WNBA Power Map For 2027 Expectations

We lay out our WNBA 2027 expectations by ranking the league’s contenders, playoff threats, and rebuilding teams heading into the 30th WNBA season. We call out the rosters that look unfair on paper, the teams with real chemistry advantages, and the biggest swing factors that decide who survives the playoffs. 
• Liberty as the clear No. 1 on talent, depth and two-way players 
• Aces as defending champs with defined roles and cohesion 
• Lynx and Dream as the chase teams with big questions on starters and depth 
• Mystics as a young core that can scare teams in round one 
• Sparks as a trade-heavy roster that has to make the playoffs 
• Fever as a rising group where Boston and Mitchell set the tone 
• Mercury as a playoff team if shooting and depth hold up around Alyssa Thomas 
• Valkyries as a solid starting five that depends on young depth 
• Wings as a team to watch for trades and backcourt tension 
• Sky as a chip-on-the-shoulder group with new fits and big goals 
• Storm as a youth movement with long-term upside 
• Toronto and Portland as expansion builds with different ceilings 
• Sun as a talented roster that still needs a clear direction 
So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone one about the WNBA, but two about my show. 

Transcript

Welcome And Season Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show. Get a bucket. I'm your host, Train as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're gonna talk about the WNBA 2027 Expectations. It should be a good one. Now, the season does commence May 8th, 2026. That is a Friday, ladies and gentlemen. And this will be the 30th season for the WNBA. Excuse me. Now, the show is called Get a Bucket. Right. So we're gonna talk about the WNBA standings. Because when I was looking at some of these teams, I was enamored by some of the players that they have. A lot of them can get a bucket, ladies and gentlemen. A lot of them can get a bucket. Let's talk about it. I'm gonna start it off with my contenders. That's a good that's a few of them that we need to talk about. Now, I'm gonna just say this right off the break, bro. The Liberty, they might be cheating. Oh my god, they might be cheating. This is easily hands down and argue with your mama. The best team in the WNBA. Boasting Sabrina Ionescu, Leone Phoebe, Brianna Stewart, Satu Sabley, and John Quell Jones. I'm having a hard time figuring out if they got a big three or a big four. Like this is disgusting work. The addition of Satu Sabley. Sabrina Ionescu's Oregon teammate when they won a championship. Champions, y'all smell that? It smelled like some championship air. You know what I'm saying? All of them can get a bucket. And all of them can be decent defenders. Like Joaquel Joes, decent defender. Satsu Sabi, decent defender. Brianna Stewart, decent defender. Leone Phoebe, all WNBA caliber defender defender. Like, bro, even Sabrina can move them puppies a little bit. They are smooth. But then when you think about it, Natasha Cloud, Maureen Johannes, Banaje Laney, Hamilton, Rebecca Gardner, and Emma Misaman. That's a team. Like that second unit alone could battle most teams in most first, most first option teams. Just to be honest. So the depth is the best in the WNBA. Here's the thing: I said the same thing last season, and they lost in the first round to the Phoenix Mercury. So there is a world where they do lose, even though I view them as the best team. I thought they were the best team last year. They had like they had tremendous depth. But adding Satu Sabali might take them over the top, honestly. But we're going to find out. Because there are other teams who can battle them. But like I said, they have a bunch of people who can get a bucket and defend. Like it is going to be a ridiculous season for Treasure and have and they have a treasure trove of players. It's going to be a ridiculous season. Another team has a contender, the Las Vegas Aces. They are defending champs, so I think it's fair to call them contenders, right? Like they at least are defending their championships. They got Chelsea Gray, Dana Evans, Jackie Young, Nelissa Smith, and Asia Wilson. By the way, these are my starters, by the way. These are who I'm thinking are going to be the starters. And we already know the big three in Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Asia Wilson. But also bringing Jewel Lloyd off the bench with Breonna Turner, Kirsten Bell, and Cheyenne Parker Tyus, they