WNBA Basketball Power Index 2025 - WTH???

[EricLA]

What metrics do they use for this? Do they have grade schoolers putting it together? Throw the names into a hat and randomly pull them out? On what planet is Dallas 7th and Golden State 12? And Las Vegas 3? Yikes...

Just like the metrics that had UConn as a 2 seed in last years NCAA's - NOT arguing we should have been a 1 seed - saying that the metrics they used were wrong if they put UConn as a 2 seed. Women's basketball needs some mathletes to help them out!

 

[Baller29]

Dallas and Chicago need to be at the bottom 3 with the Sun

 

[GamecockFam]

It honestly doesn't look too bad to me considering how these models tend to get more accurate with more games played. It accurately shows that New York is in a league of it's own at #1 and that the Lynx are in a league of their own at #2. Then after that you have a bunch of above average teams that are all neck-and-neck in the Aces, Dream, Storm and Fever.

Then you have Dallas which seems like the outlier on the list, to me, at #7. Their record and that ranking doesn't compute. I'd put them third to last in front of the Sun and Sky. In fact, just flipping the Wings and Valkyrie would make everything be in the general ballpark with how I feel about most teams on the list.

I have a feeling strength of schedule is probably causing some of the deltas that will resolve once every team has played each other at least once. My assumption is that Dallas has played more top tier teams than the Valkyrie.

 

[TheFarmFan]

It honestly doesn't look too bad to me considering how these models tend to get more accurate with more games played. It accurately shows that New York is in a league of it's own at #1 and that the Lynx are in a league of their own at #2. Then after that you have a bunch of above average teams that are all neck-and-neck in the Aces, Dream, Storm and Fever.

Then you have Dallas which seems like the outlier on the list, to me, at #7. Their record and that ranking doesn't compute. I'd put them third to last in front of the Sun and Sky. In fact, just flipping the Wings and Valkyrie would make everything be in the general ballpark with how I feel about most teams on the list.

I have a feeling strength of schedule is probably causing some of the deltas that will resolve once every team has played each other at least once. My assumption is that Dallas has played more top tier teams than the Valkyrie.

Well, we've played the BPI #1 Liberty twice, #2 Lynx once, #3 Aces once, and #5 Storm once, so I can't imagine we're even at the median for SOS...

But it's cool. I want to keep us hungry. After stomping all over the Aces we need to continue to believe we can't relegate the reigning MVP to a - 18 +/- game.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

What metrics do they use for this? Do they have grade schoolers putting it together? Throw the names into a hat and randomly pull them out? On what planet is Dallas 7th and Golden State 12? And Las Vegas 3? Yikes...

ESPN's WNBA Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength developed by the ESPN Analytics team.
BPI is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance for the rest of the season.
BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. BPI accounts for game-by-game efficiency, strength of schedule, pace, days of rest, game location and preseason expectations.

​

 

[baggerbob]

ESPN's WNBA Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength developed by the ESPN Analytics team.
BPI is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance for the rest of the season.
BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. BPI accounts for game-by-game efficiency, strength of schedule, pace, days of rest, game location and preseason expectations.

​

Unfortunately I think they start with where teams ended last year. That's how Las Vegas is still rated well when they should be 6th, 7th or 8th.

 

[DRBackup]

What metrics do they use for this? Do they have grade schoolers putting it together? Throw the names into a hat and randomly pull them out? On what planet is Dallas 7th and Golden State 12? And Las Vegas 3? Yikes...

Just like the metrics that had UConn as a 2 seed in last years NCAA's - NOT arguing we should have been a 1 seed - saying that the metrics they used were wrong if they put UConn as a 2 seed. Women's basketball needs some mathletes to help them out!

View attachment 110011

Massey Ratings - Women's National Basketball Association Ratings has the very same thing. Regression analysis

 

[TheFarmFan]

Massey Ratings - Women's National Basketball Association Ratings has the very same thing. Regression analysis
View attachment 110050

As usual, Massey corresponds much more with my eye test than other ranking sites. This seems roughly spot on, with Indiana an asterisk because they'll move up with Clark back running the show.

 

[GamecockFam]

Massey Ratings - Women's National Basketball Association Ratings has the very same thing. Regression analysis
View attachment 110050

Holy cannelloni! The gap between the Chicago and Dallas defensive rating is huge!

Phoenix looks like they're slightly overrated bases on the SOS and O/D/PWR ratings.

Also, the Valkyrie basically going .500 and having the hardest schedule so far is a good sign for them moving forward. I think it suggests they'll win more than 20 games and be firmly in the playoffs.

 

[Basingstoke]

Dallas (in addition to having no centers) has a "defense" completely lacking in cohesion. While they may get an individually good play by Paige, Arike or Dijonai, there is no sense of "team" in their defense (or offense too for that matter); they don't effectively rotate and no one ever seems to cover for a teammate whose opponent has them beaten.
While, on offense, virtually everyone (besides PB) just stands around without cutting, and whenever certain people get the ball they'll make a kamikaze drive to the basket resulting in a charge, a missed shot or an intercepted pass because they've over-penetrated without a plan or sensing what's happening in the defense around them. And then there's Arike (current shooting woes aside), who is one player who will "set" a screen, but who believes that setting a screen should be just like a pulling guard in the NFL (at least 2 offense fouls last night, negating Paige buckets).
I have a feeling that the team will be watching a lot of ugly video after last night...

 

[TheFarmFan]

Holy cannelloni! The gap between the Chicago and Dallas defensive rating is huge!

Phoenix looks like they're slightly overrated bases on the SOS and O/D/PWR ratings.

Also, the Valkyrie basically going .500 and having the hardest schedule so far is a good sign for them moving forward. I think it suggests they'll win more than 20 games and be firmly in the playoffs.

From your lips/keyboard to Odin's ears. Though there's a lot of basketball left to play, and our first and second units are going to look totally different with four players out at EuroBasket (Zandy, Loo, Salaun, and Temi). That said, in Nakase We Trust. Loving everything about how she's approached the assignment so far.