The Guru’s WNBA Roundup: Las Vegas Takes 2-Seed Shooting 22 3s at Los Angeles; Minnesota tops Golden State; NY Wins, Phoenix Loses and the Playoffs are Set for Sunday

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Though the result had become obvious long before the final buzzer Thursday night, its sound sent Las Vegas (30-4) on to a whopping 103-75 road victory at 9th place Los Angeles (21-23), setting a record of 22 made 3-pointers before a crowd of 13,484 at Crypto.com Arena for the Aces’ 16th straight victory and the end of the WNBA record 44-game regular season as the final standings went into the history books just a few minutes ahead of the stroke of midnight three time zones away in the East.

Another stroke of 12 just ahead is Friday’s noon deadline for the national media panel to send their ballots for the postseason awards to be announced over the next week or so.

Las Vegas’ triumph moved the Aces back into a second-place tie with idle Atlanta and the second seed in the eight-team playoffs, which begin Sunday with a marathon day of all four opening first-round games airing on ABC or ESPN.

Three other games were also played Thursday prior to the one of the West Coast, the most important of which was top-seed Minnesota (34-10) at home beating Golden State 72-53 before a Target Center crowd of 8,824 in Minneapolis.

The Lynx’s Napheesa Collier joined retired Elena Delle Donne (2019), the Delaware graduate from Wilmington, as the only two in league history with a 50-40-90 shooting split.

Collier, who shot 53% from the floor, 40.3% from 3-point distance, and 91% from the line, is the first to do it averaging over 20 points at 22.9 points.

With those two results, the remaining vacant seeds were finally set.

In the other two games, primarily tuneups for the visitors against a pair of eliminated franchises, defending champion New York (27-17) edged Chicago 91-86 before a a Wintrust Arena crowd of 8,824 in the Windy City, while Phoenix (27-17) was upset 97-76 at last place Dallas (10-34) before a crowd of 6,251 at College Park Center on the campus of Texas Arlington in the suburbs.

On the low side, Chicago (10-34) and Dallas ended up tied for last in the 13-team league one game behind Connecticut (11-33), whose season ended in a loss to Atlanta Wednesday night.

Those three are headed for the draft lottery along with Los Angeles (21-23) and 10th place Washington (16-28), which earlier in the week ended their Mystics season at New York, losing their 10th straight. However, the ping pong balls bounce, three of those teams previously traded their rights to the results to the teams that will claim them when obtained.

Meanwhile, before taking the floor in both cities, New York and Phoenix were already determined to meet in the first round. As it evolved, they tied for fourth, but Phoenix gets the home advantage for topping the Liberty in the season series.

As a result of the Minnesota game, Golden State (23-21) dropped from sixth to a seventh-place tie with idle Seattle (23-21), which got the higher seed at seventh off winning the season series from the Valkyries.

That left Indiana (24-20) one game up alone in sixth.

The first round is a best-of-three competition in a revised 1-1-1 format that allows the under-seeds to be at home next week for the Game 2s with third games, if necessary, returning to the higher seeds.

The semifinals remain a best-of-five series in a 2-2-1 format and the finals have been expanded by two games to a record best-of-seven 2-2-1-1-1 format.

Minnesota clinched overall No. 1 late last month and then cooled a bit still finishing four games in front of second place.

Golden State, joining the league this year, set several records: a sellout of all 22 home games in the 18,064-seat Chase Center in San Francisco, the arena shared with the NBA Warriors; most wins by an expansion team and the first team to make the playoffs in its league debut season.

Next season the addition of Toronto and Portland will grow the WNBA to 15 teams followed by the return of Cleveland (2028) and Detroit (2029) as league cities and the debut of Philadelphia in 2030.

Round One Schedule and Dates for the Semifinals and Finals

On Sunday, 8th seed Golden State stays in town to meet 1st seed Minnesota, leading off the four games at 1 p.m. on ESPN.

