Previewing the 2022 WNBA playoffs’ first round

After an entertaining regular season that saw the top teams battling in the standings for months, the field is set for the 2022 WNBA Playoffs to begin.

Players will take to the court in their quest for the championship on Wednesday, debuting a new playoff format that features best-of-3 matchups in the first and second rounds instead of single-elimination games. Let’s take a look at this year’s opening round matchups. 

Las Vegas Aces (1) vs. Phoenix Mercury (8)

The Las Vegas Aces had an impressive season, finishing first in the standings with a 26-10 standing even with a midseason hiccup that saw them go 5-6 at one point. Despite that, they finished the regular season strong and are led by two All-WNBA candidates in A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum. Wilson is also a contender for the league’s MVP award, and along with Plum, they became the first pair of teammates to score at least 700 points each in the same season. With Becky Hammon impressing in her first season at the helm, the Aces have high expectations to meet this postseason.

As for the Phoenix Mercury, they face an uphill battle in the first round, but they certainly have a lot to be proud of this season. This Mercury team has dealt with a significant amount of adversity all year, including Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia throughout the season. In addition to that, they lost star offseason acquisition Tina Charles, superstar Diana Taurasi suffered a late-season injury and Skylar Diggins-Smith also left the team for personal reasons. Phoenix is also without Kia Nurse, who suffered a torn ACL in last year’s playoffs and remains out. Despite this, the Mercury made the playoffs and are looking to finish their tumultuous season with their heads held high.

Chicago Sky (2) vs New York Liberty (7)

The defending champion Chicago Sky almost nabbed the top spot in the standings from Vegas and has been dominant all season long. They’re one of the deepest teams in the league and are led by several All-Star veterans including Candace Parker, Kahleah Copper and Courtney Vandersloot. That championship pedigree makes Chicago as the favourite in this first-round match-up.

However, the New York Liberty aren’t a team that will go down easily. New York rarely played with their full roster this year as Marine Johannes was absent for the first part of the season with overseas obligations and Betnijah Laney missed games with a knee injury. Now that they’re back and in the mix with Sabrina Ionescu and Natasha Howard, the Liberty look like a much stronger team on paper than their 16-20 record indicates. This will certainly be one of the most interesting first round contests.

Connecticut Sun (3) vs Dallas Wings (6)

For the third time in the last four seasons, the Connecticut Sun finished their regular season as a top-3 seed. They are now looking to finally convert their regular season success into a championship victory. Led by Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner, the Sun look to go on a deep run, and the first step is against the ailing Wings.

Dallas has been shown flashes of brilliance this season, but has also largely underperformed for several stretches. They finished relatively strong and were led by some strong offensive outings from Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey, even beating Connecticut twice in three regular season games. However, the loss of Ogunbowale, who was tied for third in the league in scoring before going down with a core injury, is significant.

Seattle Storm (4) vs Washington Mystics (5)

The time has come as the perennial championship contending Seattle Storm look to send off their leader, the legendary Sue Bird, with a title to end her illustrious career. MVP candidate Breanna Stewart and All-Star Jewell Loyd, along with Bird, are going to be a very tough team to eliminate when they’re firing on all cylinders. Historically, no team in the league raises their postseason play the way the Storm does. 

That being said, the Washington Mystics are not a team to sleep on. Led by the W’s all time winningest coach in Mike Thibault, the Mystics still have plenty of players from their 2019 title and still boast one of the league’s best defences. They will rely on superstar Elena Delle Donne, league assists leader Natasha Cloud, and Rookie of the Year candidate Shakira Austin to spoil Bird’s retirement tour.