WNBA Wraparound: New York sweeps Las Vegas, Aliyah Boston scores 30 and A'ja Wilson's injury

3 highlights from the WNBA last week:

New York sweeps the season series from Las Vegas: In a thrilling game that saw the A'ja Wilson-less Aces mount a 20-point comeback, the Liberty were able to survive and get the win. While not the game New York wanted to play, it's still huge for them to go 3-0 against the Aces this season.

Last year, New York and Las Vegas split their season series 2-2, with New York winning the Commissioner's Cup final over them. Vegas went on to beat them in the WNBA Finals series 3-1. This series sweep is the boost of confidence New York needed to go into a potential playoff series with the Aces for a second year in a row. Don't count the Aces out just yet though, they still have a lot of tricks up their sleeve.

Indiana Fever clinch first postseason berth since 2016: Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever officially clinched their playoff spot last week, marking the first time the Fever have reached the postseason since 2016. That's an eight-year drought, but the Fever have been building toward this for a few seasons now. With No. 1 picks Clark and Aliyah Boston, No. 2 NaLyssa Smith, and the rest of the Fever squad building speed and chemistry, they may shock us in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. Regardless of the result of their playoff run this season, this is a huge step in development for the Indiana Fever. They are building a foundation to be a wildly successful team for years to come,

Aliyah Boston scores 30+ points for the first time in her career: The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Aliyah Boston came into the WNBA pro-ready and has been developing into one of the league's brightest stars. The South Carolina Gamecock alum and National Champion is a huge threat in the post.

The Fever lucked out big time getting a playmaker like Clark to pair with a post-player like Boston. The duo will be one of the WNBA's most dangerous sooner than you think. Last week, Boston scored 20+ points in three games in a row, capping off the weekend with a 30-point, 13-rebound, 5-assist, 1-steal, 1-block stat line. To put the cherry on top, that 30-piece came in a four-point overtime victory over the Atlanta Dream.

2 WNBA games to tune into this week:

Washington Mystics vs Chicago Sky: Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. ET

The battle for the No. 8 seed is ON. This is a huge matchup in the fight for the last playoff spot. The Chicago Sky are still holding on to eighth place, but now without Angel Reese will have to dig deep. Reese suffered a season-ending injury last week when she fractured her wrist. The Washington Mystics are just two games behind the Sky and one game behind the Atlanta Dream as they wrestle for a playoff berth. With Reese out, the rookie battle in the post will be between Kamilla Cardoso and Aaliyah Edwards. These two young teams have been developing their rookie talent all season long, and it's been exciting to see the potential here. This could end up being a great future rivalry.

Minnesota Lynx vs New York Liberty: Sunday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. ET

On the other end of the WNBA standings, we have a match-up between the current No. 1 and No. 2 seeded teams in the league. Minnesota was able to overtake Connecticut and slide into second, and they now sit three games behind New York in first. While the chances of them making up the three-game gap with only a week and a half left in the regular season are slim, this may be a first look at a final series?

New York and Minnesota have been battling all season long, and the idea of this series is thrilling. You have last year's MVP Breanna Stewart, current MVP-runner-up, Napheesa Collier, and both captains have talented squads behind them. Minnesota has shocked everyone by how they've climbed the standings this season and they could be a dark horse for the WNBA title this season.

1 storyline to monitor in the WNBA: A'ja Wilson misses first game in 5 seasons due to ankle injury

A'ja Wilson tweaked her ankle in the Aces' game against the Connecticut Sun last Friday and ended up sitting out of their game against New York on Sunday. It was the first time Wilson has sat out of a game since the 2019 season, and she was seen walking around in a boot on Sunday. Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon assured media before Sunday's game that Wilson is day-to-day and they aren't too concerned with the injury.

Still, Wilson is the presumed (er, obvious?) MVP for this season, and a huge factor in the Aces' success. Their three-peat dreams are already slightly in jeopardy just given their rocky season and lower seeding placement. If Wilson had to miss any of the playoffs, it could be detrimental to the team's hopes of winning another championship.

Ultimately, the most important thing is Wilson's long-term health. While it would be disappointing to see her sit for more games, they have to do what's best for her. Regardless, Wilson has had the best season in WNBA history and even if the Aces don't walk away with the title, she has so much to be proud of. Hopefully, the rest game and the boot were just precautions and Wilson is okay to be back on the court this week and throughout Las Vegas's playoff run.