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The WNBA regular season is approaching its final stretch before a two-week pause for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in September. Caitlin Clark and Olivia Miles enter Week 13 with additional momentum after earning Player of the Week honors. Miles remains the runaway contender for Rookie of the Year and part of the MVP rankings.
The Defensive Player of the Year race also gets a change this week, with Angel Reese’s rebounding and defensive production earning her a place in the top three. Golden State has also clinched a playoff berth for the second consecutive season. The second-place Valkyries are 25-9 and continue to lead the WNBA in defensive rating and points allowed.
This is the 13th installment of a weekly awards watch that will run through the regular season. The rankings are based on current player production, team performance, league context, current standings and the latest power rankings from the WNBA and ESPN. Statistics and records include games played through Aug. 17.
2026 WNBA MVP Odds & Power Rankings
1. A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Wilson stays first with the strongest individual case in the league. She leads the WNBA with 26.1 points per game while averaging 9.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals and a league-best 2.0 blocks. Wilson is shooting 52.3% from the field and 41.2% from three. Las Vegas is 24-12 and remains among the league’s top teams despite falling to fourth in ESPN’s power rankings and third in the WNBA rankings. Wilson is already a four-time MVP and three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Winning both this season would give her a fifth MVP, fourth DPOY and third season in which she won both awards.
2. Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx
Miles stays second after adding another Western Conference Player of the Week award to her rookie season. She averaged 18.0 points, 7.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds last week. Overall, she is averaging 19.9 points, 6.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the season while shooting 49.7% from the field and 40.0% from three. Minnesota provides the strongest team context in the race. The league-leading Lynx are 29-7, have won 14 of their past 15 games and are first in both the WNBA and ESPN power rankings.
3. Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Clark moves back into the top three and replaces teammate Kelsey Mitchell after leading Indiana through a 3-0 week. The Eastern Conference Player of the Week averaged 25.7 points, 9.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds last week as Indiana beat New York, Dallas and Atlanta, with Clark recording 29 points and 10 assists against the Wings and 26 points and nine assists in an overtime thriller against the Dream. Clark is now third in the WNBA at 22.0 points per game and leads the league with 8.3 assists. She is shooting 45.0% from the field while adding 3.9 rebounds per game. Indiana is 23-12, has won four straight and ranks third in ESPN’s power rankings and fourth in the WNBA rankings.
Mitchell remains right outside the top three. She is second in the WNBA with 24.2 points per game while shooting 50.3% from the field and 43.7% from three. Clark gets the edge this week because of her playmaking combined with her scoring.
2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds & Power Rankings
1. A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Wilson stays first as she pursues her fourth Defensive Player of the Year award. She leads the league with 2.0 blocks per game while adding 9.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals. Las Vegas also leads the WNBA with 4.9 blocks per game. Wilson’s ability to protect the rim while also creating turnovers away from the basket remains the strongest individual defensive profile in the league.
2. Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries
Williams stays second as the leading perimeter defender on the league’s best statistical defense. Golden State leads the WNBA with a 101.4 defensive rating and allows a league-low 76.7 points per game. Williams averages 1.7 steals in 25.1 minutes per game. The team context has only improved with the Valkyries holding opponents to 70 points or fewer 10 times, the most in the league.
3. Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream
Reese replaces Natasha Howard in the third spot. She leads the WNBA with 12.1 rebounds per game while adding 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks. Atlanta also ranks second in the league in both rebounding at 35.4 per game and steals at 8.8. She recorded 15 rebounds, three steals and four blocks against Connecticut on Aug. 13. She has 23 double-doubles through 33 games, and her combination of elite rebounding and turnover creation gives her a stronger all-around statistical case than she had earlier in the season.
2026 WNBA Most Improved Player Odds & Power Rankings
1. Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings
Shepard stays first despite Dallas’ recent slide two-game slide. She is averaging 13.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists while shooting 58.2% from the field. She has recorded 20 double-doubles and a league-high four triple-doubles. The improvement from last season is significant. Shepard averaged 8.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 2025. Dallas has gone 2-7 since the All-Star break and has dropped to eighth in ESPN’s power rankings but Shepard’s season-long statistical growth remains strong enough to keep her first.
2. Dominique Malonga, Seattle Storm
Malonga stays second after continuing one of the largest year-to-year jumps in the WNBA. She is averaging 17.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 blocks and has recorded 11 double-doubles. As a rookie last season, Malonga averaged 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 14.3 minutes per game without making a start. The second-year center scored 19 points in Seattle’s most recent game against Chicago. The Storm’s 7-30 record and elimination from playoff contention remain the biggest weaknesses in her case.
3. Carla Leite, Portland Fire
Leite stays third with another major jump from her 2025 season. She is averaging 15.7 points and 6.2 assists while shooting 45.7% from the field and 38.6% from three. Last season with Golden State, she averaged 7.2 points and 2.0 assists while shooting 38.7% overall and 17.3% from three. Portland has shown improvement recently, going 4-2 in August. The Fire are still outside the playoff field at 15-20, but Leite’s development as a scorer, shooter and primary playmaker keeps her firmly in the top three.
2026 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Odds & Power Rankings
1. Janelle Salaün, Golden State Valkyries
Salaün stays comfortably in first. She leads all WNBA reserves with 13.0 points per game while adding 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.2 minutes. She is making 2.5 three-pointers per game and shooting 39.6% from beyond the arc. Her value has been reinforced by Golden State’s success. Salaün has made 82 three-pointers this season after breaking the WNBA record for most threes by a reserve in late July. She also came off the bench in Golden State’s playoff-clinching win over Dallas, scoring 10 points in 19 minutes.
2. Sophie Cunningham, Indiana Fever
Cunningham stays second with one of the most efficient shooting profiles among the leading reserves. She is averaging 8.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 23.2 minutes while shooting 47.9% from the field and 44.5% from three. Salaün has the advantage in scoring volume, but Cunningham continues to provide efficient perimeter offense for the WNBA’s highest-scoring team. Indiana’s 23-12 record and four-game winning streak also strengthen her team context.
3. Jewell Loyd, Las Vegas Aces
Loyd stays third with averages of 8.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.0 minutes per game. Her 36.0% field-goal percentage and 32.8% three-point shooting are well below Salaün and Cunningham, but she continues to provide scoring and defensive activity in a significant rotation role for the elite Aces. Loyd’s efficiency keeps her well behind the top two, but her minutes, defensive production and role on a playoff team are enough to retain the final spot this week.
Photo Credit: REUTERS
