LAS VEGAS (September 7, 2023)—The Las Vegas Aces (32-6) need a pair of victories over the Phoenix Mercury (9-29) this weekend to guarantee the No. 1 seed and home court advantage throughout the playoffs. First up is a Friday, Sept. 8, game at Footprint Center in Phoenix (7 pm PT on ION). That will be followed by Sunday’s season finale in Las Vegas, played at T-Mobile Arena (12 pm PT on ESPN2).

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There are several scenarios for earning the top seed if the Aces don’t win both games, but that leaves their fate in the hands of others.

Las Vegas leads New York by 1 game with 2 games remaining. The Aces’ magic number for clinching the number one seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs is 2—any combination of 2 Las Vegas wins or New York losses gives the Aces the top spot.

The Aces and Liberty split their regular season series, 2-2. Should they finish the season tied atop the standings, the next tiebreaker is record against teams who finish at .500 or above. Besides Las Vegas and New York, there are 3 teams at the moment who meet those criteria—Connecticut (26-12), Dallas (20-18) and Minnesota (19-19)—but there are 2 other teams who could still reach that mark—Washington (18-20) and Atlanta (18-20). The Aces need Minnesota to finish at or above .500 to win this tiebreaker.

The Aces continue to lead the league in scoring (92.6 ppg), field goal percentage (48.3), 3-point field goal percentage (37.4), and free throw percentage (84.1). They also pace the WNBA in scoring differential (12.3), offensive (112.5) and defensive (97.6) efficiency rating, effective field goal percentage (55.0), and turnovers (11.9), while ranking second in blocked shots per game (4.6), and having the fewest of its own shots blocked per game (2.9).

A’ja Wilson has collected the last 3 Western Conference Player of the Month honors this year, and is having another M’VP-caliber season. She’s averaging a franchise-high 22.3 points and also producing career-highs in rebounds (9.6 rpg), blocked shots (2.2 bpg), field goal percentage (54.6), and 2-point field goal percentage (55.8), all while playing fewer than 31 minutes a game.

The Aces are also receiving career-high performances this season from Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Gray, who is dishing out a franchise- and career-high 7.1 assists, is also posting career-highs of 15.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Plum’s shooting from the field overall (.473) and from 2-point range (.547) are her best shooting performances since joining the league in 2017. Young, who has increased her scoring each year in the W, is averaging a career-high 18.0 points a game on career-bests of 52.3 percent from the field overall, 57.3 percent from 2-point range and 45.3 percent from 3-point. Young’s 3-point field goal percentage leads the WNBA.

The Aces have won a WNBA record 32 games this year, and are on a 7-game winning streak against the Mercury. Plagued by injuries, the Mercury have featured 18 different players in a box score this year, only four of whom have seen action in all 38 games. Mercury leading scorer Brittney Griner (17.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 bpg) has missed 10 contests and Diana Taurasi (16.0 ppg, 4.6 apg) has missed 13, including 5 of the past 6. The Mercury also changed coaches after 12 games.

Sophie Cunningham is averaging 11.3 ppg and 2.1 apg, but missed the team’s last 4 games due to injury, and Moriah Jefferson (10.2 ppg, 3.6 apg) rounds out the Mercury’s top four scorers.

Over the past 5 games, in which Cunningham played once and Taurasi none, Jefferson (17.4 ppg, 5.4 apg), Sug Sutton (10.6 ppg, 5.4 apg) and Michaela Onyenwere (9.2 ppg) picked up the scoring for their teammates. Griner posted steady numbers of 16.6 points and 4.6 rebounds during that span.

NEXT UP

After the two-game series against the Mercury, the Aces will tip-off their 2023 WNBA Playoffs run on Wednesday, Sept. 13 or Friday, Sept. 15. The complete first round playoff schedule will be announced by the league at a later date.