Seattle Storm to face Las Vegas Aces in first round of WNBA playoffs

SEATTLE – Of course, it’s the Aces.

The Storm will start the WNBA playoffs against their Western Conference rival who knocked them out of the postseason in their last two appearances, including an embarrassing sweep in the first round last year.

The best-of-three series begins 7 p.m. Sunday at T-Mobile Arena on ESPN and the Aces will host Game 3 on Thursday, if necessary.

Game 2 is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Climate Pledge Arena – the first playoff game in Seattle since 2022.

There’s plenty of recent postseason history between the Storm and Aces, who have met in the playoffs in three of the past five years.

Led by Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird, Seattle swept Las Vegas in three games to claim the 2020 WNBA Finals.

Two years later, the Aces eliminated the Storm in the semifinals, which ended Bird’s storied career, en route to winning the first of two straight WNBA titles.

And last year, a retooled Seattle team led by Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Loyd struggled offensively and barely put up a fight while losing on the road 78-67 in Game 1 and 86-73 in Game 2.

But that’s old news.

This year, the Storm split the four-game regular-season series with the Aces – both teams won on the road – which suggests Seattle could potentially buck WNBA playoff history and make a deep run in the postseason.

Since the league adopted a best-of-three series in the first round in 2022, the No. 7 seeds are a combined 1-6 and failed to advance to the semifinals.

However, the Storm (23-21) are the first No. 7 seed to finish with a winning record the past four years.

Furthermore, Seattle posted two wins against six of the seven playoff teams, which breeds confidence heading into the postseason.

“There’s a lot of parity,” coach Noelle Quinn said Aug. 30 when asked about the WNBA standings. “As far as the field, it does feel wide open.”

Maybe so, but nobody has beaten the Aces since a 111-58 defeat to the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 2.

Las Vegas (30-14) rebounded from an 11-11 start entering the WNBA All-Star break and is the hottest team in the league, winning 19 of its remaining 22 games, including 16 in a row, which is tied for the second longest winning streak in WNBA history.

Meanwhile, the Storm, who have been inconsistent all season, are 6-4 in their past 10 games.

However, when it mattered most, backup guard Erica Wheeler led Seattle to its biggest win of the year: a 74-73 come-from-behind thriller against the Golden State Valkyries in Tuesday’s regular-season finale to halt a two-game skid.

“We’ve been in a variety of different games, up, down and in between,” Quinn said noting the Storm are 14-15 in clutch games – a situation where the score is within five points with five minutes left. “We’ve shown that we can be down and fight and that’s part of what we do. We don’t say die. We’re resilient. We find ways to stay in games. Get those possessions tightened up with whether it’s defensively or offensively.

“We have vets on our roster who have been through a lot of different games in this league, and we’re going to continue to rely on that. To know that we are capable of playing fast, slow, physical is going to matter in the playoffs for sure.”

A rematch with the Aces also rekindles a simmering feud with former Storm star and two-time WNBA champion Loyd, who forced a trade to Las Vegas after accusing Seattle’s coaching staff of harassment and bullying last season.

After her second game in Seattle with the Aces – a 75-70 Storm loss on June 1 – Loyd alleged a Storm assistant cursed at her during the game. The league looked into the complaint and levied no penalties against the Storm.

Here’s everything to know about the WNBA playoffs:

• No. 1 Minnesota vs. No. 8 Golden State

• No. 2 Las Vegas vs. No. 7 Seattle

• No. 3 Atlanta vs. No. 6 Indiana

• No. 4 Phoenix vs. No. 5 New York

• The first round begins Sunday and is a best-of-three series, with the higher seed playing host to Games 1 and 3 (if necessary).

• The bracket will not be reseeded after each round, so the winner of No. 1 vs. No. 8 plays the winner of No. 4 vs. No. 5 series.

• The semifinals are best-of-five and begin Sunday, Sept. 21.

• The WNBA Finals are best-of-seven and start Friday, Oct. 3.