Hello, hoopheads! The Minnesota Lynx (26-7) had heard enough talk about how the WNBA standings were getting tighter by the day and took matters into their own hands in a 98-87 win over the Las Vegas Aces (22-10) Saturday, which gave the Lynx a three-game cushion for the top seed in the playoffs and a 3.5-game lead over Las Vegas (which slipped a half-game behind Golden State into the No. 3 spot in the standings). Lynx Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles was the best player on the floor, as has often been the case this season, scoring a game-high 26 points on 11-for-23 (47.8%) from the field while adding 7 assists. That was six more helpers than Miles had the first time these teams met in June, a Las Vegas win, while she scored 55 points on 22-for-43 (51.2%) from the field in her first two encounters with the league’s reigning dynasty. I still think it’s a bit over the top to say that Miles deserves to be the league’s MVP, given the existence of the Aces’ A’ja Wilson, but it definitely got harder for me after the Lynx held the GOAT to a season-low-tying 16 points on 5-for-17 (29.4%) from the field. That snapped Wilson’s streak of 20-point games at 12 in a row, although she remains the only player in WNBA history to have three double-digit streaks of 20-point games in a row. I also have to give myself a shout for saying in yesterday’s newsletter that the previous Lynx game was the first, but would not be the last, time that Miles and Napheesa Collier scored 20+ points in the same game. It only took them one game to make a prophet of me. Phee added 22 points on 7-for-14 from the field including 5-for-7 (71.4%) from deep yesterday, pacing a 15-for-29 (51.7%) long-range effort by Minnesota as a team.
The Lynx and Aces won’t have to wait long to break the 1-1 tie in their season series, which wraps up next Saturday in Las Vegas. Neither team has to wait long to get back on the court, either, as they’re both in action again today. Up first, in a game that Bestie and I will be attending a few hours after this hits your inbox, the Las Vegas Aces (22-10) visit my beloved New York Liberty (19-13) (12:30 ET, ABC). As far as tiebreakers are concerned, this season series is also tied 1-1, although both teams are certainly aware of the fact that they played a third game this season in which the Liberty won the Commissioner’s Cup. One look at the records should tell you that a Liberty win could make the tiebreaker a pretty significant concern, as it would bring them within 2 games of Las Vegas in the standings and also clinch the tiebreaker for New York. A Las Vegas win, on the other hand, would leave it 4.0 games up on the Liberty with 11 to play, and when you combine that with the Aces clinching the tiebreaker, it would make it extremely unlikely for the Liberty to jump them in the playoff bracket.
The Aces are finishing up a five-game road trip, the last four games of which also open a stretch of eight straight games against playoff teams over a span of 16 days. That is to say, they’re in the midst of a pretty arduous stretch of schedule. The reigning are 2-2 on the road trip thus far, but have been playing .500 basketball for at least the last month now. Las Vegas is 5-5 over its last 10 games, and 8-7 (.533) in its last 15 if you’re willing to acknowledge the Commissioner’s Cup final as the 15th game and seventh loss in that span. I don’t think it’s much to worry about, particularly given the Aces recent schedule and the fact that they finish with seven straight games against non-playoff teams. They should have plenty of time to find their dynastic groove again, although I would certainly be happy for it to happen any time other than this afternoon. There’s some question as to whether any member of the trio at the core of the Aces dynasty will even play today, as Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young were all listed as questionable (rest) about as quickly as Aces coach (and Liberty Ring of Honor member, which I think is worth mentioning on Liberty Legends Weekend) Becky Hammon could do so after yesterday’s loss. My assumption, if only because I prefer pleasant surprises, is that all three will suit up. But, once again…I wouldn’t object if they didn’t!
My Libs are looking for a seventh win in eight games, although it’s certainly fair to note that the only playoff team (Dallas) they beat during this 6-1 stretch was missing its best player (Paige Bueckers) and still made the Liberty work five extra minutes for the much-needed win. It’s also fair to note that only one of the six wins was decisive in any way, the second-most recent one against Seattle last Monday. Perhaps the fairest things to point out are that they’ve allowed all but one opponent during this stretch to post offensive ratings higher than 105 points per 100 possessions according to Her Hoop Stats, and that the one loss came against the Aces. All of that said, the Liberty offense has been living up to its immense promise during this stretch, posting six straight offensive ratings over 110 according to HHS before settling for a mark of 104.5 in the most recent win over Seattle (which had a rating of 106.2 despite the six-point loss). The Libs remain without Leonie Fiebich (“foot soreness” lasting 6 weeks, but also somehow not a serious injury) and Satou Sabally (concussion), which means they probably can’t expect the defense to get back into form today. This will also be the team’s first game since waiving fan-favorite Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, a former All-Star and WNBA champion with the Liberty who was claimed yesterday by the Washington Mystics. That could certainly make for an awkward dynamic — even as the Libs celebrate Legends Weekend — if things go awry (I can hear the “we want Laney” chants already…). A win today and one on Tuesday against the Indiana Fever, however, would go a long way towards making this team feel like a real contender again.
