We all know how the saying goes: “Your best ability is your availability.” But in the WNBA, that might be a bit of an oversimplification.
The league announced last week it’s set to expand from 44 to 50 games next season. As the halfway point of the 2026 WNBA season swiftly approaches, it’s natural to wonder which players might feel the brunt of extended play most. However, it could be argued the more interesting point of examination falls to which players are impacting their teams the most right now, even if they’re not leading in minutes per game.
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Usage percentage, one of basketball’s most misunderstood metrics, is a good place to start. It’s an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player when she is on the floor, measuring the amount of a team’s possessions a player is responsible for ending with either a shot or a turnover. The statistic has its limitations of course, one of those being that it doesn’t necessarily account for playmakers since it doesn’t factor in the passes that led to shot attempts. Higher usage percentage indicates a larger impact while on the court — whether that impact is positive or negative, however, depends on a player’s efficiency.
Which players from each team have the biggest footprints so far, for better or worse? USA TODAY Sports breaks it all down in this week’s WNBA power rankings, released every Tuesday this season.
Previous rank: 2 (⬆ 1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? C A’ja Wilson
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Too many high-usage players on the floor at once isn’t usually a winning formula. For ideal offensive efficiency and chemistry, the goal is to avoid a scenario where there’s a disconnect regarding who should be looking to score.
The Aces, who have one loss in their last nine games, have that concept down to a science. A’ja Wilson leads the league with a 32.5% usage rate and player efficiency rating (31.79) while also leading the league in scoring (25.7 points per game). No other Aces player is in the top 20 of usage percentage this season — except for Chennedy Carter, who has missed six games.
Carter started the season with a strong case for Sixth Player of the Year that has lost some steam after she last played in a win over the Minnesota Lynx on June 13. She has a 29.6% usage rate in her 17.8 minutes per game, in which she’s averaged 14.4 points. The Aces have listed her as out due to illness for their last three games.
2. Minnesota Lynx (13-4)
Previous rank: 1 (⬇1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G Olivia Miles
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It’s impossible to overstate how impressive Olivia Miles has been in her rookie campaign. She scored 22 points in Minnesota’s loss to the Washington Mystics on Sunday, Jun. 21. She leads the Lynx with a 25.5% usage rating as she averages 18.5 points and 5.6 assists per game. Two vets, Courtney Williams (24.6% USG) and Natasha Howard (24.8% USG) aren’t far behind in offensive impact.
A’ja Wilson and Olivia Miles are the highest usage players on their teams.
Previous rank: 4 (⬆1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? F Angel Reese
Angel Reese’s 26.2% usage rate is almost high enough to be top 10 in the league. She’s averaging 15 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. She led the Dream with 21 points in a win over the Indiana Fever on Thursday, Jun. 18. We’d be remiss not to mention Rhyne Howard, who leads the league in minutes per game with 34.9 while averaging 19.1 points per game. Allisha Gray is the Dream’s leading scorer with 19.5 points per game.
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Previous rank: 5 (⬆1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G Aziaha James
Paige Bueckers scored 27 points, while rookie Azzi Fudd added a career-high 26 and the go-ahead bucket in a 112-110 overtime win over the Seattle Storm on Monday night, but Aziaha James was the unsung hero.
James had 18 points, six assists and two steals in 24 minutes off the bench. Although she’s only averaged 13.4 minutes and 7.6 points per game this season, she has the Wings’ highest usage rating (27.5%). Bueckers and veteran guard Arike Ogunbowale are at 24.2% and 23.5%, respectively.
Previous rank: 3 (⬇2)
Who has the highest usage percentage? F Satou Sabally
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The eight-game win streak that saw New York clinch a spot against the Aces in the WNBA Commissioners Cup championship game came to a halt this week with an 86-83 loss to the Mystics on Friday and a 98-97 loss to sparks on Sunday.
In her 12 games so far, Satou Sabally has made an impact while coming off the bench for eight games. She has a team-high 27.7 usage percentage while averaging 11.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game.
Breanna Stewart has a 26.7% usage rating as she averages team-highs of 19.4 points per game, 1.5 steals per game and 1.3 blocks per game.
