WNBA Power Rankings: Chelsea Gray's return has Aces back on track, Liberty maintain top spot

The Aces collected their two best wins of the season and are primed for a big run

By Jack Maloney Jun 24, 2024 at 11:33 am ET• 5 min read

A month into this season, the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces were .500 and had already lost as many games as they did in 2023. Candace Parker had retired, Chelsea Gray was injured and their once fearsome defense was being picked apart with ease. If not for A'ja Wilson's individual brilliance, they may have been even further down the standings than seventh place. 

It's funny how fast things can change. 

Gray returned from her foot injury Wednesday when they hosted the Seattle Storm, who built what they hoped was a super team in the offseason to compete for a title. The Aces led by double digits for nearly the entire game. A few days later, the red-hot Connecticut Sun, who had lost just once all season and were among the title favorites, came to town. Again, the Aces dominated. 

Despite the fact that Gray came off the bench and looked extremely rusty at times, her presence has transformed the team back into the "Aces." And if they're easily dispatching their main challengers with her playing this poorly, that's bad news for the rest of the league. With just one above .500 team left on the schedule until the Olympic break, everything is set up for them to go on a huge run.