The Liberty and Aces go head-to-head in a rematch of the 2023 Finals, while the Lynx and Sun will battle for a chance at the title as well.

The first round of the WNBA playoffs saw sweeps across the board, with all four of the top seeds closing out its series 2-0. The number one-seed New York Liberty will take on the number four-seed Las Vegas Aces in the second round, while the two-seed Minnesota Lynx face off with the three-seed Connecticut Sun, starting on September 29. 

The Liberty and Aces will battle in a rematch of last year’s Finals, with New York taking out the Atlanta Dream in the first round while Las Vegas swept the Seattle Storm to qualify for the second round. 

On September 25, the Sun advanced to the Semifinals for the sixth consecutive season by eliminating rookie sensation Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. The same night, Napheesa Collier scored a WNBA playoff record-tying 42 points as Minnesota knocked out the Phoenix Mercury in what could be the last game of Mercury legend Diana Taurasi's career.

Both semifinal matchups are between teams that have won WNBA titles and teams that haven't since its inception. The Aces are the two-time defending champions, while New York is 0-5 in its past attempts playing for the championship.

The Lynx have won four titles, coming during a seven-season stretch when Minnesota made the Finals six times, and the Sun have played in the Finals four times, most recently in 2022, but were never able to find victory.

Four of the top-five finishers in Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting will be competing in the semifinals as well, including unanimous winner A'ja Wilson of Las Vegas, second-place finisher Collier, New York's Breanna Stewart who came third and Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas who finished fourth.

Wilson and Stewart is the marquee matchup of the first round series between the Aces and Liberty, with New York claiming home-court advantage in the best-of-five matchup. The two superstars have entertained fans during the playoffs throughout both their careers and have won five MVP awards between them. 

Wilson has been on a different level all season in 2024, averaging a career-high and WNBA-record 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game (PPG and RPG) during the regular season. Stewart averaged 20.4 PPG and 8.5 RPG herself, having claimed the MVP in 2023 in what was a controversial outcome around the sport. 

Outside of Stewart and Wilson, there are intriguing matchups all over the floor that could help to determine the outcome of this series. New York went with a bigger lineup against Atlanta, starting rookie Leonie Fiebich in place of veteran Courtney Vandersloot. The lineup gave the Liberty additional size and length on the perimeter and at 6’4”, Fiebich is quick enough to stick with Aces’ guards Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, while her length can disrupt perimeter passing lanes.

The big question for Vegas is who will guard Jonquel Jones and Stewart, as Wilson can guard one but not both. Aces coach Becky Hammon has stated that the fifth spot in the Aces lineup will be matchup-dependent, with Kiah Stokes starting both games against Seattle and has the most familiarity with the current Aces lineup. 

On William Hill, the Liberty are -160 to get over the hump that is its rival and move on to the Finals, giving itself the best opportunity to win the franchise’s first championship. The Aces may have the best player this season in Wilson, but New York seems destined to win the title after a dominant regular season and playoffs up to this point. 

Minnesota and Connecticut were the two best teams in the league in defensive rating during the regular season, with the Lynx at 94.8 and the Sun at 94.1. The two were also the best at defending the three-point line, as Minnesota held its opponents to 30.1% shooting and Connecticut limited theirs to 31.3%.

All three of the regular-season games were also close. Connecticut won the first in overtime 83-82 on May 23, along with the second by a score of 78-73 on July 4. Minnesota got its only win between the two on September 17, 78-76.

Both teams have experienced coaches at the helm who led the franchises to strong regular season records. Cheryl Reeve guided the Lynx to all four of its titles, while the Sun's Stephanie White was an assistant when Indiana won its title in 2012 and head coach when the Fever were last in the WNBA Finals in 2015. Indiana lost to Reeve and the Lynx that year in five games. 

The teams' offensive rating is also nearly identical with the Lynx fourth at 102.8 and the Sun fifth at 102.3. In the first round, Collier proved unguardable, so the question of how Connecticut plans to slow her down could determine the series. She had 31 points in the first matchup this season with the Sun and 25 in the third. In the second game she was held to only nine points.

William Hill sees the Lynx as strong favorites, listing the team at -225 to move onto the Finals and end the Sun’s hopes of claiming its first championship. Connecticut will prove to be a tough test for Minnesota, but a Finals matchup of the Lynx and Liberty seems to be on the horizon for fans of the WNBA.