Which WNBA Team Should You Root For?
A guide for new fans.
Good morning, it’s Day 2 of Here’s Basketball’s big comeback, but more importantly THE 2024 WNBA SEASON STARTS TONIGHT.
If you’re new here, my name is Matt Ellentuck and I’m a WNBA writer/reporter who’s covered the league for the New York Times, SB Nation, and lots of other places.
I’m writing this newsletter for free (for now) because this is my favorite sport and my favorite league and I enjoy doing it. I also want to have fun with long-time WNBA fans while helping the new ones get adjusted.
You should subscribe to my work.
I’ll keep things brief here since this post will have some depth.
And if you already have a team you like to root for, I hope you’ll share this with your new WNBA-watching friends to get them excited for tonight, too.
Away we go.
Editor's note: This post originally listed the Sky as a Tank For Paige candidate. Alas, they traded away their 2025 first round pick.
Which WNBA Team Should You Root For?
The WNBA has always been cool but now it’s *very* cool and all of the cool people you know are watching the league and so now you, too, want to watch, so you can also be cool.
I get that and firstly I want to say, welcome.
Here’s the extreme brief on each team, broken into 6 categories, and hopefully it will help you decide which team feels right for you.
Tier 1 teams: the frontrunners
Las Vegas Aces
Best players: A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young
Record last year: 34-6 (1st)
How they ended in 2023: Champions. For the second year in a row.
Team goal in 2024: 3-peat.
Who you have a little beef with: Whoever voted A’ja Wilson 4th for MVP last year.
Root for this team if: You love winning. They do a lot of it with the best player (Wilson) and best point guard (Gray) in the world. Plus they have (in my opinion) the best social media accounts in the game.
Highlight reel: Here’s A’ja Wilson’s dominance in 2023.
New York Liberty
Best players: Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Courtney Vandersloot
Record last year: 32-8 (2nd)
How they ended in 2023: Lost to the Aces in the championship, 3-1.
Team goal in 2024: Win this shit.
Who you have a little beef with: The Twitter haters who think your team has bad vibes.
Root for this team if: You can stomach last year’s embarrassing Finals exit at the hands of a very shorthanded Aces team and believe that essentially running it back will work. While the Liberty are clearly a frontrunning team, it’s important to note that they’ve never won a ring before despite being in the league since its inception in 1997.
Highlight reel: Here’s Stewie taking over en route to a 2023 MVP award.
Tier 2 teams: the underdogs
Connecticut Sun
Best players: Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones, DeWanna Bonner
Record last year: 27-13 (3rd)
How they ended in 2023: Lost to the Liberty in the semifinals, 3-1.
Team goal in 2024: Beat the Liberty or Aces in the playoffs.
Who you have a little beef with: Whoever is responsible for Alyssa Thomas not winning MVP last year.
Root for this team if: You love a (relative) underdog that is one of a few teams that has the juice to compete with the two big dogs (New York and Vegas).
Highlight reel: Here’s Alyssa Thomas hooping on two torn labrums.
Phoenix Mercury
Best players: Natasha Cloud, Kahleah Copper, Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi
Record last year: 9-31 (12th)
How they ended in 2023: Did not make the playoffs.
Team goal in 2024: Win it all. (The additions of Copper and Cloud raise the stakes.)
Who you have a little beef with: Well it used to be Kahleah Copper but now she’s one of the best players on your team lol.
Root for this team if: You think the Griner-Taurasi duo can win one more time now that the front office has finally brought in a stable backcourt. There’s a lot of risk in this choice, though, with Griner already suffering from a broken toe. But that backcourt is filled with guards who do, in fact, have that dog in them.
Highlight reel: Here’s Natasha Cloud having a career night last year.
Seattle Storm
Best players: Jewell Loyd, Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Ezi Magbegor
Record last year: 11-29 (11th)
How they ended in 2023: Did not make the playoffs.
Team goal in 2024: Win it all. (A red-hot offseason will do that.)
Who you have a little beef with: Sue Bird for retiring and Breanna Stewart for leaving town for the Liberty. But after one down year, the Storm are back.
Root for this team if: You’re ready to root for a brand new big 4 (Diggins-Smith and Ogwumike are new additions) who will have to put things together quickly but have the talent to make magic happen.
Highlight reel: Here’s scoring title winner Jewell Loyd hooping last year.