might not be as deep as the Liberty, but they do have the cohesion that the Liberty are still trying to get. Now, the Liberty got some cohesion last year, but adding someone like Asatu Sabali, that does probably take a little time to integrate. So again, shouldn't take that long, right? But the Aces do have their roles defined and carved out. So when we're talking about contending, right? Again, they are defending champs. So we expect them to do what they did last season. At least get far. But who knows? Because they could lose in the first round, just like the Liberty did last year. But I would love to see Liberty versus Aces in the finals yet again. That would be a good one. These two teams, I got a question. The next ones I'm about to mention. The Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream. Okay. They're kind of chased. They both, like both teams, are chasing the Liberty and Aces. The Lynx, I'm wondering, do they take a step back? Because I'm still trying to figure out who should their starters be. They lost their defensive anchors on, like, you know what I'm saying? They lost like an Alana Smith. Bridget Carrollton ended up getting taken through the expansion draft. Like, we get all that. But they did get Olivia Miles, which allows this team to either bring her as the sixth woman or make Courtney Williams their perennial sixth woman, which I love seeing Courtney Williams as a sixth woman. So they have their roles defined too. They have the chemistry. Depth would be a concern of mine. Especially when you lose someone like Natisha Heideman. I wish they had kept her. Because that would have been nice having stud buds off the bench. I think again, team morale chemistry elevates. But again, ladies and gentlemen, the Lynx, I am curious, do they take a step back? Now the dream. The dream looked decent last season, right? Do they make a jump or do they regress? Now I talked about the Lynx making a taking a step back, and they still have Nafisa Kaller who can potentially get them to the thick of things. She can help vault them to the to the championship ranks. They have a Natasha Howard who they just acquired, who is a very underrated signing. Love Tosh. Good player, versatile defender, can get a bucket, all that good stuff. Well, the Dream also have a talented Howard themselves. And Ryan Howard is no slouch, ladies and gentlemen. She could even be an MVP caliber player. I think she is. Alicia Gray showed last season she can be an MVP caliber player. But they also have Jordan Canada. They got Nas Hillman, who is the sixth woman of the year last year. I think maybe she could be brought up to the starting unit. And they just acquired Angel Reese. Ladies and gentlemen, does the Atlanta Dream have just a dynamic duo? Or do they have a big three? And Angel Reese's development will play a huge part in that. We already know she can lead the league and rebound it. We know that. But if that skill comes along, which it was starting to do last season, she was bringing up the ball. She was taking more threes, taking more jump shots. Cool. The Atlanta Dream might be able to make some noise, but we got to see what happens. Because again, I told you, the Aces and Liberty have tremendous depth. And the Dream still got to figure that out, the depth part. I love Tahina Pow Pow. Brianna Jones, former sixth woman of the year, caliber player, right? We get that. Do they have sufficient bigs and do they have sufficient depth? That's what we got to figure out, ladies and gentlemen. But those are my teams right now that I'm viewing as contenders. Two of them legitimate, and then two of them, I have some questions. Now the next grouping, we got the Mystics. We got the Sparks. We got the Fever and we have the Mercury. The Mystics, is their youth ready? They had the biggest draft, they've had the best drafts over the last two seasons that I've seen in quite some time. And their youth, we've seen three of them get to the all-star ranks. Shakira Austin has all-star talent, and she just got an extension. So we're going to be waiting to see what this Mystics team does. But I'm telling you right now, I'm going to go watch some games myself. Like this should be a good one. We just got to see how the cohesion does during the season. But a young talented team like the Mystics, I don't expect them to win a championship. But could they surprise any one of the teams that I listed off above? It'd be questionable about Liberty. Maybe questionable about