Aces end regular season looking to improve playoff seeding

It’s going to be an unconventional path back to the WNBA Finals for the Aces.

Their road to a third straight championship will not go through Las Vegas this season. But first things first: The Aces will have home-court advantage in their first-round playoff series against an undetermined opponent.

That opponent might be known before the start of the Aces’ regular-season finale against the Dallas Wings on Thursday at Michelob Ultra Arena.

The Aces (26-13) enter the league’s final day one game behind the Connecticut Sun (27-12) for the No. 3 seed. The Aces ensured they can’t fall below No. 4 after an 85-72 win over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday.

Dreams of a top-three finish remained alive when the Sun lost 78-76 to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday. Minnesota clinched the No. 2 seed with the win.

“No matter the number or seeding, we have to be able to start playing our best basketball,” Aces forward A’ja Wilson said. “We’re slowly starting to get there.”

Connecticut will host the Chicago Sky at 4 p.m. Thursday. Chicago (13-26) is still alive for the eighth seed despite being without rookie Angel Reese, out for the season after having wrist surgery. The Sky must defeat the Sun and get losses from the Atlanta Dream and Washington Mystics to make the playoffs.

If the Sun win, the Aces will be the No. 4 seed and face the Storm in the first round of the playoffs, which begin Sunday.

Should Connecticut lose and the Aces win, Las Vegas will host expected rookie of the year Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup.

The Aces seem to be preparing for a Sun victory. The “Core Four” of Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young were all listed as doubtful Wednesday, with “rest” given as the reason.

The past two years saw the Aces run roughshod through the league.

They finished with the WNBA’s best record in 2022 and 2023, including a league-record 34 wins last season, en route to back-to-back championships.

The road could be bumpier this season, as the Aces would not have home-court advantage in the semifinals or finals if they advance.

Finishing with the No. 4 seed would almost guarantee a WNBA Finals rematch in the semifinals against the No. 1-seeded New York Liberty. The Aces defeated New York in four games in October to become the first team since the 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks to win two consecutive titles.

No team has won three in a row since the Houston Comets won the league’s first four titles from 1997 to 2000.

“We know we have an uphill battle,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “We also know our best basketball is still in front of us, and we also know that we’re starting to click.”

The No. 3 seed could mean a semifinals matchup with the resurgent Lynx. Minnesota has won a franchise-record 30 games, an 11-win turnaround from last season, and has a legitimate chance to make the finals for the first time since winning its fourth championship in seven years in 2017.

Minnesota took three of four meetings against the Aces this season. All three wins were by double figures.

“I’m not worried about (other teams),” Wilson said. “As long as we’re in control of our own destiny, and we’re always going to be that, because I’m going to make sure of that. The rest is just going out there and playing the game we love.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.