This time last month, the Las Vegas Aces were below .500 and struggling mightily. It seemed quite possible that the team wouldn’t make the playoffs for the seventh straight season, and their title dreams were over.
After a historic 53-point loss to the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 2, nothing has been the same. Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson took over, and the Aces are now on a 12-game winning streak and in sole possession of the No. 2 seed with a 26-14 record.
Wilson has been on a tear. On Wednesday, she notched her 11th 30-point game of the season and sixth of the winning streak. She's second in scoring (23.4), second in rebounding (10.1), eighth in steals (1.6), and first in blocks (2.2) per game.
The Aces have four regular-season games to play, with only one against a team with a winning record: the Lynx (30-8) on Sept. 4. They close out with two games against the Chicago Sky (9-29) and end the season on Sept. 11 on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks (17-19).
That the Aces have only four easy games to play to end the season is a big deal for them as they look to lock up the No. 2 seed and home-court advantage.
The Aces win their 12 straight game and are now in sole possession of the 2nd playoff seed 🔥 pic.twitter.com/vYYsZbwQyK
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 28, 2025
The No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs is a major advantage
Round 1 is a best-of-three series, and as the No. 2 seed, they would have to play the No. 7 team — currently the struggling Seattle Storm — and host Games 1 and 3.
The Aces will have some competition, though, for the very advantageous No. 2 seed. The Atlanta Dream are one game behind them at No. 3 with a 24-14 record. The No. 3 seed has to play the No. 6 seed, which could be the Indiana Fever.
The Fever have been dangerous without star Caitlin Clark, who is still working her way back from a groin injury and has started participating in non-contact drills with the team during shootaround.
The Phoenix Mercury (24-14) are holding onto the No. 4 seed, which would put them against the defending champion New York Liberty (24-15) at the No. 5 seed.
The Mercury have only lost three times in their last 10 games, buoyed by the MVP-caliber play of forward Alyssa Thomas.
The Dream, with six games left to play, have a very easy schedule to end the season. Zero of their games come against a team with a winning record, and three are against the Connecticut Sun (10-28).
With five games left to play, the Liberty face a tougher journey back to the No. 2 seed — playing the Mercury on the road Saturday night. The Liberty then travel to play the Golden State Valkyries, who at 19-18 are vying for the final No. 8 seed.
After the Liberty, the Mercury play the Fever before a slew of less-tough opponents to end.
Regardless, the fight will come down to the wire as the Aces, Dream, Liberty, and Mercury are all within 1.5 games of each other. No one wants to risk facing Caitlin Clark in the first round. And no one wants to have to play anyone else in this group of contenders. Getting the No. 2 seed is the only way out.