6th seed Indiana is at 3 seed Atlanta at 3 p.m. on ABC, a commendable finish for the visiting Fever, who had five players with season-ending injuries, including reigning rookie of the year Caitlin Clark, who only appeared 13 times and hadn’t played since July 14th due to a pulled groin.

Indiana ended a playoff drought last year but went right out 2-0 at Connecticut. The format change this time around allows the Fever their first home playoff appearance for Game 2 since the middle of the last decade.

5th seed New York begins defense of its championship at 4th seed Phoenix at 5 p.m. on ESPN and then out West at 10 p.m. on ESPN, 7th seed Seattle is at 2 seed Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, Atlanta is at Indiana at 7:30 p.m. while Las Vegas is at Seattle at 9:30 p.m., both on ESPN, while on Wednesday, ESPN also airing both, Phoenix is at New York at 7:30 p.m. before Minnesota is at Golden State at 10 p.m., the game moved to San Jose State in the Bay Area because of a scheduling conflict that occurred long before the Valkyries became an expansion franchise.

Games from the Atlanta and Las Vegas series if still needed revert to those sites on ESPN2 on Thursday at times to be determined, while games from Minnesota and Phoenix if needed revert on Friday on ESPN at times to be determined.

The semifinals begin Sunday, Sept. 21, one game on ABC at 3 p.m. and one on ESPN at 5 p.m., and continue on Tuesday, both on ESPN, and change sites on Friday for Games 3 on ESPN2. If necessary, Games 4 air on Sunday, Sept. 28 on ABC and ESPN, and Games 5 on Tuesday, Sept. 30 are on ESPNU.

The finals begin Friday, Oct. 3 on ESPN, continue Sunday on ABC, then Game 3 on Wednesday on ESPN, and Game 4 on Friday on ESPN. If necessary, the remaining dates are Game 5 on Sunday, Oct 12 on ABC, Game 6 on Wednesday, Oct. 15 on ESPN, and Game 7 on Friday, Oct. 17.

A’ja Wilson Double Double Paces Las Vegas

Considering how this one went, Seattle, which went through the front door in its earlier game in the week on Erica Wheeler’s winner with 18 seconds left, might have otherwise backed into the last playoff available access on Thursday, the way Los Angeles was handled in Las Vegas’ 16th straight win, two short of the league streak record set by the host Sparks in their 2001 championship season.

The postseason vote counting for the various awards begins Friday but expect the MVP debate to continue until the announcement on the candidacy of Minnesota’s Collier, Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson, and Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas.

Should Collier win, the argument is the best player on the best team, she will have missed the most games for an MVP winner at 10, including seven straight in August, while A’ja Wilson, the reigning winner with her third, has been the main engine on the Aces’ surge from barely in the playoff mix to returning to the heights where they won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 and advanced to  the semifinals last fall against ultimate winner New York, which fell to Las Vegas in the 2023 finals.

Against Los Angeles, Thursday, Wilson scored 23 points with 19 rebounds, with four assists and four blocked shots, while Jewell Loyd scored 21.

Wilson finished on top of the WNBA for the season in scoring at 23.4 points and averaged 10.2 rebounds, thus becoming the first to average at least 20 points and 10 boards in multiple seasons.

The 16-game streak ties 2014 WNBA champion Phoenix for second longest and as a regular-season ender it’s the longest in WNBA history.

The run started one day after Minnesota set a road record handing Las Vegas a 53-point wipeout dropping the Aces to 14-14.

The Sparks were on the way to still playing for something after winning at Phoenix Tuesday until Seattle ended it with a rally over Golden State.

In setting the 3-point game record, held twice earlier this season when New York did it at 19 makes from deep, the Aces shot 22-of-45, Loyd collecting seven and Jackie Young was 5-for-10 from distance on the way to 17 points and 12 assists.

Las Vegas also holds the playoff record for making 3-pointers at 23 when the Aces won their first title in 2022.

Young became the fastest in WNBA history, reaching 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists by her 243rd game.

