The Las Vegas Aces are going back to the WNBA playoffs for a seventh straight season. After the Aces defeated the Washington Mystics 83-76 on Thursday night, Las Vegas officially clinched a trip to the playoffs.
Sitting with a 24-11 overall record, the Aces currently have the third-best record in the WNBA, behind the Minnesota Lynx (28-7) and the Golden State Valkyries (24-9). The Aces are the second team to clinch a playoff spot, joining the Lynx, who clinched last week with their 98-87 victory over Las Vegas.
Going off of the current league standings with roughly six weeks left in the regular season, the Aces would earn the No. 3 seed, taking on the Mystics in the first round. The top-seeded Lynx would take on the New York Liberty with the No. 8 seed, and the Valkyries would draw No. 7 Dallas.
Obviously that can change, depending on where the Aces, Valkyries and Lynx actually end up inside the final standings. The Aces will take on Olivia Miles and the Lynx on Saturday, Aug. 15 at home before playing Allisha Gray, Te-Hina Paopo and the Atlanta Dream on the 18th.
The Aces have been led offensively all season by Wilson, who is having a career year. On the season, she is averaging 25.9 points per game, which currently ranks overall in the league, along with 9.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. She's put up those numbers despite missing a few games due to a tweaked ankle she suffered early in the season.
Her teammate, Jackie Young, isn't too far behind her, getting 18.7 points per game with 4.5 boards and 6.6 assists. In fact, the two just made history as the first duo in league history to score 25-plus points in a game 10 times. Chelsea Gray is putting up 12.3 points a night, and leads the Aces with seven assists a game.
The 2026 WNBA playoffs will start on Sept. 27, and will conclude in mid-October with the finals. Wilson, along with her head coach Becky Hammond, has led Las Vegas to the playoff every season since her second season in 2019. The Aces have won three titles in 2022, 2023 and swept the Phoenix Mercury in four games to win it all last season.
The Lynx stand in the way of Wilson and the Aces' repeat
The biggest threat to Las Vegas winning a repeat championship appears to be Minnesota. The Lynx are led by rookie sensation Olivia Miles, who was the No. 2 overall pick just a few months ago. She's lit the league on fire, averaging 19.8 points per game with 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals a game. Her teammate, Napheesa Collier is averaging 19.1 points per game and 7.5 rebounds a game.
If Minnesota keeps playing like it has this season, a chance to knock the defending champions out of the playoffs seems like a real possibility. But Wilson and the Aces aren't expected to go down easy, so it'll be a blast to see how the end of the regular season wraps up. The Lynx last won a title in 2017.
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