Aces feeling confident as WNBA playoffs approach: ‘We’re in a good spot’

The playoff picture is coming into view for the Aces with 12 games left in the WNBA regular season. No one knows that better than reigning MVP A’ja Wilson.

“I’m looking at (the standings) every single day because it could change in a blink of an eye,” Wilson said after her team’s win over the Golden State Valkyries on Aug. 6. “We’re not going to be satisfied because we’re just winning a couple games. We’ve got to start stacking wins and playing the right way.”

The Aces (18-14) have done just that.

They’ve won six of their last seven games, including four straight, to move from seventh in the standings to fifth. Wilson has been key to that run, averaging 29.3 points, 13 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game since Aug. 3. She became the first player in WNBA history to have at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game in the Aces’ win over the last-place Connecticut Sun on Sunday.

The team’s improvement will be put under the microscope, however, when it hosts the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty at Michelob Ultra Arena on Wednesday.

“We’re in a good spot,” coach Becky Hammon said. “We should be feeling pretty confident again. This will be another great test for us on Wednesday. In order to be in these conversations with the best teams, you’ve got to beat the best teams.”

Not messing with the basketball gods

Hammon said at this point her staff isn’t mapping out playoff scenarios or pulling for certain outcomes in other games.

“We’re looking, but we have bigger fish to fry right now than that,” Hammon said. “We need to just win games. … This is not an organization that micromanages.”

That’s not always the case. Hammon said she’s seen teams try to finesse their way into a certain playoff position before.

“I’ve never been one to mess with the basketball gods,’” Hammon said. “Go out there and compete, and if you’re the best team, the basketball gods won. If you’re not, you’re not. But I’ve never been one to manipulate that. … I hate getting into the game of, ‘Oh, we need this team to lose, or this team to win.’ Handle your business, and you are where you are.”

Hammon did acknowledge she doesn’t want her team sitting in seventh or eighth place at the end of the regular season. That would mean having to face the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx (27-5) or Liberty (20-11) in the first round of the playoffs.

The Aces were the No. 4 seed last postseason. They swept the No. 5 Seattle Storm in the first round of the playoffs but were eliminated in four games by No. 1 New York.

Some critics have said this year the Aces simply don’t have the roster to compete with teams like the Liberty. Hammon disagrees.

“I definitely think there can be matchup problems, some teams just don’t match up (well). I don’t feel like that with this team,” Hammon said of the Liberty. “I think they’ve been the better team the last year and a half.”

Championship habits

The Aces still could get additional help. Veteran forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus reported to the team’s headquarters in Henderson on Tuesday.

Parker-Tyus, an All-Star in 2023, has been on maternity leave after welcoming her son in July.

Forward NaLyssa Smith believes the Aces’ championship pedigree is also shining through late in the year. Smith said she and reserve guard Dana Evans talked about the difference in the way the team practiced Tuesday compared to other organizations they’ve been with.

“The attention to detail (is impressive). … We’re gonna do stuff until you get it right. A lot of programs just move on when people don’t understand. Here, they make sure every single person understands,” Smith said. “I feel like it’s also just a family environment. There’s no animosity with anyone. Everybody just has that love for each other, and that’s the biggest way to build a championship team.”

The Aces even have an accountability board, Smith said. Players write down what they’re going to bring to the table before every game.

Guard Jackie Young also said the Aces’ “attention to detail” has improved after Hammon forced the team to take a larger role in defensive game planning, an effort that’s been led by Wilson.

“That’s just had us a little bit more locked in,” Young said. “It’s been a kind of up and down season for us. But the vibes are good. Everybody’s coming in with a lot of energy, excitement and is just ready to play. And I think it’s been showing.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.