So far, the WNBA playoffs have delivered spades, and Aces. With all the chips on the table, Las Vegas survived the relentless Seattle Storm in the final seconds of Thursday’s elimination action. It one of three tense Game 3s that set the opening round off right. Now we’re on to the final four, which commences Sunday afternoon when Vegas hosts the Indiana Fever at Mandalay Bay. Later in the day, the Phoenix Mercury visit Minnesota to face the top-seeded Lynx.
This quad of semifinalists are each deserving of a league championship; every player left in the bracket has a career marked by patience, defiance and hustle. There is a lot to appreciate all around as the postseason funnels into the finals. Below, we’re highlighting some of the hoopers worth rooting for. Let us know the other journeys you’re hoping end in hardware.
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WNBA semifinals, Game 1 viewing guide for Sunday
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Stars who already have rings
A’ja Wilson, Aces: It’s hard not to marvel at Wilson’s swaggering dominance. Would a 2025 title be the most impressive of her three ‘ships? Her Aces were struggling to stay above .500 in late July. Another triumph this fall would give her a claim as the WNBA’s Greatest of All Time.
The Aces’ “big three” as a whole: Wilson is approaching the sport’s historic pinnacle, but Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray are tremendous in their own rights. Two more series wins would give Gray her fourth WNBA championship, just one shy of Rebekkah Brunson’s record. Young would be iced out, too, with three rings at just 28 years old. Las Vegas wouldn’t have gotten past Seattle without Young’s offensive board and game-winning putback Thursday night.
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Stars whose legacies would change with a championship
Kelsey Mitchell, Fever: Steely around the perimeter and astoundingly consistent year to year, Mitchell has held down the Fever franchise between two massive totems. She took the driver’s seat in 2018, two seasons after Tamika Catchings retired and six before Caitlin Clark arrived. She’s stepped up as an initiator and as a leader with Clark on the sideline.
Napheesa Collier, Lynx: What better way to cap off a revenge tour? What better way to punctuate a 50-40-90 shooting season that bordered on basketball nirvana? Collier is a transformational force on both ends of the floor, and all she’s missing (for now) is the team trophy lift.
Courtney Williams, Lynx: One of the league’s hardest workers and most magnetic personalities, Williams didn’t become an All-Star until her sixth season. She didn’t truly emerge on the national stage until her ninth, which was with her fifth WNBA team. The indefatigable point guard will unlock a new, unheard-of trash-talking tier if she wins it all this postseason.
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Alyssa Thomas, Mercury: She put up the second-best assists-per-game mark in WNBA history … at age 33 … with two shoulder tears limiting her mobility. Thomas doesn’t get tired, though she only has one job, which is to pace the Mercury’s methodical offense. She’s earned the bling after a decade-plus of close calls in Connecticut.
Role players who have had remarkable journeys
Natisha Hiedeman, Lynx: Alongside her teammate Williams, she elevated the culture and expanded the footprint with the “Stud Budz.” And like Thomas, she’s endured a string of playoff heartbreaks as a member of the Sun.
Alanna Smith, Lynx: Drafted eighth overall by Phoenix, the Australian forward’s playing time was winnowed down to 6.5 minutes per game at the end of her Mercury run. She didn’t start a WNBA game until year No. 4, and Indiana cut her midway through 2022. Now, Smith is the co-Defensive Player of the Year and a critical cog in the league’s best defense.
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Odyssey Sims, Fever: Sims is a WNBA lifer who started with the Tulsa Shock, a team that renamed and relocated before the 2025 rookie class reached high school. She was without a team in July and signed a hardship contract with the Fever in August; she had 16 points, eight assists and three steals in Thursday’s win-or-go-home upset in Atlanta.
Shey Peddy, Fever: Another lifelong hooper with an odyssey of a journey. Her W debut was delayed by seven years, and she was out of the league in 2024. Yet the Fever may be at home or on vacation without Peddy’s clutch fourth-quarter trey in Game 3.
NaLyssa Smith, Aces: The Aces don’t flip from playing thoroughly mid basketball to winning 17 consecutive games without Smith. That midseason trade with the Dallas Wings improved Vegas’ rebounding, augmented its defense and remixed stale energies. Smith is the unsung hero of Becky Hammon’s turnaround and continues to swing games around the margins.
Kitija Laksa, Mercury: Latvia’s breakout star went in the first round of the 2020 draft, only to get waived by both Seattle and Dallas before ever hitting the floor. The 29-year-old rookie has taken the long and winding road to this moment.
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Updated WNBA odds
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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