sun recently renovated their locker rooms, but their front office remains unproven and their roster could see plenty of turnover in the future.<\/p>\n (Illustration: Kelsea Petersen \/ The Athletic; Icon Sportswire \/ Getty, Stacy Revere \/ Getty, Brian Fluharty \/ Getty, David Dow \/ Getty)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2209775602-scaled.jpg\")
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