Before the game, Aces coach Becky Hammon, who starred in the last decade as an undrafted signee in New York who later played at San Antonio, talked about what’s different in the league performance wise from her days in the backcourt.

“I’d say overall skill set,” Hammon said. “The fluidity of the game, skill set, just in the W, people were not playing how these women play back when I was playing. There were a few, but the league as a whole, has a very high skill set.

“It’s hard to go full speed, put spin on the ball and have it kiss perfectly on the glass. That’s a very detailed, tough shot. People are doing a lot of step-back threes. There’s just a lot of things that take a lot of work – runners, floaters, you’re seeing more and more women coming with those skill sets and just overall finishing at the rim.

“Finishing should be a part of every player’s routine, big, small, and be effectively around the rim and then, obviously, the game is faster. I think it’s a funner way to play. I just wish my coach would have said, ‘hey, shoot 15 threes if you can,’ but if Jewell can get up 15 threes, I’m good with it, let it fly.”

Hammon played against the other great league streakers in Phoenix and Los Angeles and in comparing those clubs with the one she coaches, she said, “This is a special group, a group that had to find its way together.

“There have been a lot of really good teams in this league. Lisa Leslie has gone down as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

“And now you’re seeing A’ja, Chelsea (Gray), Jackie … Jewell has been ridiculous off the bench for us the past month. Everybody coming in is just doing their job,” Hammon said.

“You just string quarter after quarter. You have to stay present and focused in order to get these streaks, and they’re locked in right now.”

Gray was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc to add 15 points and 10 assists to the attack.

“Everybody is playing super unselfish,” Young said. “Coach talks a lot about ‘good to great.’ You might have a good shot. You (pass) once more, and your teammate may have a great shot. We’re having fun, playing with a lot of energy and at the pace that we want to play.”

Los Angeles’ Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby and rookie Sarah Ashlee Barker each scored 15 points and Rae Burrell scored 10.

Stanford grad Cameron Brink, who missed most of her rookie season last summer and most of this one until last month, suffered a bloody nose from an elbow hit battling a rebound and did not return.

Collier and Hiedeman Help Minnesota Level Golden State

Napheesa Collier had 19 points, shooting 8-10 from the field, including 3-4 from distance, while reserve Natisha Hiedeman scored 21, and reserve Jessica Shepard double doubled with 11 points and 19 boards as Minnesota finished with a franchise-record win total of 34 in holding the expansion Valkyries entire squad to single digits in a season-ender that dropped the opposition to an eighth seed forced to return to the Target Center Sunday to open the playoffs.

Veronica Burton, Iliana Rupert, Kaila Charles, and Cecilia Zandalasini each scored eight points for Golden State.

The Valkyries had tied Seattle for seventh but lost the season series to the Storm.

Speaking of Collier’s accomplishment, Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve, the former La Salle standout from South Jersey, said, “It’s only been done once before and that player was the MVP. Phee deserves that recognition. The numbers don’t lie … It’s done from start to finish (on the season). 50/40/90 is historic. I don’t know how long it will be before it happens again. Napheesa Collier has been the best player in the WNBA. She deserves MVP.”

Collier was second to Wilson in last season’s MVP voting and also named defensive player of the year.

To reach that historic shooting trifecta, Collier worked on improving her three-point shooting ability.

She knew before the opening tip how many 3s and the minimum percentage needed to obtain and achieve the rarity.

“When I accomplish those, it feels good,” Collier said and noted with a laugh,"I kind of cut it close for last game of the season.”

Reeve said of her superstar, “She’s already great. Two years in a row, she’s a top player in the league. I think (the long-distance shooting) was a special unlocking to becoming really unguardable… Napheesa Collier is the most unguardable player in the league.”

Hiedeman added, “She the GOAT. Without her, we are not the Minnesota Lynx.”

Minnesota has hungered since the controversial finish to New York critical to the officiating at key moments late in the game.

