The Las Vegas Aces have been unable to recapture their championship ways after winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. Last season was certainly a step back, as the team lost in the semifinals of the playoffs, but they have been far worse this season.
Through 18 games, which is nearly halfway through the 2025 WNBA season, the Aces sit at 9-9. This .500 record places them at eighth in the league standings, which means they would just barely be in the playoffs if the postseason started today.
Las Vegas has lost seven of its last 12 games, including a blowout loss to the Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever on Thursday. Their recent collapse has paved the way for one of the youngest teams and most exciting players to make the playoffs this season.
Paige Bueckers and Wings on cusp on WNBA playoffs
The Dallas Wings currently sit at 6-13, which is just 3.5 games back from the Aces for the final playoff spot. It stands to reason that if Las Vegas continues to slide and Dallas can keep their current pace, the Wings could slide into the final playoff spot.
Dallas has won five of its last seven games, but it will play five of its next six contests on the road. This brutal stretch may define how close they can actually get to moving into the playoff picture, as traveling this much before and after the All-Star break could prove detrimental to that goal.
Rookie guard Paige Bueckers has also firmly cemented herself as the WNBA's rookie of the year. In her eight games since returning from injury, Bueckers is averaging 21.8 points, 5.0 assists and 4.1 rebounds per contest on 49.6 percent shooting from the floor and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc.
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Other challenging teams for the final playoff spot could be the Washington Mystics, Los Angeles Sparks and Los Angeles Sparks. These teams currently rank ninth through 12th in the league standings but are separated from the Aces by just 3.0 games at the most.
There are still between 25 and 28 games left for teams this season, so plenty of shakeups are still possible. Outside of the Lynx, it appears that the other three home-court advantages are up for grabs in the first round of the WNBA playoffs as well.
Bueckers and the Wings cannot get ahead of themselves, as they are still one of the league's youngest teams, and they have plenty to learn. However, for a team that once sat at 1-11, perhaps feeling like they have something tangible to play for will help them reach another level.