By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer
The WNBA playoffs are set to begin Sunday with New York looking to become the fourth team to repeat as champions and Minnesota trying to avenge last season’s heartbreaking loss in the Finals.
Indiana is back in the playoffs, but missing star guard Caitlin Clark, who has been sidelined for the last two months with a groin injury and will miss the postseason.
The Liberty will have a difficult road as they are the No. 5 seed and open up at Phoenix on Sunday. After starting out 9-0, injuries decimated New York and left the Liberty in the difficult position of having to win at least one game on the road in each series to win a second straight title.
The Fever finished the season over .500 for the first time since 2015 and did it without Clark playing for the last two months. The Fever lost five players to season-ending injuries over the last two months and will have to figure a way to advance out of the first round for the first time in a decade They’ll open up against the third-seeded Atlanta Dream.
Minnesota, which lost in overtime in a decisive Game 5 to New York last year, is the No. 1 seed and has looked like the best team for much of the season. The Lynx have made it their mission to win the franchise’s first championship since 2017. The team has been led by Napheesa Collier, who became the second player in WNBA history to record a season where she shot over 50% from the fiield, 40% from behind the 3-point line and 90% from the free throw line.
She’s one of the top candidates to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Minnesota will face expansion Golden State in the opening round.
Standing in the Lynx’s way of a title could be the Las Vegas Aces — the last team to repeat as champions in 2022 and 2023. Las Vegas is the hottest team heading into the postseason with a 16-game winning streak. That’s tied for the second longest winning streak in the league’s history. Both Los Angeles (18 games) and Phoenix (16 games) went on to win the championship in those years. The Aces will play Seattle in the opening round.
Here are a few other tidbits from the playoffs:
Format change
The WNBA changed its format this season with the first round best-of-3 series playing the first two games on each team’s homecourt with a decisive third game at the better-seeded team if necessary. The WNBA Finals will now be a best-of-7, up from the best-of-5 it’s been for the last two decades.
Familiar place
Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner are no stranger to the postseason, guiding Connecticut to at least the semifinals the past six seasons. Both left the franchise this offseason and reunited in Phoenix with Bonner having a brief time in Indiana. Now they’ll try and get the Mercury back to the championship round for the first time since 2021.
Thomas had an incredible season, retaking the single-season assist mark from Clark. She finished with 357.
Welcome newcomers
Golden State became the first expansion team to make the postseason in its inaugural year. The Valkyries were a surprise all season led by Veronica Burton, a leading candidate for the league’s Most Improved Player Award. The Valkyries went 23-21.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball