We\u2019re almost a month into the WNBA season, and it\u2019s time for the first WNBA MVP rankings. A couple of disclaimers before we begin: team success is heavily weighed, so if your favorite player\u2019s team has had a difficult start to the season, you\u2019re unlikely to find them here. In this first edition, I excluded any players who are not currently on a playoff team (that means players on the Toronto Tempo, Washington Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks, Chicago Sky, Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm, and Connecticut Sun). Sorry, Kelsey Plum.<\/p>\n
For that reason, the list is far from a definitive ranking of the best players in the WNBA. It\u2019s based on production from the first month of the season, and players\u2019 overall impact on winning. Some regular MVP candidates like Alyssa Thomas are not on this list due to their team\u2019s early struggles (the Phoenix Mercury are 3-8 to begin the season).<\/p>\n
Now that those disclaimers are out of the way, here\u2019s where everyone stands.<\/p>\n
A\u2019ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces<\/p>\n
Team record: 6-3
2026 stats: 24.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.6 blocks, 1.2 steals, 60.1% TS<\/p>\n
A\u2019ja Wilson hasn\u2019t made a ton of headlines this season because she\u2019s doing what she always does \u2014 dominating on both ends of the floor on a winning squad. Wilson leads the WNBA in points per game (24.8) and blocks (2.6). She\u2019s also shooting 51.9% from the field and a scorching-hot 55.6% from three on two attempts per game. At 6-3, the Aces also have the league\u2019s third-best record. The four-time MVP could very well win her fifth.<\/p>\n
Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx<\/p>\n
Team record: 8-2
2026 stats: 17 points, 6.4 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, 62.4% TS<\/p>\n
Olivia Miles was not expected to be here. But the 23-year-old rookie has been one of the league\u2019s best playmakers, averaging 6.4 assists per game (the 7th-most in the league). She\u2019s also finding her footing as a scorer, averaging 17 points per game (the 15th-most in the league). Her true shooting is the highest of any player on this list.<\/p>\n
But what makes Miles\u2019 MVP case most compelling is that the Lynx \u2014 despite losing Napheesa Collier to injury and Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith, Jessica Shepard, and Natisha Hiedeman to new teams \u2014 have been the best team in the WNBA through the first month of the season, and Miles has been their most important player.<\/p>\n
Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings<\/p>\n
Team record: 6-3
2026 stats: 18.3 points, 5.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 59.9% TS<\/p>\n
At 6-3, the Wings are tied with the Atlanta Dream and Aces for the WNBA\u2019s second-best record. And Paige Bueckers has been the engine that\u2019s made it all work. Bueckers is averaging 18.3 points and 3.7 assists per game, while shooting 49.2% from the field and 42.5% from three.<\/p>\n
The Wings have seen contributions from a slew of players \u2014 Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard, and Azzi Fudd have all been important \u2014 but if you\u2019re looking for one player to credit for their early success, Bueckers is the obvious choice.<\/p>\n
Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream <\/p>\n
Team record: 6-3
2026 stats: 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 55.6% TS<\/p>\n
The Dream have been one of the WNBA\u2019s best teams, and the two-headed monster of Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard leads them. Gray, who was named to the All-WNBA First Team last year, is the third-leading scorer in the league thus far.<\/p>\n
Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever <\/p>\n
Team record: 5-4
2026 stats: 19.8 points, 8.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 54.9% TS<\/p>\n
Caitlin Clark is averaging 19.8 points (fourth-most in the WNBA) and 8.1 assists (most in the league) to begin the season. She hasn\u2019t had the most efficient start \u2014 her 54.9% TS ranks her below most of the other players on this list \u2014 but her gravity and playmaking continue to amaze.<\/p>\n
Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream<\/p>\n
Team record: 6-3
2026 stats: 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.8 steals, 57.9% TS<\/p>\n
Howard has been instrumental in the Dream\u2019s 6-3 start, and while she\u2019s been outscored by Gray, she is the more impactful defender. To truly be among the league\u2019s best players, however, Howard will need to find more consistency. The former No. 1 overall pick exploded for 36 points on Tuesday, but followed that up with an 8-point performance two nights later.<\/p>\n
Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever<\/p>\n
Team record: 5-4
2026 stats: 21.1 points, 2.4 assists, 59.6% TS<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to pin down who has been most important to the Fever this season, Kelsey Mitchell or Caitlin Clark. Mitchell, who is averaging the second-most points per game this season (21.2), gets the edge for now. The 30-year-old guard is shooting 48.6% from the field and 37.5% from three for a 59.6% TS, building off of her MVP-caliber season last year.<\/p>\n
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty <\/p>\n
Team record: 6-4
2026 stats: 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks, 54.6% TS<\/p>\n
The Liberty have won 3 straight games after starting the season 3-4, and are now tied with the Valkyries for the fifth-best record in the WNBA. Breanna Stewart, meanwhile, has been their best player, averaging 18.8 points (6th-most) and 8.6 rebounds (1oth-most) per game. But, Stewart\u2019s not higher on this list for a couple of reasons: the Liberty have underachieved, and her three-point shot has completely escaped her \u2014 she\u2019s shooting 18.8% from beyond the arc, and defenses are beginning to take notice.<\/p>\n
Veronica Burton, Golden State Valkyries<\/p>\n
Team record: 6-4
2026 stats: 13.6 points, 5.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 55.3% TS<\/p>\n
Veronica Burton doesn\u2019t have the gaudy stats some of the players on this list have. But the Valkyries point guard is the team\u2019s engine on both ends and has been crucial to their success so far this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019re almost a month into the WNBA season, and it\u2019s time for the first WNBA MVP rankings. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-686336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}