We’re back with part two of celebrating the 2023 WNBA season! In part one, the Winsidr team dived into the teams ranked 12th through seventh to end the season, and what made their campaign special. In part two, we’ll discuss the sixth ranked team all the way to the WNBA champions.
6. Minnesota Lynx, Mitchell Hansen (@M_Hansen13)
The Minnesota Lynx came into the 2023 season with some uncertainty surrounding how a young team would gel, who would take on the leadership role left behind by the retired Sylvia Fowles, and how it would all translate on the court during the summer. After a slow start to the year, young players stepped into large roles immediately, Napheesa Collier took on that leadership position in her first full season back after child birth, and the Lynx were able to return to the playoffs a year after failing to do so.
Behind an MVP-caliber season from Collier to go along with the veteran stability of Kayla McBride and the encouraging play of rookies Diamond Miller and Dorka Juhász, Minnesota claimed the sixth seed in the WNBA playoffs and took the Connecticut Sun to the only winner-take-all Game Three of the first round before seeing the season conclude. The Lynx made a large leap in their rebuilding stage in 2023, but more importantly, they have a much clearer vision of the team for seasons to come. With Collier’s leadership on and off the court and the development of youth on the roster, the future is bright in Minnesota, and 2023 showed flashes of what could be. Plus, the Lynx have plenty of flexibility this offseason to try and add to the roster in their hunt to return to title contention.
5. Atlanta Dream, Kevin Forch (@whwkevin)
The Atlanta Dream entered 2023 hoping to build off the promise of Rhyne Howard’s Rookie of the Year campaign the previous season. In trading for Allisha Gray, Danielle Robinson, and taking Haley Jones with the sixth pick in the draft, Atlanta put the league on notice that it was serious about being a contender for years to come. Now looking ahead to 2024, it’s fair to say that dream is being realized.
The successes for Atlanta are clear: The team made the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and Cheyenne Parker were All-Star selections. Rookies like Jones and Laeticia Amihere showed promise in stretches, while role players like Naz Hillmon and Aari McDonald proved poised and capable when on the floor.
However, the team still ended the regular season with a losing record, including losing their last three games to the Dallas Wings (two of those being playoff games, all of those being in convincing fashion). Despite the team’s talent, the statistics showed Atlanta as a middling team on both offense and defense, never consistently able to rely on its play on either side of the court.
Looking forward to 2024, another year of growth and development might just be what this Atlanta team needs to figure out its identity and put itself firmly on the list of championship contenders.
4. Dallas Wings, Jasmine Harper (@harperxxwrites)
The 2023 season was the best one the Dallas Wings have had since moving to Texas. Thanks to the additions of veteran talent and a new head coach, as well as hardship-contract players making an impact, the Wings took one step forward to be true championship contenders. Dallas acquired Natasha Howard, Crystal Dangerfield, and Diamond DeShields through trades during the offseason. They also drafted Maddy Siegrist, who saw incredible time on the floor as a rookie, and Lou Lopez Sénéchal, who underwent knee surgery before the start of the season and was unavailable this year. The injury bug also reached DeShields who sustained a knee injury before the season, taking away the team’s starting small forward.
Dallas bounced back from the injuries by acquiring Kalani Brown and Odyssey Sims through hardship contracts, though both players should’ve been originally signed to the final roster during training camp. Adding Kalani, a mobile and shooting big, and Sims, a veteran who brings cohesion and improved floor facilitation, into the fold made the Wings incredibly difficult to beat. Additionally, the team welcomed former Los Angeles Sparks assistant coach Latricia Trammell as their new head coach. While she lacked WNBA head coaching experience, Trammell proved to be a player whisperer and guided her players to unlock a new level of play. She excelled in tense moments and always had confidence in her team to make the right play.
The Dallas Wings were the resident dark horse of the season, going 22-18 during the regular season and making a second-round playoffs appearance. Satou Sabally and Arike Ogunbowale took significant steps individually and as leaders of this team, with Sabally winning Most Improved Player and receiving an All-WNBA First Team nod. Ogunbowale’s growth showed in her team defense and assists, logging a career-high 4.5 assists per game.
After finding success in the regular season and a longer stint in the playoffs, should the Wings want to remain competitive, they have some tough decisions to make. According to Her Hoop Stats, Dallas currently has three picks in the 2024 draft (with two picks in the top 10) and $395,676 in cap space. The team has a little wiggle room in terms of retooling the roster but it’s time for negotiation talks with restricted free agent Satou Sabally as she enters year four. Now, while many of us (myself included) side-eye Greg Bibb for some of his general manager duties, it’s undeniable how well the 2023 roster gelled together. If Bibb can make similar moves this year and head coach Trammell continues her relatability with the team, the Dallas Wings will become a major problem in this league.
