The Las Vegas Aces are fifth in the standings and looking to host playoff games (and face a civil rights lawsuit). The Minnesota Lynx hoisted the Commissioner’s Cup but had to fight until July. And Allisha Gray pocketed two-thirds of her base salary in one night by winning the All-Star Game contests.
The 2024 WNBA season hasn’t gone as planned so far, and there’s surely more to come when the league resumes Thursday. Each team will play about 15 games each before the playoffs begin on Sept. 22.
The two-time defending champion Aces are out of the standings and have four starters from the Olympic gold medal team. Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever and Angel Reese’s Chicago Sky are battling for the final playoff spots and the rookie of the year award. And the Phoenix Mercury are hoping to cap Diana Taurasi’s illustrious career by bottling the magic of the 2021 Olympic cycle that led to a Finals appearance.
Here’s what to watch for in the final month of the season.
Favorite aces? Not anymore
The two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces (16-8, 4.5 games back) have gone from heavy favorites to potential playoff road warriors, facing the four teams that will host the playoffs. The league’s playoff format is a best-of-three first-round series, followed by a best-of-five semifinal and final. Playing the first two games of a series at home is a huge advantage, and Las Vegas has used it to its advantage over the past two seasons.
The Aces’ winning formula was upended when veteran point guard Chelsea Gray, a three-time WNBA champion, missed 12 games this season recovering from a foot injury. The team struggled defensively and went 6-6, including its first three-game losing streak since 2019.
In Gray’s return, the defense improved its scoring by 10 points per 100 possessions and the offense paved the way for more success from 3. The Aces are back in the home game with a 10-2 streak but face the league’s third-toughest schedule (.528 winning percentage). That also means they have plenty of opportunities to get past Seattle (17-8), which awaits them in the penultimate game of the regular season, and Minnesota (17-8), which they play in a home-and-home later this month. Las Vegas has two games remaining against New York (0-1 this season) and Connecticut (1-0).
The Aces are now favorites against the Liberty (21-4), the team they beat in the 2023 Finals and the only one to take a playoff game from them (it was, as expected, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn). Breanna Stewart (19.3 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists) and Sabrina Ionescu (19.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6 assists) have been consistent as the team continues to build some cohesion despite the absences of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (knee) and Courtney Vandersloot (personal illness).
The Liberty face one of the easiest schedules in the last 15 games (the opponent’s winning percentage of .442 ranks 11th toughest) with the four games against the still-struggling Dallas Wings…
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