The regular season might have ended, but the fun and excitement definitely hasn't with the WNBA playoffs beginning tonight at 8 p.m. EST. This first match is between the No. 2 seed Chicago Sky and the seventh-seeded New York Liberty. Following this game, the No. 1 seed Las Vegas Aces will take on the eighth seed, Phoenix Mercury, at 10 p.m. EST.
The last two playoff games hit the court on Thursday, August 18 with the third seed, Connecticut Sun, vs. the No. 6 seed, Dallas Wings beginning at 8 p.m. EST. The final game will be a contest between the No. 4 and No. 5 seed, the Seattle Storm and the Washington Mystics, which will take place at 10 p.m. EST.
The Aces have beaten the Mercury each matchup during the regular season, giving the Aces a feeling of confidence that this series could potentially be over in two games, especially with 2022 MVP and Defensive Player of the Year front runner A’ja Wilson and 2022 All-Star MVP Kelsey Plum running the court. The Mercury have had a tough season on and off the court, especially at the end of the regular season with leaders Skylar Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi being unable to play and not having returned yet for the playoffs.
The defending champions, the Chicago Sky, are coming in hot and looking for a repeat of last year. Chicago’s big players like Candace Parker and Courtney Vandersloot know what they want and right now it’s another ring. Sabrina Ionescu who has had a record breaking season with her triple-doubles isn’t going down without a fight even though the Sky did win three out of the four regular season games between the two teams.
This game between the Suns and the Wings might be the tightest matchup we see during the 2022 playoffs. The Sun come in at the third seed this season but the Wings have beaten them in two out of the three regular season games where these teams faced each other. Even with the Wings having a 2-1 record against the Suns this season, they don't have the playoff experience that could give them the leg up in this matchup. The Suns have made it close to the championship the past three seasons and are hungry to finally get to the end and win it all.
The Seattle Storm have all eyes on them with longtime star Sue Bird retiring at the end of the season after 21 years with the team. In true Seattle Storm fashion, they want to give Bird the best goodbye they can—a fifth WNBA ring. The Storm beat the Mystics 2-1 in their regular season games, but that won’t stop players like powerhouse Elena Delle Donne and Ariel Atkins from giving it their all. While both teams have matching 22-14 records this season, so it will come down to this matchup to determine the better team. With the first two games being played in Seattle in what could potentially be Sue Bird's final games, the crowds will be big, but the energy will be even bigger.