Seedings Undecided as Regular Season Nears End
The WNBA is heading into the last week of its regular season, and the playoff seedings are still not set. Although the eight postseason teams were determined a few weeks ago, none of their positions have been clinched. Minnesota and Golden State are competing for the top overall seed and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, while Las Vegas is in the driver's seat for the No. 3 seed. The race is especially tight in the middle: only two games separate fourth-place Atlanta from eighth-place Dallas. The Wings, Liberty and Mystics all hold the same record as of Monday, and Indiana is one game ahead of that group.[S1]
Two series this week are expected to carry playoff-level intensity. Minnesota and Indiana will play a home-and-home set on Tuesday and Thursday, while New York and Atlanta will also meet twice. Those matchups will go a long way toward determining postseason pairings. Atlanta coach Karl Smekso said Monday morning after shootaround that playing two games against New York before the playoffs, regardless of how the seeding works out, would be good for both teams because they would already be experiencing playoff intensity and stakes.[S1]
Power Poll and Player Honors
Golden State remained No. 1 in this week's power poll. Las Vegas and Minnesota followed, with Atlanta, New York, Washington and Dallas next after the Lynx. Indiana was eighth, and Los Angeles and Phoenix came after the Fever. Portland, Chicago, Toronto, Connecticut and Seattle completed the poll.[S1]
New York's Breanna Stewart was named AP player of the week. She averaged 25.5 points, nine rebounds and four assists while helping the Liberty win both of their games last week, including one at Minnesota. Other players who received votes were Paige Bueckers of Dallas, Kiki Iriafen of Washington and Angel Reese of Atlanta.[S1]
Leslie Statue and Miles' Rookie Record
Lisa Leslie was honored by the Los Angeles Sparks with a bronze statue outside their arena. She became the 16th person to be recognized with a statue in Star Plaza during a ceremony that included Magic Johnson, Candace Parker, Michael Cooper and others. Leslie, who played for the Sparks from 1997 to 2009, is the first Sparks player to receive a statue. The 11-foot statue, which sits on a 4 1/2-foot base, depicts her signature dunk, the first in WNBA history.[S1]
Olivia Miles broke Caitlin Clark's record for most points by a rookie when she scored her 770th point in the Minnesota Lynx's victory over Connecticut on Sunday. Miles entered the game tied with Clark and set the new mark with a free throw early in the second quarter. She finished with 21 points and now has 790 for the season.[S1]