“We are a better team,” Collier said of changes and player improvements from last season. “We have that year of experience, and experience always makes better teams. We know what it takes to get there. We got there to the very last possible game of the season last year. … It made us better, it made us hungrier, and it’s something we are thinking about going into the playoffs this year.”

Golden State, which has done the unforeseen to outsiders as an expansion unit must now have to figure how to pull a shocker in the first round.

“Make shots, which we are capable,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said of what’s needed to reverse Thursday’s outcome. “I though we had a lot of good looks. I thought we moved the ball really well; we just have to take care of it a little bit better.

“I know the capability of our players. We work on our threes all the time. I’m glad, as ironic as that sounds, but playing somebody now, and then having a good look, it’s not like we have to completely change a ton of things and then completely embrace and learn about a new team,” she said of the back-to-back situation with the Lynx out of the regular season into the playoffs.

“I’m taking this as a positive, we get to stay here. We don’t have to travel, you how I feel about traveling. Being healthy and be ready. I trust our players completely. The ‘let it fly’ mentality has worked amazing for us as long as we maintain our space … we have a chance.”

Stewart Leads New York Over Chicago

It went much better for the Liberty in their season finale against the Sky than in Chicago’s recent upset back in Brooklyn in a game two days after New York ended a three-game season shutout by Minnesota with a win against the Lynx.

Despite the adversity that cost any home court advantages, coach Sandy Brondello’s squad is finally intact after a season of injuries and heading to the playoffs on a three-game win streak.

Breanna Stewart, the two-time MVP honoree, who missed just over a month with a bone bruise on her right knee, scored 24 points, while Rebekah Gardner had 15 and Emma Meesseman scored 14 points.

The Sky finished the season on a 2-13 slide.

Sabrina Ionescu had 11 points, 11 assists, and five boards and became the first player in Libertyhistory to deal 11 assists and not commit a turnover. She’s had three straight games with nine or more assists to match a personal best.

Chicago rookie Maddy Westbeld had a personal best 25 points, while second-year pro Kamilla Cardoso had 21 points, and Rachel Banham had 13 points and 10 assists.

Second-year pro Angel Reese, who was disciplined for the first half Sunday for comments she made about the quality of her teammates in an interview with a local newspaper last week, has not played since, citing back issues that also cost her to miss seven games before the latest problems.

In the final 1:43 Westbeld, a Notre Dame graduate, scored eight points, including a shot from beyond the arc, to move close to the Liberty 88-81.

Marine Johannes, however, made a three with 39.5 seconds left to get the difference back up to 10 points.

“Experience is the thing you fall back on, when the going gets tough, and things aren’t going your way,” Stewart said of building momentum going into Sunday. “It’s kind of what brings a team back together to have a sense of what’s coming.

“The playoffs are a roller coaster, emotionally, physically, things like that. So, for this team to have that experience is really important.”

“That’s always good,” New York coach Sandy Brandello said of the three-game streak. “It builds confidence, but it’s all about the process. We have to focus on that. Have we gotten better? I think we have. We have the full group together.

“We know what works moving forward.”

As for the struggles all season caused by injuries — Stewart was out a month as was Finals MVP Jonquel Jones at different times — Brondello said, “That’s in the past now. It’s like a whole new season now in the playoffs and it’s about who comes back out and executes at the highest level and can handle everything – all the challenges that go with it.

“Now it’s about just getting chemistry and making a run. I’m confident in this team when we’re full. I think we’ve shown that when we’ve had a full team that we can beat anyone, but we still have to play really good basketball.

“You just got to build momentum at the right time,” said Brondello, who led Phoenix as a five seed in 2021 to the finals, losing to Chicago.

“We got a healthy group and that’s what we got to lean into, we got to believe that we can do, and I think we do but still it’s a lot of hard work to get it done.”

Bueckers’ Season Finale Upends Phoenix

True, nothing more was at stake until the playoffs begin for Phoenix heading into last place Dallas on Thursday.

