Who would have thought that three former champions, including last year's title team, would be relegated to the bottom of the WNBA power rankings?

But that's where three-time champ Detroit, two-time champion Los Angeles and 2005 winner Sacramento find themselves in ESPN.com's first power rankings of the season, as compiled by ESPN.com women's basketball editor Melanie Jackson (through games played as of Thursday, June 25):

2009 Power Rankings: Week 3
	RANK(LW)	TEAM	RECORD	COMMENT
	1	Storm	5-2	Seattle has more wins than anyone in the East and the best winning percentage in the West. Not bad for a team that has played five of its seven games so far this season on the road. Lauren Jackson leads the league in scoring (23.4 ppg) and Sue Bird is the assists leader (7.4 per game).
	2	Mercury	6-3	Counting its win over Washington on Thursday, Phoenix has the best record in the league but sits in second place here only by virtue of its home loss to Seattle on Sunday. In the past, Phoenix has been the Taurasi & Pondexter show with a little Penny Taylor thrown in. But six players averaging double-figure scoring give the Merc more balance than ever.
	3	Fever	4-2	The Fever seek their fifth straight win as they visit New York on Friday. Confidence is high after a home-and-home sweep of defending champion Detroit, which has eliminated Indiana from the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. A win Friday would mean the Fever could tie their franchise-record six straight wins (set in July 2007) Saturday at Conseco against New York.
	4	Mystics	4-2	Thursday's loss notwithstanding, Washington looks to be a completely different team from the franchise that unfortunately has been known in the past as the "Mistakes." Here's hoping the coaching carousel in Washington stops rotating for a while. Julie Plank's club ranks fourth in scoring and second in steals (10-plus per game).
	5	Sky	4-3	The Sky are packing more offensive punch than most teams and are one of only two squads with three players among the league's top 21 scorers (Jia Perkins, Candice Dupree and Sylvia Fowles). The defense needs to tighten up -- it's never a good sign to give up more points per game (82.4) than you're averaging (77.1). The next two games are at home, where Chicago is 3-0.
	6	Lynx	5-3	Replacing Seimone Augustus' 21.0 ppg, roughly one-fourth of the team's total offense, will be difficult. But along with the Sky, the Lynx are the only other team with three players (and that's not including Augustus) among the league's top 21 scorers. Now, Charde Houston, Candice Wiggins and Nicky Anosike must step it up even more.
	7	Sun	3-3	After a 1-3 start, the Sun seem to be righting the ship, winning their last two games (over the Dream and Becky Hammon-less Silver Stars) by a combined 43 points. Improved shooting is the key. The Sun, always known for their accuracy from the field, are just 38.6 percent from the floor this season; Connecticut shot 42.2 percent last season.
	8	Dream	3-4	I'm so happy Chamique Holdsclaw is back in the league … to sit on the bench for an entire fourth quarter? Atlanta last lost two straight and hosts Detroit on Friday.
	9	Silver Stars	2-3	The Silver Stars should be able to move back to .500 with a game against struggling Sacramento on Friday. Of course, that would mean San Antonio would finally win on the road (where it is 0-3).
	10	Liberty	2-4	Just when things couldn't look worse for the Liberty, who opened the season 0-3, they matched their season low (57 points) and shot 35.1 percent in a loss at Minnesota on Tuesday. Will having stewed on that for three days fire them up for Friday's home contest with Indiana?
	11	Sparks	2-4	Candace Parker can't come back quickly enough from maternity leave for the struggling Sparks.
	12	Shock	1-4	The season is three weeks old, and the Shock have already lost the head coach who guided them to three titles, the 2007 Sixth Woman of the Year, three straight contests, and one-third of the games they did in the entire 2008 regular season.
	13	Monarchs	1-5	The Monarchs are riding a three-game losing streak and haven't won since June 12. Even worse, they are winless away from home (0-3) and play their next four games on the road before finally returning to California's capital July 7. Sacramento shot 25.8 percent in a loss Sunday at Los Angeles.