Previous rank: 6 (⬌)
Who has the highest usage percentage? Gabby Williams
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The Valkyries started a four-game win streak after back-to-back losses to the Lynx and Aces. The streak also ended with back-to-back losses to those same teams on Friday and Sunday. Gabby Williams has the highest usage percentage (28.4) and leads the team with 15.9 points per game.
7. Washington Mystics (8-7)
Previous rank: 11 (⬆4)
Who has the highest usage percentage? C/F Shakira Austin
It was Kiki Irafen’s late layup that lifted the Mystics over the Liberty on Friday and Sonia Citron who led the team with 21 points in Saturday’s win over the Mystics, but neither of them have the team’s highest usage percentage. That title belongs to Shakira Austin (25% USG), who is averaging 13.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.2 turnovers per game.
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8. Indiana Fever (10-7)
Previous rank: 7 (⬇1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark is the highest usage guard this season (31.8% USG, No. 2 in WNBA). She played above her team-high 21.3 points and 8.2 assists per game in the Fever’s last three games, but they still took back-to-back losses to Angel Reese and the Dream. Clark is sharing the offensive load with two other high usage players in Aliyah Boston (27.8% USG, 16.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg) and Kelsey Mitchell (25.5% USG, 20.9 ppg).
More: Fever’s Caitlin Clark nearing one-game suspension after fifth technical foul
Previous rank: 8 (⬇1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G Kelsey Plum
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Plum’s team-high 27.2% usage rating it no surprise. She was the league’s leading scorer before she was briefly sidelined with an ankle injury. Plum is averaging 23.9 points, 6.4 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game. Rae Burrell lead the team in the back-to-back loss to the Valkyries and Lynx before Nneka Ogwumike starred in the one-point win over the Liberty on Sunday.
Previous rank: 10 (⬌)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G Carla Leite
Portland has won two of its last seven games. Carla Leite, the team’s leading scorer, has a 28.5 % usage percentage. That ranks her top five in the league in that metric. She’s averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game.
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Previous rank: 9 (⬇2)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G Marina Mabrey
The Tempo have lost four of five. Toronto’s multi-million dollar backcourt is leaving a heavy stamp on the offense. Brittney Sykes leads the team with 20.1 points per game. Marina Mabrey has Toronto’s highest usage rate (29.9%) and she’s averaging 19.4 points per game. Sykes, who is out with a foot injury, is close with a 28.4% usage rate. They’re averaging a combined 5.3 turnovers per game.
Previous rank: 12 (⬌)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G/F Kahleah Copper
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Who would’ve guessed the team that made it to the WNBA Finals in 2025 and then opened the season with a blowout win over the reigning champion Aces would only have five wins a quarter of the way through the season?
Copper is another one of the most high-usage guards in the league (30.9%) with 19.2 points, 1.8 steals and 2.7 turnovers per game.
Previous ranking: 15 (⬆2)
Who has the highest usage percentage? F Aneesah Morrow
Aneesah Morrow leads the Sun with a 25.5% usage rate and is averaging a double-double (11 points, 9.9 rebounds). Monday’s win over the Sky seemed like it had potential to be a momentum-shifter, as veteran center Brittney Griner led the team with 14 points and secured her place as the WNBA’s all-time leader in career blocks.
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Previous rank: 13 (⬇1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? G Sydney Taylor
If you didn’t know Sydney Taylor’s name last week, you should now. The undrafted rookie entered the Sky’s starting lineup and strung together three straight scoring explosions, averaging 24.0 points in 24.7 minutes per game in that stretch. She’s the Sky’s usage leader (31.4%), but the team has won one game since Rickea Jackson sustained a season-ending knee injury last month against the Lynx.
15. Seattle Storm (3-15)
Previous ranking: 14 (⬇1)
Who has the highest usage percentage? C Dominique Malonga
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Seattle is on an 11-game losing streak, but it’s not all bad. Just two days after returning from an eight-game absence in concussion protocol, Dominique Malonga made history with a career-high 37 points and 12 rebounds as the Storm lost to the Wings. That performance shot the 20-year-old’s usage rate up to 32.3% and made her the youngest player in WNBA history to record at least 30 points in a game.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA power rankings: The stat that changes how you see who matters most
