The 2026 WNBA Playoffs will soon be underway, and the Las Vegas Aces enter as the No. 3 seed, facing off with the No. 6 Indiana Fever. The Aces closed out the regular season with a 31-13 record, finishing on a seven-game win streak. Now, they prepare to take on the Fever in a best-of-three series kicking off at home on Sunday.
The Aces struggled against the Fever in the regular season, losing the season series 2-1, including dropping both home games. A bright spot, though, is that Las Vegas’s sole win in the series came in the most recent matchup, a gritty overtime road win on August 6 in a playoff-like atmosphere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Chelsea Gray was a major factor in that victory, coming up huge in the clutch as she hit the game-tying shot to force overtime and the eventual game-winner. The Aces also held Caitlin Clark in check, limiting her to 7-for-20 from the field and forcing her into eight turnovers.
Looking at how Indiana finished the season, the six seed split a pair of games with the top-seeded Minnesota, though both were blowouts allowing Indiana to avoid playing starters for too long. Despite that, in their final game, the Fever lost bench guard Ty Harris to a season-ending injury, and Aliyah Boston exited early with a lower-leg injury, though she is expected to play.
The frontcourt’s chemistry
A strong front-court presence can make or break a team. They allow guards to move freely on offense, provide offensive opportunities in the paint, and secure offensive rebounds for second-chance opportunities.
The Aces suffered a major loss against the Toronto Tempo on Aug. 28, when forward NaLyssa Smith suffered a non-contact leg injury. She was ruled out for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. The Aces brought in Kalani Brown to take her place and fill in that front-court presence.
Down the stretch, the Aces faced off twice against another team with a strong front-court presence, the Seattle Storm. Even down Ezi Magbegor in both games, facing the length of Dom Malonga and Awa Fam can complicate things on both ends of the floor.
In the first of two games, the Aces held Malonga and Fam to just 15 combined points, far below their combined season average of 27.4, while Wilson alone put up 29 points on just 13 attempts. Brown, in her Aces debut, added 10 points of her own on a perfect 4-4 from the field and 2-3 from the free-throw line. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus tacked on an additional 9 points, as the Aces cruised to a dominant victory.
In their second matchup against the Storm, the Aces’ frontcourt put up a combined 38 points (Wilson had 30, Parker-Tyus had 8). On the defensive end, they had five blocks, though they gave up 25 to Malonga on just 13 shots and were out-rebounded 35-28 overall, allowing the Storm to pull down 11 offensive boards.
In their next game, the Aces had an 89-79 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks. Wilson, Turner and Parker-Tyus put up a combined 26 points as the guards and wings shouldered the offense, with Gray, Young, Stephanie Talbot and Loyd combining for 54. Everyone who touched the court scored. They secured 44 points in the paint and had four blocks and 29 rebounds.
“I think we’re unified,” Wilson told reporters after Tuesday’s match against the Storm. “I think we’re together. I think we’re slowly getting on the same exact page. Obviously, my minutes were predominantly around Lyss’, but we know that we have to now pick up Lyss, and it’s going to take all of us to do so. I think we really buckled in in the frontcourt, making sure that we’re just all on the same page, communicating, understanding where the mismatches are, and capitalizing on that.”
They’re going up against a frontcourt featuring Boston, Monique Billings, Makayla Timpson and Myisha Hines-Allen, all of whom average at least 13 minutes per game.
Boston currently leads the Fever in rebounding (8.0 per game), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.2). The Aces’ frontcourt will have to disrupt the paint for the Fever and secure the rebounds the Fever would likely secure.
Rep The IX Sports at your next game!
Shop the logo collection or special “Women’s Sports are Front Page News” collection now on Shopify.
Jackie Young’s efficiency
Jackie Young has been making her presence known this season. Not only is she averaging a career-high 18.9 points, but she’s also helping others score more than ever. This season, she has averaged 6.8 assists per game, leading the team and comfortably surpassing her prior career high of 5.3 set in 2024. In the last two games, she’s tallied a combined 22 assists, once again leading the team.