3. Connecticut Sun, Jamauri Bowles (@jamauribowles)
2023 was another strong year for the Connecticut Sun. The Sun came into the season under a cloud of uncertainty after enduring a number of offseason changes. Stephanie White took over as the head coach of the Sun after the departure of Curt Miller. The team also traded Jonquel Jones and Jasmine Thomas to different teams and received key players in return, such as Rebecca Allen, Tyasha Harris, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. After coming up short in the 2022 Finals, the Sun did not look primed to make a huge splash in the league in 2023.
However, led by the stellar play of both Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, the team finished with a 27-13 record in the regular season, behind the Las Vegas Aces with 34 wins and the New York Liberty with 32 wins. They managed to stay close with the top two teams, even after Brionna Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury that limited her to 13 games played. The Sun made a seventh-consecutive postseason appearance and also reached the semifinals for a fifth-consecutive season. But the Sun’s loss against the Liberty in this year’s semifinal round was the third time in five years in which they were eliminated at that stage.
The Sun have since turned their attention to this current offseason. At the moment, they hold the 10th overall pick in the upcoming draft. Since drafting Brionna Jones in the first round in 2017, the Sun have not retained any of their selected first-round picks for the long term. The most recent Sun draft pick that has been a part of the regular rotation is DiJonai Carrington. In addition, four of the Sun’s key rotation players from this past season (Bonner, Allen, and Brionna Jones) are slated to be unrestricted free agents. Additionally, Tiffany Hayes announced her WNBA retirement after 11 years on the “Counted Me Out” podcast. The team has work to do in solidifying and bolstering the roster to shorten the gap between them and the two best teams in the league and increase their title chances during a window that may be closing.
2. New York Liberty, Myles Ehrlich (@mylesehrlich)
With the acquisitions of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot, the Liberty won the offseason. New York, under the veteran leadership of Sandy Brondello, went on to win a whole bunch more, tallying the franchise’s most successful regular season, bringing home the Commissioner’s Cup trophy, and reaching its first WNBA Finals since 1999. Still, though, the team fell short of its ultimate goal: to bring a WNBA championship to New York City.
Days after the season, with the Finals defeat still raw, 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart put the campaign into perspective: “The biggest takeaway from the highs of this season is that people have been waiting for this to happen, and now it’s like, how do we build from it? This is happening in New York City, in the biggest media market of the world.” It can’t be overstated how important and exciting it was to witness the revitalization of one of the W’s most longstanding fanbases, as the team posted its best average attendance since 2017 (courtesy of Across the Timeline). It’s been a half decade since James Dolan sold and marooned the Liberty to Westchester, and we’re even closer to the on-court rock bottom from the two-win bubble season, but the investment in the growth within the community and the facilities for the players have reversed those fortunes. Yes, some changes are on the horizon in 2024, with the reserves projecting to look very different, but look for this group to make another run at that ever-elusive title.
1. Las Vegas Aces, Owen Pence (@owenpence)
I mean, what can I say? The Aces became the first team since Lisa Leslie’s Los Angeles Sparks (2001 and 2002) to win back-to-back WNBA titles. Las Vegas did it in purely dominant fashion, finishing first in offensive and defensive rating. Head coach Becky Hammon’s squad finished the regular season 34-6 before going 8-1 in the playoffs, culminating in a four-game victory over New York. By the final game, the Aces were down numerous rotation players, but it didn’t matter. This team was undeniable.
A’ja Wilson may not have won the WNBA MVP award (she certainly made a great case for it), but she claimed her first WNBA Finals MVP with transcendent play on both ends. Jackie Young made another leap, becoming one of the five best players in the league. Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum were exceptional, helping form one of the most potent offenses the league has ever seen. The role players stepped up as well. Kiah Stokes was solid all year long and became absolutely crucial to the team’s success after Candace Parker went down with an injury early in the regular season. Cayla George knocked down multiple huge shots in Game Four of the Finals, and Sydney Colson was a game-high +17 that night with Gray, Stokes, and Parker all sidelined. Alysha Clark had one of the most underrated and important seasons in recent league history.
The 2023 Aces were a team of destiny, starring the best player in the world. They are the favorites entering 2024.
So many great things have come out of this season, and the next few seasons onward will only exceed all of our expectations. The WNBA is excelling at a rapid pace and pushing the needle on the investment in women’s sports. There’s no better time to be a lover of the game!
