{"id":862487,"date":"2026-09-27T13:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/862487\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T13:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:46:14","slug":"wnba-playoff-preview-the-2026-wnba-championship-goes-through-the-aces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/862487\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Playoff Preview: \u201cThe 2026 WNBA Championship Goes Through the Aces\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WNBA <\/a>celebrated its 30th anniversary season this summer but 2026 was a greater reflection of the league\u2019s present and future than of its past<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The W has achieved labor peace through a seven-year CBA agreement <\/a>and is thriving financially thanks to an eleven-year $3.1 billion media rights deal with Amazon, Disney, and NBC. Ratings are up. The spotlight has never been brighter.<\/p>\n

Though there were several off-court controversies (outgoing WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert\u2019s questionable leadership; Sophie Cunningham\u2019s <\/a>comments regarding transgender athletes<\/a>; the sad<\/a> Enes Kanter <\/a>saga<\/a>), the focus never strayed from the product on the court. The league is awash in talent<\/a> and it will be on full display when the first round of the WNBA playoffs tip-off on Sunday, September 27.<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark,<\/a> Paige Bueckers<\/a>, Angel Reese<\/a>, Olivia Miles, and Breanna Stewart<\/a>, are all chasing A\u2019ja Wilson<\/a> and the Las Vegas Aces, winners of three of the last four WNBA championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2026 WNBA championship goes through the Aces,\u201d four-time WNBA Finals MVP Cynthia Cooper <\/a>tells Complex.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early to pick a winner but Cooper, a four-time WNBA champion now in her first season as an analyst for Prime Video, knows one thing for certain: everyone has to step their game up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot be the same player in the playoffs that you were in the regular season and think you\u2019re going to win a championship,” she says. \u201cThe playoffs are a different beast. It\u2019s a lot more physical, it\u2019s faster, teams are more focused, and there\u2019s a level of drive and intensity that you not just have to match, you have to surpass if you want to come out on the winning end.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the 2026 WNBA Playoff Preview.<\/p>\n

The Aces remain the favorites but are vulnerable.
Third-seeded Las Vegas won the WNBA championship last season from the two-seed but face significant roadblocks in their quest for a fourth chip in five seasons. A season-ending leg injury to NaLyssa Smith further hampered their team defense which has been an issue all season. Still, Cooper considers them the favorites.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,\u201d Cooper says.<\/p>\n

Vegas sports a championship core led by Wilson, point guard Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young, who averaged a career-high 18.9 points per game this season. \u201cJackie has just been playing phenomenal basketball. She really steps up to the plate when greatness is needed\u2014and that is the mark of a great player, a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the first round, the Aces face a stiff test from Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and the Indiana Fever.<\/p>\n

The Fever\u2019s offense is historically great but defense remains an issue.
Clark and Mitchell form the best backcourt in the WNBA; Aliyah Boston and Sophie Cunningham can get buckets as well. But Indiana is the worst defensive team in the playoffs and were just 10-13 against playoff teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have the talent,\u201d Cooper says. \u201cBut when you have good perimeter defenders that limit Caitlin and Kelsey, they struggle. They\u2019re not able to really get the shots and shoot in the rhythm like they’re used to. And I think that’s when they struggle a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when Aliyah knocks down that three point shot and stretches the defense, when you have Monique Billings running that floor, it keeps the pressure on the defense. . . and that then gives Caitlin the opportunity to not just fire up three pointers, but hit the mid-range shot and get to the rim. When Caitlin can score on all three levels like Kelsey does, then she is just a beast and she is a bear to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Atlanta Dream are a dangerous 4-seed
The Dream, who open up against the young Washington Mystics, have taken off following their offseason trade for Angel Reese. In her first season in Atlanta, Reese posted career highs in points, was a disruptive defensive presence, and, once again, led the WNBA in double-doubles while making her third consecutive All-Star game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel has been really great, and it\u2019s not just her nose for rebounds,\u201d Cooper says. \u201cNo one realizes how crafty she is defensively. She\u2019s defending guards, getting deflections, causing turnovers. She has really showcased all that she\u2019s capable of doing both offensively and defensively.<\/p>\n

With Reese, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, the Dream sport a Big Three that makes them a tough out.<\/p>\n

Golden State doesn\u2019t have a traditional superstar. That hasn\u2019t mattered yet.
The Valkyries had only one All-Star (Gabby Williams) and just three players averaging double-digits, yet they earned the second best record in the league in just their second season of existence. How did they do it? Defense, depth, and three-point shooting. Golden State leads the league in nearly all defensive categories, they sank the most three-pointers and had 10 players averaging double digit minutes per game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Valkyries have so many different weapons even coming off the bench,\u201d Cooper says. \u201cYou got Kaila Charles and Veronica Burton knocking down shots. They have the kid Kaitlyn Chen coming off the bench. Having Kiah Stokes back gives them a lift. And then they have [Janelle] Salaun from that three-point line, which you saw during the World Cup. And they have Gabby. Gabby is just gaining more confidence. I don\u2019 t think she\u2019s absolutely comfortable in the superstar role but her game screams superstar\u2014knocking down a three, getting to the rim, playing great defense. The Valkyries are difficult to play against because they have multiple people that can kill you at any time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden State opens up against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Lynx have the league\u2019s best record\u2014and something to prove.
For the second straight season, the Minnesota Lynx earned the best regular season record in the WNBA. They hope that\u2019s where the 2025 comparisons end. Last season, the Lynx imploded in the semifinals, losing 3-1 to the Phoenix Mercury. \u201cThey underachieved and I think they are feeling that,\u201d Cooper says, \u201cand so I believe they\u2019re going to be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perennial All-Star Napheesa Collier is back after ankle injuries forced her to miss the first 27 games of the season; Kayla McBride is playing the best ball of her career and Natasha Howard was an All-Star in her 13th season. But the Lynx are in this position due primarily to the play of rookie sensation Olivia Miles. \u201cOlivia is a showstopper,\u201d Cooper says. \u201cShe has also helped the reintegrating Napheesa [when she returned from injury]. McBride provides clutch shots and great defense and Courtney Williams provides energy and helps maintain a certain level of play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Minnesota is really focused because of what happened last year. I think they have that drive you need to fight for a championship. Let\u2019s see if they get over the hump.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The WNBA celebrated its 30th anniversary season this summer but 2026 was a greater reflection of the league\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-862487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}