WNBA playoffs: As postseason begins on Sunday, writers split on Aces or Lynx for 2026 crown
As the WNBA postseason tips off on Sunday, writers have cast votes on whether the Las Vegas Aces or the Minnesota Lynx will emerge as 2026 champions, with multiple contributors naming the Lynx as their pick. The pieces collected assessments of key players, injuries and dark-horse candidates as the playoffs open.
The season was described as a microcosm of Cathy Engelbert’s seven-year tenure after she announced earlier this month she will step down as commissioner at the end of this year. Contributors noted growth measured in viewers and dollars alongside expansion, referee controversies and what one writer called a manufactured culture-war hysteria over a hypothetical transgender eligibility question; the article states there has never been a trans woman on a WNBA roster. The league also welcomed two new teams and, writers agreed, produced deep, high-quality basketball in 2026.
Toronto’s season was highlighted by Marina Mabrey’s record-tying 53-point game on 25 June, but the Tempo went 2-23 from that date and were hampered by injuries, including to Mabrey. The Phoenix Mercury slid to 16-28 and missed the playoffs, meaning no Alyssa Thomas in the postseason, and several contributors lamented Phoenix’s absence. Seattle endured its worst season since its first year, despite making the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons, and writers pointed to coach Sonia Raman and rookies Flau’jae Johnson and Awa Fam as pieces for the future.
The Las Vegas Aces arrive with roster concerns: NaLyssa Smith is out with a season-ending leg injury, and the team is 11-10 against playoff opponents this season and has not beaten a playoff team without Smith. Indiana’s matchup with Las Vegas was framed around Aliyah Boston’s ability to play against A’ja Wilson if healthy; Boston experienced a flare-up of a leg injury in the Fever’s regular-season finale. Writers also noted Indiana’s offense, led by Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark, as the WNBA’s highest-scoring attack.
Minnesota’s outlook centered on Olivia Miles and Napheesa Collier. Miles sat out the Lynx’s final two regular-season games with a calf injury; Minnesota had played two games without her, winning one and losing one. Collier missed roughly half the year, yet the Lynx were still described as among the league’s best on both ends, and contributors invoked coach Cheryl Reeve’s four WNBA championships in arguing for Minnesota’s title chances. Three writers explicitly picked the Minnesota Lynx as their champion.
Individual performances and other potential spoilers featured across the preview. Kelsey Mitchell averaged 25 points and produced a WNBA-record run of 27 consecutive 20-point games. The New York Liberty arrive in the playoffs as an eighth seed but with Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones and a 13-6 run down the stretch; writers noted the Liberty had one of the league’s best offenses since the All-Star break. Washington’s young roster—nicknamed the Young Hos in the piece and linked to a top-five draft pick, Lauren Betts—closed the regular season by winning seven of their final eight games, including a four-game streak.
Predicted opening matchups varied among writers, with several forecasting a Lynx v Mystics series and others pairing the Golden State Valkyries with the Aces; one contributor named the Valkyries as a contrarian championship pick. With the postseason beginning on Sunday, those opening series will now provide the first real answers about whether the Aces can extend their recent run of titles or the Lynx will claim the 2026 crown.