WNBA roundup: Teams battling for final playoff spots, while A'ja Wilson strengthens MVP case

Eden Laase

With less than three weeks until the end of the WNBA regular season, playoff pushes are upon us. Some teams have their spots locked up, while others are scrambling for a postseason berth.

Here’s what's happening around the league as we head into the final stretch:

Three WNBA playoff spots are still up for grabs, as the top eight teams qualify for the postseason. The New York Liberty (27-6) were the first team to qualify, followed by the Connecticut Sun (24-8), Minnesota Lynx (24-9), Las Vegas Aces (20-12) and Seattle Storm (19-13).

The Indiana Fever (17-16) are in sixth place, followed by the Phoenix Mercury (16-17) and Chicago Sky (11-22). Indiana and Phoenix have a solid lead on the remaining WNBA teams, so their postseason berths are all but locked up. This will be Indiana’s first playoff appearance since 2016. Meanwhile, the Mercury will be back in the postseason after missing out and finishing last in the league last season.

Chicago currently holds the final spot, but only through a tiebreaker. The Sky and the Atlanta Dream are both 11-21, but since the Sky own a 2-1 advantage in their head-to-head matchups, they would claim the bid if the season ended right now. Chicago has eight games left on its schedule to hold on to a playoff spot, but it won’t be easy. The Sky are currently on a six-game losing streak, which has given Atlanta, Dallas and Washington all an opportunity to sneak into the postseason. The Wings and Mystics are two games behind the Sky and Dream with 9-23 records, while the Sparks are in last place at 7-25.

For the five teams that have already clinched spots in the postseason, the remainder of their schedule is about seeding. The Liberty have a 2.5-game advantage on the Sun for the No. 1 seed, followed closely by the Lynx in the No. 3 spot. The Aces have a one-game lead on the Storm for the 4-seed and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Indiana holds a one-game advantage over Phoenix for the 6-seed.

Aces star A’ja Wilson has put up eye-popping numbers all season long, and on Sunday, she added another monster stat line. The two-time MVP finished with 41 points and 17 rebounds as Las Vegas defeated Phoenix 97-79. Wilson leads the WNBA in points per game with 27.5, which is nearly five points more than Arike Ogunbowale, who is in second place. Wilson is second in rebounds per game with 12, and fourth in field goal percentage, making 52.6% of her 623 attempts. That’s more than double the attempts of Brittney Griner, who is first in field-goal percentage.

Wilson’s performance on Sunday earned praise from several basketball greats, including Diana Taurasi and LeBron James. Taurasi said Wilson was “unguardable,” and James took to social media to post about Wilson, calling her: “Too damn good.”

Angel Reese has spent the 2024 WNBA season showing off her rebounding prowess. She leads the league in offensive boards per game (5.2) and total rebounds per game (13.1), and on Sunday, the rookie set the record for the most rebounds in a single season.

Reese grabbed 19 rebounds in a 79-74 loss to Minnesota, moving past fellow LSU great Sylvia Fowles, who had the previous record of 404 rebounds. Fowles is also the all-time WNBA rebound leader with 4,006 — a mark she achieved in 408 games.

Reese previously set records for the most rebounds and double-doubles for a rookie, as well as most consecutive double-doubles for any player.

Natasha Cloud notched her seventh technical foul in a loss to the Aces on Sunday, which will result in a one-game suspension for reaching the WNBA’s technical foul limit. She will serve the suspension on Tuesday, when the Mercury take on the Dream.

Diana Taurasi was also assessed her seventh technical against Las Vegas, but the league office reviewed the foul and later rescinded it. Her next tech will result in a suspension. Teammate Kahleah Copper is also one tech away from the limit.

The Mercury are currently fighting with the Fever for the sixth seed in the WNBA playoffs, and technical fouls could hurt Phoenix. Cloud, Copper and Taurasi are all starters and key pieces to the Mercury’s attack. Playing without them in any game would be a disadvantage to the Mercury.

The Dream are battling for a playoff spot, and they have an all-time great leading the way. Tina Charles, who joined Atlanta as a free agent this season, passed Tina Thompson on August 22 to move into second place on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list, behind Taurasi. It’s just one more accolade for Charles, who was the No. 1 pick in 2010. Since then, she has earned Rookie of the Year honors, a WNBA MVP award in 2010, nine All-WNBA First and Second Team selections and eight All-Star appearances.

Charles is averaging 14.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this season, and as the Dream have been closing in on a potential playoff spot, her numbers have gone up. Over Atlanta’s last seven games, Charles is averaging 19.1 points and 12.4 rebounds per contest.

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