the Aces. The Lynx, yeah, it could be interesting. I'd lean links, but it could be interesting. The dream, I'd lean dream, but that would be interesting. Again, they're kind of closer in age. So I would love to see that matchup. That could be a solid first-round matchup for any team. And it'd be a scary one. Same thing with my Sparks. We got to figure out if our trades were worth it. We got Kelsey Plum, Ariel Atkins, Neko Ogumake, Cameron Brink, Derek Ahambey. But we ended up trading away Rakia Jackson, who I was today years old when I found out that Rakia Jackson apparently was in the MVP discussions last season. I missed that. I genuinely missed that moment. She was, all right, don't get me wrong. MVP? Even if she was tired for knife. I don't know. But we've made some trades over the last couple seasons where we gotta start hitting now. Like we cannot miss the playoffs again. Can't. We have no reason to do so. And our depth, I think our depth is decent. We got Julie Van Lu, Ray Burrell, Emma Cannon. It's decent for sure. Is it gonna take us over the top? We gotta wait to see. But this is a versatile team who, again, if we're looking at the Liberty, the Aces, the Lynx, the Dream, could we beat these teams? That may be a little tough to say. But could we at least make it entertaining? I think so. Like we could potentially beat the dream. The Lynx, I think we actually match up well with decently. The Aces, because we got a little chip on our shoulder with Kelsey Plum and Dearca Hambey. Maybe we do something there. The Liberty, I think we're getting belt-to-tailed. I ain't gonna lie to you. But again, we would still be competitive. How about the fever? Because we got to talk about their contention status. Should we vault them up? We saw what they did last year. They played pretty well. How's their big three gonna do now? Are we gonna be healthy? I'm looking at a player like Aaliyah Boston to be more in the MVP discussions. She was just there last season. Caitlin Clark coming back. Well, we just saw that Kelsey Mitchell and Aaliyah Boston should be there one and two. Caitlin can be their third option, and that's okay. Yes, she's talented, but you got other players who can play alongside her to help elevate her own play. Now I'm looking at players like Sophie Cunningham and Myesha Hines Allen to round out the starters. They have solid depth. It's just not as good as it was last season. But again, ladies and gentlemen, the Indiana Fever, I think they do have the potential to make some noise this season. We just got to wait and see what it looks like. Because again, their big three, we still haven't seen their big three play a quality season together. Yes, the first season was interesting, right? But you said you had some hiccups. That was Caitlin Clark's first season. Now there's a little bit more experience. Let's go ahead and see what this team can look like going forward. And keep in mind, too, Kelsey Mitchell was averaging 20 last season. Aaliyah Boston was an MVP consideration. So Caitlin Clark doesn't have to do a bunch. She just has to play her game. And I don't want to hear the Caitlin Clark stands talking about she's the best player on the team because for the last couple seasons now, Aaliy Boston has been winning the windshare race over a player like Caitlin Clark. So I think we got to point that out. And again, Kelsey Mitchell has been called one of the hardest players to guard in the WNBA. She can get a bucket. So, ladies and gentlemen, the fever. I'm worrying about their contention status. Could they beat the Liberty? I think they actually do kind of stack up okay against them. The Aces, I think they actually lose that one. The Lynx, uh, that could be interesting. I think the Lynx will win that one, actually, depending on how their team forms. And then the Dream. That would be an interesting game, actually. I'm not gonna lie to you all, ladies and gentlemen. But I think the Dream do want to get some get back against the Indiana Fever. And then the Phoenix Mercury. We got to ask, do they have enough? Because, alright, we got Monique Okoa, Makani, Khalia Copper, Diwana Bonner, Katherine Westbelt, and Alyssa Thomas. Alyssa Thomas is usually in the MVP discussions. We know Khalia Copper's a versatile elite two-way player. And then we know who Elite, we know we know who Dwana Bonner is. Alright? Do they have a dynamic duo or a big three? Because they ended up losing Satu Sabley, who is now on the New York Liberty. And let's