Today’s second marquee matchup sees the Dallas Wings (19-13) visit the Minnesota Lynx (26-7) (3:30 ET, NBC/Peacock even though WNBA dot com lists them in the reverse order), and you really have to hand it to the person who decided to put this matchup in a featured slot during “Rivals Week,” given that it’s always a giant lovefest when the Wings bring Minnesota native Paige Bueckers to the Twin Cities. That is only amplified by two well-liked former Lynx players (Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith) having signed in Dallas in the offseason. It’s not the funniest scheduling fuck-up of Rivals Week — that would be putting the last matchup ever in the legitimate Liberty-Sun rivalry on the day AFTER Rivals Week ends — but it’s pretty funny nonetheless. There also hasn’t been much of a rivalry on the court, either all-time (the Lynx lead 60-21) or this season, as the Lynx are 3-0 against the Wings thus far and will look to finish off a four-game sweep this afternoon.
Minnesota’s win yesterday was its 11th in its last 12 games, dating back to the start of the league’s longest win streak this season, and its 24th in 29 games since a 2-2 start to the season. The win yesterday pushed their record to 21-3 (.875) when they post an offensive rating of at least 105 points per 100 possessions, a mark they soared past yesterday while scoring at a rate of 115.3 points per 100 possessions according to Her Hoop Stats, and as I explained yesterday, the better way to look at it is probably that they’re 21-1 (.955) the two-thirds of the time that their offense is unstoppable and 5-6 (.455) when it’s merely very good. That still strikes me as a pretty damn good formula, especially considering that their offense had its way with even the top-rated Golden State defense in one of their meetings this season (posting a rating of 110 points per 100 possessions in the 87-84 Lynx win). One interesting wrinkle, however, is that one of the teams which has given the Lynx the most trouble defensively — Washington — could very well also be its first-round playoff opponent. The Mystics held Minnesota to ratings of 89.7 and 94.0 points per 100 possessions while splitting a pair of meetings four days apart in June (each winning at the other’s Pride celebration). They’ll meet again later this month, and perhaps a version of Minnesota with Phee on the floor will be too much for the young Mystics, but there’s reason to believe the Lynx would be better off facing any of the other potential No. 8 seeds.
Across the court from the Lynx today will be a Wings team searching for Minnesota’s consistency amid a 2-5 stretch in which all five losses were against playoff teams. This comes immediately after a six-game win streak, which immediately followed a 4-5 run during which they were 0-4 against playoff teams. I’ll spare you the first month of Dallas’ season, but it had a similarly up-and-down structure. There’s no doubt that the Wings’ rebuild is on the right track, and has in fact moved a ways down that track, but their recent struggles certainly call into question whether they’ve improved enough to make any kind of noise in the postseason. That’s particularly the case because the way things stand right now, Dallas could also find itself matched up against none other than the top-seeded Lynx in the first round, and I’ve already told you how this matchup has gone for Dallas so far. The Wings enter the day tied for sixth in the standings with the Liberty and Mystics, a half-game behind the tied-for-fourth Dream and Fever. Anyone claiming to have any idea what order those five teams in particular are going to land in is either a)lying to you, or b)in possession of an EXTREMELY dangerous copy of Grays Sports Almanac (2000-2050) which must be destroyed immediately, lest it catastrophically alter the future.
Tipping off a half-hour before the Lynx and Wings are the Phoenix Mercury (12-21) and Washington Mystics (18-12) (3:00 ET, local affiliates/League Pass), who could leapfrog the Liberty and Wings with the right combination of results this afternoon. Second and foremost among those results would be Washington’s seventh straight win, extending its longest streak since having runs of both six and eight games during its lone championship season in 2019. The eight-game streak, which is the more recent one, includes playoff games, and is one of only two win streaks to go past six games in franchise history (along with a seven-game streak in 2018). Phoenix has lost two in a row since winning Kelsey Plum’s Mercury debut, most recently falling to the lowly and detestable Connecticut Sun (who retired Mercury star Alyssa Thomas’ jersey during the game), extinguishing even the most delusional optimist’s hopes of Plum sparking a late-season turnaround. Last year’s WNBA runners-up will now have to go 10-1 or better over the final quarter of their season to avoid finishing with a losing record.
Last but not least, in-state rivals take the Women’s Sports Sunday spotlight when the Golden State Valkyries (22-9) visit the Los Angeles Sparks (12-18) (7:00 ET, ESPN/Disney+, listed in the logical order by WNBA dot com), who haven’t beaten their foes from the Bay Area since spoiling their inaugural game last May. The Valkyries won all three subsequent meetings in 2025 and the only one thus far in 2026 during Commissioner’s Cup play. They’ll try to improve to 3-0 all-time at Staples Center tonight while also looking to win for the 13th time in their last 15 games. The Sparks are coming off of a stunning win at Minnesota on Thursday night, their second in three games since trading Plum to the Mercury. It’s far too little and late for the Sparks to have any more hope than the Mercury of turning their season around, but it is extremely funny to juxtapose with Plum and the Mercury’s loss to Connecticut.