Tier 3 teams: ok, this might be something
Atlanta Dream
Best players: Rhyne Howard, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Allisha Gray, Jordin Canada
Record last year: 19-21 (5th)
How they ended 2023: Lost to the Wings in the first round of the playoffs, 2-0.
Team goal in 2024: Win a playoff series
Who you have a little beef with: Your team’s lack of consistency.
Root for this team if: You believe in 2022 No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard, a 6’2 third-year guard who can cross up the best of them and drain step-backs with ease.
Highlight reel: Here’s video of Rhyne Howard taking over last year.
Dallas Wings
Best players: Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally, Teaira McCowan, Natasha Howard
Record last year: 22-18 (4th)
How they ended in 2023: Lost to the champion Aces in the semifinals, 3-0.
Team goal in 2024: Prove this core is good enough to build around.
Who you have a little beef with: Your team’s lack of consistency.
Root for this team if: You want to watch arguably the most clutch player who ever lived (Ogunbowale) play guard on a nightly basis.
Highlight reel: Here’s how special Arike Ogunbowale can be.
Minnesota Lynx
Best players: Napheesa Collier, Kayla McBride, Courtney Williams
Record last year: 19-21 (6th)
How they ended in 2023: Lost to the Sun in the first round of the playoffs, 2-1.
Team goal: Reach the second round of the playoffs.
Who you have a little beef with: The haters who don’t appreciate Collier’s stardom.
Root for this team if: You believe Cheryl Reeve, the coach with four rings, can finally pull together the start of her next dynasty.
Highlight reel: It feels like Napheesa Collier is on her way to winning an MVP soon.
Tier 4 team: bandwagon is closing soon
Indiana Fever
Best players: Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark
Record last year: 13-27 (10th)
How they ended in 2023: Did not make the playoffs.
Who you have a little beef with: Uh, I guess the Caitlin doubters, if they exist outside of Tweets? (It seems like everyone loves this team.)
Team goal in 2024: Make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Root for this team if: You want to climb aboard the final train of the hottest bandwagon in all of hoops. (South Carolina and Iowa fans, this is your stop.)
Highlight reel: Here’s what rookie All-Star Aliyah Boston did in Year 1.
Tier 5 teams: tanking for paige bueckers
Los Angeles Sparks
Best players: Dearica Hamby, Cameron Brink, Lexie Brown
Record last year: 17-23 (9th)
How they ended in 2023: Did not make the playoffs.
Team goal in 2024: Develop the kids and get Paige Bueckers in 2025.
Who you have a little beef with: Your own front office for letting Candace Parker then Chelsea Gray and now Nneka Ogwumike walk for nothing.
Root for this team if: You love the opportunity to root for a big market in a rebuilding period.
Highlight reel: Dearica Hamby is a win-now player.
Washington Mystics
Best players: Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin, Brittney Sykes
Record last year: 19-21 (7th)
How they ended in 2023: Lost to the Liberty in the first round of the playoffs, 2-0.
Team goal: Develop the kids (Austin and rookie Aaliyah Edwards), and then get Paige Bueckers in 2025.
Who you have a little beef with: Your own front office for essentially asking Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud to leave in order to jumpstart a tank.
Root for this team if: You’re ready to tank, you enjoy a young team that’s closest to being done with a rebuild, or are a UConn women’s basketball fan ready to watch Edwards (who could reunite with Bueckers next year).
Highlight reel: Ariel Atkins is an Olympic gold medal winner for a reason.
Tier 6: just kinda tanking
Chicago Sky
Best players: Marina Mabrey, Kamilla Cardoso, Angel Reese
Record last year: 18-22 (8th)
How they ended in 2023: Lost to the champion Aces in the first round of the playoffs, 2-0.
Team goal: Develop the rookies.
Who you have a little beef with: Your own front office for fumbling four All-Stars in three years.
Root for this team if: You’re a South Carolina or LSU die-hard wanting to see Kamilla Cardoso (once she returns from injury) and Angel Reese get a ton of run and room to develop. Also if you like tanking, this team is one of three options.
Highlight reel: Marina Mabrey is a bucket-getter.
I hope this guide helped!
If it did, share it with someone else who needs it:
Have a good one!
Didn’t the Sky give up a 2025 first round pick swap for Marina Mabrey?
Fair assessment. Been an Aces fan since they drafted Wilson, who I watched in college. Their 2024 rookies should improve their bench considerably. But watch out for Seattle. And I love some of the Sparks players (Jackson, Hamby, Brown). The West is where it's at!