forget, let's not forget, the Mercury just beat Liberty in the playoffs last season. So the Liberty definitely have a chip on their shoulder, ladies and gentlemen. That's why this is gonna be scary. Do the Mercury have enough depth? They got Sammy Whitcomb, Natasha Mack, and Kalani Brown. Good players. Are they gonna be enough to help get you over the hump? I don't know. And then where are they gonna find the shooting? Because the Mercury is gonna need some shooting now. Dawana Bonner can shoot. Clear Copper can shoot a little bit. Alyssa Thomas, eh. She's gonna need shooters around her. That's why I got Catherine Westbell and Monique Okoa McCani. Because last season as a rookie, she did pretty well. Could they make the playoffs? I think because you have Alyssa Thomas on your team, yes, you should be able to make the playoffs. How do they stack against the Mystics? Well, again, Alyssa, Dawana, Kalia, they could vault them over a team like the Mystics. I think their big three is probably a little bit more seasoned and experienced than the Mystics. So that could happen. I think we should lose to the Sparks. But again, they could beat the Sparks as well, too. They could in fact beat the Indiana Fever. Because again, from a youth perspective, they can actually match up well with the Indiana Fever. But the depth, we would have question marks. But again, ladies and gentlemen, the Phoenix Mercury, they are my eighth team. And I'm expecting them while to fight for that playoff contention, it could be a dicey one. Because this next grouping, you could consider, might be able to outclass the Mercury. And again, I'm talking about if everyone's healthy. I can't predict injuries, right? So the next groupings. We got the Golden State Valkyries. Ladies and gentlemen, they were in the playoffs just last season. Was last season the fluke season? We know who the starting unit is going to be. Veronica Burton, Tiffany Hayes, Caleb Thornton, Gabby Williams, Akia Stokes. That's a quality starting five, to be clear. And if some of their youngins can come along, I may be willing to put this Golden State Valkyrie team a little bit ahead of some teams that I have listed. Like that starting unit could beat the Mystic starting unit. It couldn't my Sparks unit. It could beat or even rival the Indiana Fevers. And I think it could potentially beat the Phoenix Mercury's as well, too. It's the depth for me. And I actually put TBD for the depth. Because I genuinely wait and see how they do. So if they could actually get their youngins to go along, watch out for the Valkyries. The Dallas Wings. Will there be trades looming? I talked about this last season. I thought Arika and Goombawale would eventually get traded. Right now, the starting lineup would be Paige Beckers, Arike Goombawale, Maggie Seagre, Jessica Shepard, and Alana Smith. And the bench would be JJ Quinnerly, AZ Fudd, Lee Yaru, and Awak Kouyer. That has decent potential. Not going to lie to you. But I am curious how long Arike will be on this Dallas Wings team. If they can't get to the playoffs, I think the wings are going to look to offload Ari K, maybe make a trade, get in a comparable player, and see what happens. Because I'm assuming at some point in time, the wings are going to want to have Paige and AZ be the starting guards, being the backcourt for this team. So I'm still waiting to see. Will trades loom over the Dallas Wings? Also, will there ever be any rifts, any tiffs between AZ and Paige? Because they look to be the future for the Dallas Wings. But we'll wait to see what happens, though. Because this season, it should be about figuring out what happens with the Rik. Now, we also got the Chicago Sky. Do they have a chip on their shoulder? Because you got Skylar Diggins Smith, DJ Neigh Carrington, who always plays with a little chip on the shoulder, Rakia Jackson, who was just traded, and we got to think that was partly because of Kelsey Plum being acquired, us signing NECA. Like maybe, maybe Rikia feels some type of way. Then you got Azare Stevens as well, too, who left my sparks, wanting another role, right? Playing alongside of Carmilla Cardoza. Hey, Azare can actually start letting out them threes. And Carmilla Cardoza, you're not playing alongside Angel Reese. And keep in mind, Angel Reese just said that she wants, while she appreciates the team and what they did, she did want more. She felt like this team was a little lackluster. Then you got players like Courtney Vandersluute, JC