But on Sunday when the first round begins New York will arrive with a three-game win streak in the Arizona desert to play a Mercury team on a three-game slide.

The first setback on Tuesday to Los Angeles briefly allowed the winning Sparks to extend their hopes to crash the playoffs and knock Seattle out until the Storm rallied a few minutes later to make L.A.’s game Thursday hosting Las Vegas a moot point for the home team.

Dallas was another team impacted by mass injuries in the style of Indiana to the point that the Wings had to scurry to get a couple of players signed to hardship deals to have enough eligible players to satisfy league requirements.

Some small pearls were left for Dallas to carry to look at the future. Overall No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers out of UConn, a formidable frontrunner for rookie of the year honors, scored 24 points, while Amy Okonkwo and rookie Aziaha James each scored 20 points off the bench for a 97-76 win over Phoenix, which finished in a fourth-place tie with New York and the fourth seed for winning the series to earn Sunday hosting rights to greet the defending champions in a first-round opener.

And, though still in last place, the Wings have company since their win and Chicago’s loss to New York brought the Sky in the same basement quarters a game behind 11th place Connecticut.

Phoenix did some resting in this one to relax for Sunday — no starter played more than 20 minutes and that individual was Satou Sabally, who was 5-9 from the field and scored 14 points.

Alyssa Thomas, whose been dealing a record number of triple doubles, only played 13 minutes scoring three points, while reserve Kalani Brown scored 12 points off the bench shooting 5-7 from the field.

Dallas, with the worst combined record the past two seasons, is holding the best odds to win the lottery draft for the second straight season.

Seattle, in a similar situation, went from nowhere in its formative years in the WNBA to a championship following successive No. 1 picks of then-teenage sensation Lauren Jackson, now a Naismith Hall of Famer, out of Australia followed by taking UConn’s Sue Bird, who was inducted last weekend in Springfield, Mass.

Villanova graduate Maddy Siegrist, the overall No. 3 pick in 2023, in 20 minutes scored 10 points, shooting 4-7 from the field for for 10 points.

“The bench was incredible right off the bat,” said Dallas first-year coach Chris Koclanes of the game. “Defense was incredible. We did a lot of off the boards. I’m excited about this group as we continue to grow into the future.”

Bueckers surpassed Arike Ogunbowale, who’s been injured, for top scoring average for a rookie in Wings history at 19 points and finished fifth in league history for rookie scoring 20-point games at 17.

She also passed Bird (191 in 2002) for second most rookie assists and eclipsed A’ja Wilson (682) for third in rookie points.

“Just so much potential,” Bueckers said about the franchise’s future. “It showed up in so many different stories this season. I think there’s so much we captivated as a team and how much we overcame. It started at the beginning of the season with trades. You had so many players moving in and out.

“We were sitting in the locker room with only seven players and Christian comes in and we asked if she passed her physical and she said, yes, and everyone stood up and cheered.

“There were people who came in and didn’t know what their role was going to be. They put their head down and kept working. They played roles in and out of the starting lineup. Never complained once. They were the first ones in the gym, last ones to leave, and kept staying positive.

“You had players who got waived with their beginning teams and then came in here and made a huge impact. I had a lot of adversity at UConn. And you see the strength and progression it builds as an individual for you but as a collective as well and how much it does for you. I wouldn’t trade this year. You could look at … and say how can you be happy with a ten-win season? I will look back at my career at this rookie season and be as appreciative as anybody else.”

In the series the teams were 2-2 each winning at home.

“We did a good job the last couple of games limiting minutes, now, obviously, the focus is New York,” said first-year Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts. “We’ve been getting ready for the series. We’ll be rested and ready to go.

“This is the new season. Only eight teams are moving on. We’re going to be excited to host New York on Sunday. These are the moments players live for, trust in what we’ve done all year, bring energy, get the x-factor behind us and fly around a lot on Sunday.

“Tonight’s game, you can look at these numbers whichever way you want, it’s going to be a different game on Sunday.”