The WNBA is entering the final week of it’s regular season, with 26 games remaining on the schedule. With the playoffs just around the corner, there are a number developing stories to be aware of; including standings, matchups, and concerning injuries to stars like reigning champ A’ja Wilson and star rookie Angel Reese.
League standings and team news
1. The New York Liberty are the current owners of the WNBA’s best record with an impressive 30-6 tally to this point, as well as an ongoing four game win streak. Easily clenching a playoff spot, with hopes of returning to the finals and ending a championship drought that has followed them since their inception.
2. The Minnesota Lynx are the hottest team in basketball since the Olympic break with a record of 10-1 since and a 27-9 record overall, following a win over the Dream on Tuesday. Having already secured a playoff spot, the battle for second place has become much more dramatic with the Sun coming within one win of the Lynx’s second place spot. The teams are set to meet one another on September 17th, and with both clubs aware of the stakes, expect fireworks.
3. The Connecticut Sun are four games behind New York in the East with a record of 26-10 and move within one game of the Minnesota Lynx from out West who hold the WNBA’s second best record. This is largely credited to a dominant performance from guard Marina Mabrey who scored a season-high 26 points and matched her career-high made threes with six. Sun’s forward Brionna Jones also posted an impressive 19 point and eight rebound performance to help Connecticut pull out a win over the Los Angeles Sparks 86-66 on Tuesday night.
4. The reigning WNBA champs, Las Vegas Aces sit in fourth place with a record of 22-12 and Seattle looming behind them. The team snapped their four game winning streak upon the loss of MVP favorite A’ja Wilson, whom is day-to-day with an ankle injury. The team says there are no long-term concerns for Wilson, so we can expect her to suit up for post-season action. However, with 8 days left in the season and a tight top-4 race, the Aces’ number 4 spot seems like it may be up for grabs.
5. The Seattle Storm improve to an overall record of 21-14 with a blowout win over the Mercury. The Storm have struggled since the Olympic break with a record of only 4-6 since the return of the WNBA and need to turn this around if they hope to capitalize on A’ja Wilson’s absence and steal the Aces number four spot.
6. The Indiana Fever have been led by their young dynamic duo of Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark to their first playoff appearance since 2016 with a record of 19-17. The duo also led the team to an overtime victory over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday. Caitlin Clark produced an impressive stat line of 26 points, 12 assists, and 5 rebounds while Boston had a career-high 30 points as well as 13 rebounds and 5 assists; completing a 16 point comeback. Clark, Boston, and the Fever host the reigning champions tonight at 7PM as the Las Vegas Aces visit Indianapolis.
7. The Phoenix Mercury have clinched the second to last playoff spot with a record of 17-19 and have little chance to move into Indiana’s six spot, and with enough space between them and the three teams fighting for the last spot, seems like seven is more than likely where the Mercury will stay
8. The Chicago Sky sit behind the Indiana Fever with a record of 13-22, and find themselves fighting for the last playoff spot with The Atlanta Dream and The Washington Mystics. Unfortunately, this late season push comes just as the Sky recently lost star rookie Angel Reese for the remainder of the season due to a campaign-ending wrist injury. Reese was leading the league in rebounds per game as well as leading the Sky in minutes played, so the impact of this loss can not be overstated. The Chicago Sky have another rookie whom they believe rather deeply in; Kamila Cardoso from South Carolina. Cardoso’s rookie campaign hasn’t lived up to fan’s expectations to this point, but now the opportunity presents itself to get over the hump and make it into the playoffs.
9.The Atlanta Dream currently hold a record of 12-24 and is competing directly with Chicago and Washington for the last spot in the playoffs but can feel their hopes fading with each loss, especially their most recent fall to the Lynx. Now a game and a half behind Chicago with only four games left to play, the Dream hope to capitalize on the absence of Angel Reese and secure the final spot.
10. The Washington Mystics are the final team in contention for the playoffs with a record of 11-24. Tonight’s game in Chicago against the Sky is a must-win if the Mystics hope to keep their playoff aspirations alive. Fortunately, the Mystics don’t have to worry about Angel Reese in the post tonight, and have to win the rebound battle to disorient the Sky. Losing tonight would put their hopes of snagging the final playoff spot to bed.
2024 WNBA Playoff Format
The WNBA isn’t like most sports leagues with conferences, where the best teams in both conferences make the playoffs. Instead, the top eight teams, regardless of conference participate in a standard playoff bracket where the number one seed plays the eighth in the first round.
Unlike the NBA, the first round is a best-of-three series and the top four seeds have home-court advantage and will host the first two games. The second and third round however is a best of 5 series, needing three games to win a series and move on.
Remaining Important WNBA Dates
September 11th : Aces @ Fever 7PM, Mystics @ Sky 8PM, Storm @ Sparks 10pm
September 12th : Liberty @ Wings 8PM
September 13th: Storm at Wings 7:30PM, Aces at Fever 7:30PM, Sky at Lynx 7:30 PM, Mystics at Dream 7:30PM, Sun at Mercury 10PM
September 15th: Wings at Fever 3PM, Lynx at Liberty 3PM, Dream at Mystics 3PM, Sun at Aces 6PM, Sparks at Storm 6PM, Mercury at Sky 6PM
September 17th: Lynx at Sun 7PM, Liberty at Mystics 7PM, Sky at Dream 7:30PM, Aces at Storm 10PM, Mercury at Sparks 10:30PM
September 19th (last day of the regular season): Sky at Sun 7PM, Dream at Liberty 7PM, Fever at Mystics 7PM, Sparks at Lynx 8PM, Wings at Aces 10PM, Storm at Mercury 10PM
September 22nd: Playoffs begin
October 20th : Last (possible) finals date
Now what?
Now you are equipped to enjoy the remainder of this Historic WNBA season. All that remains is to find your favorite game buddy to enjoy this action-packed final week of the regular season, and to clear your schedule in preparation of all of the watch parties you’ll be hosting and attending over the next month and a half. Happy Playoffs!
By: Raven Ullah, WUFO Intern
@thatz__so__raven on Instagram and TikTok!