Sheldon, Gabriella Hawkes, who they just drafted and Elizabeth Williams. Can we actually get over the hump? Is there going to be a chip on their shoulder, ladies and gentlemen? We'll wait to find out. But again, this Sky team could be very interesting. So let's pay attention to what the Sky are actually doing, shall we? Oh, and I forgot, too. My bad. I gotta give some shout out to Courtney Vandersloot. Because I don't know how much longer she's gonna be playing. So shout out to Courtney. Hopefully the Sky do well. And again, Skyler Dickens returning back to the Sky. Yeah, they got a chip on their shoulder, ladies and gentlemen. But let's move on down to the Seattle Storm. Because we got a youth movement to talk about. And I I A, the closer they get to the playoffs, it's gonna show me what their potential looks like. They got Erica Wheeler, Natisha Heideman, Jordan Horston, Ezie McBagore, and Dominique Malonga. I think that's gonna be the starting unit. And then you got Tyana Maher, Lexi Brown, Flag A. Johnson, Katie Lou Samuelson, and our fam. Could they end up shifting some of these players around? Sure. But this would be my expectation based on who's starting, who has been here the longest. And Jordan Horston has now, she's now gonna get the opportunity to shine a little bit more. Playing alongside NECA, that kind of takes away some of your, some of your some of your game, right? Along thing with Gabby Williams when they when she was on the squad. So now Jordan gets the floor. So does Ezie and Dominique. We get to see what they look like now. Erica Wheeler's a quality point guard, but starter. I don't know how much longer she's gonna need to be a starter in the league. But she's a wonderful player for Tyana Maher to learn from. And then Flager Johnson, being behind Natisha Heideman, that's a player she can actually usurp eventually. But that's a quality player to battle up against. Because Natisha's no slouch, all right? She can get a bucket. So can Erica. So can Jordan. So can Ezie. Dominique. I'm waiting to see how she pairs. Because will there be a time where the Storm can throw out Ezzy McBagor, who's what, 6'4? Dominique Malonga, 6'6, and Alwa Fam, who's 6'4. Can they have enough versatility to have that large of a lineup? That'll be interesting to see. And then adding Flager Johnson, if they can ever get to that world, the storm will be spectacular. But until that time, ladies and gentlemen, I'm expecting them to be not at the very bottom of the barrel, but they'd be one of the worst teams. Not gonna lie. And again, it's a youth movement. They just lost a bunch of players like Gabby Williams, Neko Ogumake, Skylar Diggins Smith. That's a lot. They lost Jewel Lloyd the season before. They're going through a retool, a rebrand. So let's wait and see what happens. Now, the new teams, we got the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempos. Now keep in mind, the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempos, unlike the Valkyries, I actually do expect them to be more so at the bottom of the barrel. All right. Now keep in mind, the Tempos, they do have a chance to vault a little bit higher. Like I could see them going past the storm and the sky. The wings could be a little bit questionable. But I like the acquisition, and I'm talking about the tempo, of Kiki Rice, because they just drafted her. Britney Sykes, y'all know how I talk about Britney. I love Britney. I'm not biased. She was on the Sparks, went to the Mystics, did her thing, helped the Mystics, almost get, you know what I'm saying? Like she they were looking pretty spectacular. Now she's paired with Marine Maybury, Marina Mabury, Isabel Harrison, and Niara Sabali. Can that team get the job done? If Britney's still the star, potential, the French star that I think she is, I know she is. If Marina Maybury can be consistent, I think this team looks stellar. Also, you got Julie Altman, Christy Wallace, Kia Nurse, Timmy Fagman, Fagbinle, they have decent talent. It's just a matter of how they can get the cohesion started off. Remember, the Valkyries were into the playoffs just last year. So could we see another new team into the playoffs? I think that's going to be a little tough to ask. I genuinely do. But because of the acquisition of Britney Sykes and Marina Maybray during the expansion draft, I think it could be possible. I just wouldn't put no money on it, to be clear. Or if I do, I'm expecting to lose that breed. Now, the Toronto, I mean the