Her playmaking has become more noticeable over the course of the season, taking on a distributor role that used to fall primarily to Gray. Sometimes Young is even adopting some of Gray’s flash when the situation calls for it.
“Jackie’s definitely threading some needles to me more,” Wilson told reporters after Saturday’s practice. “If she has to thread any needles, she’s gonna thread it to me, and I appreciate that. I’m glad that she trusts me in that sense.”
“I think that was the biggest thing, or one of the biggest things, I talked with Becky [about],” Young told reporters after Saturday’s practice. “She just said I was just a conservative passer, and so I think just trying to grow a little bit, [I] take a risk this time or two.”
Young’s 18.9 points per game are even more impressive considering that, early in the season, she went scoreless in back-to-back games. However, in those two games, she had a combined 10 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and three blocks. After those outlier games, she got back in her offensive groove, and the Aces are now 20-3 in games where she reaches 20 points.
During last Thursday’s road matchup against the Seattle Storm, Young was on fire. She ended the first quarter with 22 points, and finished the game with a career-high of 35.
Her efficiency has been critical this season. She’s earned the nickname “the silent assassin,” and has backed it up. If she keeps it going, both scoring and facilitating, she can be dangerous herself and lighten the load for everyone else going up against this Fever team.
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
The bench production
A strong and solid bench is critical for any team to go on a championship run. It requires chemistry, energy and dedication. For the Aces, their bench has all three.
There have been a few roster changes over the course of the season. Justine Pissott was added after Chennedy Carter was waived. Mai Yamamoto was added to the roster when Janiah Barker was ruled out for the rest of the season, and Brown was similarly added to the roster after Smith was ruled out for the rest of the season.
The Aces bench provided extra support in these last few games of the regular season. Loyd has provided a spark as the first sub in almost every game, whether it shows up on the stat sheet or not. She’s been critical on offense and defense, and she has earned plenty of praise from her peers and coaches.
“How happy do you think I was to see those shots?” Hammon asked a reporter during Saturday’s practice, regarding her 25-point night against the Mercury. “Very happy. She’s a huge piece for us. She’s got to be that spark off the bench, that fire off the bench that comes in and just sticks shots; just a cold-blooded killer coming in off that bench.”
Despite being late additions, Yamamoto and Brown are showing up in big ways. Brown is scoring efficiently and providing another body in the paint defensively across three appearances, adding some rebounding and shot-blocking here and there.
Yamamoto, a 5’5 guard, has proven she can be dangerous. Her 3-point shooting has become a phenomenon among fans, and every time it goes in, Michelob Ultra Arena erupts. She has shown she’s quick on defense as well, whether it’s making steals or forcing hurried possessions and passes.
“Yamamoto is a really, really fast guard, and she scores the ball really well,” Boston told reporters about facing the Aces’ mid-season additions before Saturday’s practice. “Kalani [is a] big body post that does a great job sealing and can get out … we have to stay focused.”
Parker-Tyus has played a critical role off the bench as well. Hammon has consistently said that when they need an offensive spark in the paint, they put in Parker-Tyus. She has proven that she’s a strong paint player and can also play strong on defense.
“Chey, I think Chey and Kalani, and even Breezy, they really showed up,” Wilson told reporters after Saturday’s practice. “We all showed up for Lyss, and I think that’s what’s truly special and works from my heart, because there’s a lot to fill those shoes.”
There’s a common phrase that goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” While the team still has work to do, the things that are clicking and working well will be a big part of this Aces squad. With communication, hard work, and high energy from both sides of the court, the matchup against the Indiana Fever will be a major test for both teams.
The Aces are, of course, looking to secure their fourth championship in five years, and multiple aspects of their team dynamics have been clicking at just the right time. If these aspects keep clicking, they are certainly a contender to do just that. Game 1 tips off Sunday at 1 p.m. PT on ABC.
The IX Daily: Six different women’s sports in your inbox every week!
Subscribe now and join us, just $6 a month or $60 a year. It’s the women’s sports media network we all wished for, and now it’s here! Soccer Monday, Tennis Tuesday, Basketball Wednesday, Golf Thursday, Hockey Friday – powered by The Ice Garden — and Gymnastics Saturday.
