How about a round of applause for the W and its beyond-entertaining slate of games last week? The regular season resumed after the All-Star Weekend festivities and quickly made up for lost time.
There were four games decided by one possession, with the first being Atlanta’s 1-point, come-from-behind win over Dallas, and the final being New York’s road victory over Phoenix. Three teams extended their win streaks to at least four games, while four teams saw their losing streaks grow to five games or more. But above all else, this past week was mostly about getting buckets.
Live coverage begins at 7 PM ET on NBCSN and Peacock.
On the team side, there’s no team playing offensive basketball quite like the Indiana Fever, as evident in their WNBA-record six consecutive games with at least 100 points scored. Each eclipsing of the century mark had resulted in wins up until Sunday’s 8-point loss on national television at Minnesota against the Lynx. Even with the loss, the Fever still comfortably lead the league in points per game and offensive rating. Statistically, they’re one of the best offenses the W has ever seen — a true credit to their two offensive hubs and arguably the league’s most potent backcourt: Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell.
Clark has remained healthy and, as a result, is currently operating at a higher level than most other guards in the W when it comes to both scoring and playmaking — she averaged 29.4 points, 9.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.0 block, and 3.8 threes over Indiana’s five-game winning streak and added a 19-point, 10-assist line in the aforementioned loss to Minnesota. In the same backcourt, Mitchell’s sustained high-level scoring is reaching record-setting territory when it comes to single-season scoring streaks. Her 37-point performance against the Lynx marked her 14th consecutive game of at least 20 points, now trailing only A’ja Wilson’s record of 15 straight games during the 2024 season.
Speaking of Wilson, here were her averages in July alone: 29.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.9 blocks. And given her leap as a three-point shooter this season, there’s a case that the four-time league MVP is having her best season on offense yet. Wilson surpassed Sylvia Fowles on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list, moving into 13th place and fourth among active players, trailing only DeWanna Bonner (3rd place), Nneka Ogwumike (4th place), and Breanna Stewart (10th place).
Stewart’s move past Candace Parker and into the top 10 came on Thursday against the Aces in a game that Parker called for Prime Video — pretty cool moment. She’s bounced back from a relatively mediocre 2025 season and, statistically, had one of her better seasons as a member of the Liberty.
And amid the above-mentioned players’ individual success of late, the current playoff picture is still far from settled. In fact, it’s incredibly fluid. Just 3.5 games separate the second-seeded Aces from the eighth-seeded Liberty. As we enter August, wins and losses begin to have more of an impact on the rest of the season. Let’s take a look at which ones to highlight this week.
THE WEEK AHEADLas Vegas Aces @ Atlanta Dream
(Monday, August 3 at 7 p.m. ET on Peacock/NBCSN)
Don’t look now, but Atlanta is just one game in the loss column behind Las Vegas. The Dream followed five straight losses with five consecutive wins to close July, and will now face an Aces team that they haven’t yet beaten this season. The Aces, however, haven’t been at the top of their game recently — they own a 6-4 record over their past 10, and while still in second place in the standings, have started to slip closer to the rest of the top eight. This matchup provides new wrinkles that didn’t exist when the two teams met back in May; the Dream will have a healthy Brionna Jones to help challenge A’ja Wilson in the frontcourt, while the Aces no longer roster Chennedy Carter, who scored 20 points off the bench in the first matchup. Given how much talent there is on each team, there’s no telling the direction this game could go.
Golden State Valkyries @ Dallas Wings
(Friday, August 7 at 9:30 p.m. ET on ION)
Just a couple of weeks ago, these were two of the WNBA’s hottest teams. The Valkyries had amassed a nine-game win streak, while the Wings had reeled off six straight and seven out of eight, with the lone defeat coming in a game that Paige Bueckers missed. But things haven’t been all sunshine and rainbows since then. Each team dropped two straight before getting back on track this past Sunday with wins. But the losses have made their spots in the standings a bit less comfortable. Golden State protected its home court and won its lone matchup with Dallas this season. Can Dallas do the same?
Las Vegas Aces @ Minnesota Lynx
(Saturday, August 8 at 1 p.m. ET on CBS/Paramount+)
Around this same time a year ago, this particular matchup changed a lot for both teams. We’ve relived that moment and the aftermath of it in previous columns, so no need to regurgitate. But what I will say is that, if the Aces want any shot at finishing with the best record in the league, they’ll probably need to get a W here — Minnesota, winners of 10 straight games, is up three games in the loss column over the Aces and, theoretically, should continue to improve now that Napheesa Collier is back in the lineup. Nonetheless, the top two teams in the standings going at it in a meaningful regular season game will always be worth tuning in for. There’s some history between these two teams, as well.
Indiana Fever @ Chicago Sky
(Saturday, August 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
Indiana is playing some good basketball, especially on the offensive end of the floor, and Chicago has also looked like a much better team of late, winning four of its last six games, with the two losses coming by a combined three points; the Sky could very easily be riding a long winning streak. The Fever were riding a big win streak until Sunday’s loss, in large part because of the reasons mentioned earlier in the column — spectacular offense driven by Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. But for this game, in particular, can Sydney Taylor match the scoring of either Indiana backcourt player? Or can Natasha Cloud slow either of them? What about the frontcourt matchup between South Carolina teammates, Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso? There are plenty of things to watch for in this national-TV spot that could make for an interesting game.
Phoenix Mercury @ Washington Mystics
(Sunday, August 9 at 3 p.m. ET on WNBA League Pass)
Sunday’s lone non-nationally-televised game should be a good one. Quietly, the Mystics have played some outstanding basketball of late — winners of four straight and seven over their last 10 — behind their three-headed monster: Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Shakira Austin. The trio makes up more than half of Washington’s scoring, on average, and represents the grit of a Mystics team that hangs its hat on defense. But that same grit will be present on the other sideline as well, with Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper leading the charge for Phoenix. The Mercury had won three straight before a two-point loss to the Liberty on Saturday. They’re playing a quality brand of basketball at the moment and should only improve after implementing Kelsey Plum, whom they acquired via trade.