Portland Fire. I don't expect them to get there. They got Stuk Sutton, Haley Jones, Emily Inksler, Bridget Carrollton, Megan Gustavson, Carly Samuelson, and Maya Caldwell. Listen to me, all right? Decent talent. They don't have that star, that fringe all-star, or whatever the case may be, that you need to really get you into the thick of things, right? We're talking about the Valkyries last season. They had Veronica Burton was playing some good basketball. Tiffany Hayes playing some good basketball. Caleb Thornton playing good basketball. They had some good players across the team. And I don't see that caliber player on this team, ladies and gentlemen. So again, I think that the I think that the fire could actually be a little bit lower, but we'll have to wait and see. Now, the sun, we got to wait and see about the sun, too. The Connecticut Sun. I'm trying to figure out what sense of direction are they going in. Don't get me wrong, they have some interesting pieces. I love the Tina Charles and Britney Griner edition. I really truly do. They can both get a bucket and defend. That's quality rim protection. You could start both, or you can bring one off the bench. I'm curious how they're going to go. But right now, I got Layla Lacan, Saniah Rivers, Diamond Miller, Tina Charles, oh my gosh, and Britney Griner as their starters. And then we got Nell Engloma, Gianna Neatkins, Anisa Moro, Aaliyah Edwards, and Olivia Nelson Dadota. Look, they actually have quality talent. I just don't know if it's going to be enough right now. Like, could they be a little higher than the tempo and fire? I think so. Could they be higher than the storm? I could see it. Could they eclipse the Chicago sky? I gotta that that nah I don't know. The wings? I don't know. Like possible. Like, because again, if Tina and Britney return back to form, cool. And if Diamond Miller shows up to be the player that I was at least thinking she could be, because remember, she went number two by the Lynx at one point in time. That could be a little interesting. Sonia Rivers is a legitimate option on a team. Like she's a quality player, bro. Quality player. Like we can see her in the All-Star games at some point in time. And then Layla LeConte, hey, doll, she did, she did pretty well last season. So I think they have a good backcourt. The front court's solid. How does it all gel end of day? That's why I'm waiting to see. So again, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that we look, we have some good, interesting teams across the board. We got our contenders, we got our playoff contenders, and then we got our up-and-comers. But I'm curious, ladies and gentlemen, what do you think about all 15 teams? Who are you favoring to win this up-and-coming season? I already told y'all right now the New York Liberty are the best team. Like they are the best team without question. Hands down, easy peasy, argue with your mom. I get why you might want to say, well, they're Aces because they're defending champions. I hear that. And that's why I got them at number two, because they're defending champs. But everybody's going to be chasing these two teams. And I cannot wait to hear people talking about, oh, the Caitlin Clark Fevers, they're going to be doing their thing. I can't wait to hear that. Because when they lose yet again, looking forward to hearing their responses. My Sparks, if we don't make the playoffs, I don't want to see Kelsey Plum back on my team, respectfully. Because this will be the second year now where we acquired her. And to be clear, we traded away not one but two drafts. We could have had our fam and Dominique Malonga on our team and instead, or Paige Becker's and our fam on our team. And instead, we get Kelsey Plum and we can't get to the playoffs. Then we trade Rakia Jackson. Somebody on management gotta go too. Somebody. Because we lost a little direction. Mystics, I'm curious how y'all do. Y'all got a lot of talent. Mercury, it'll be curious. It'll be very curious. But like I said, ladies and gentlemen, this year for the 30th season, we should be seeing a lot of buckets getting a lot of defense played, a lot of assists made, a lot of coaching changes, a lot of trades. I can't wait to see what happens when their trades made, too. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, and tell anyone who's anyone one about the WNBA, but two about my show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Look forward to seeing you all on May 8th. Take care.