The 2026 WNBA playoffs tipped off on Sunday with 4 video games.
The Las Vegas Aces, New York Liberty, Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries had been all Recreation 1 winners to get the higher hand of their first-round sequence.
Listed here are some key takeaways from Sunday’s motion.
A’ja Wilson leaves little doubt she continues to be WNBA’s finest
Not that there needs to be any debate about that at this level.
Wilson is a four-time league MVP, a three-time defensive participant of the 12 months and some of the dominant scorers within the league. She does all of it. She takes over video games. And when she performs as she did on Sunday, she helps make the Aces the most effective groups within the league and a severe championship contender. Once more. They’ve gained three of the previous 4 championships with Wilson main the best way, they usually seemed the half once more on Sunday.
She was unbelievable within the Aces’ 102-85 win over the Indiana Fever, ending with 38 factors, 16 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and 4 blocks, whereas additionally ending as a game-best plus-29 when she was on the ground.
She did all of that whereas capturing 15-of-19 from the ground, together with 2-for-2 from 3-point vary.
Beautiful efficiency.
Breanna Stewart spent Recreation 1 doing Breanna Stewart issues
And what precisely are Breanna Stewart issues? Effectively, a little bit little bit of all the pieces, and controlling the sport for the Liberty in a 91-75 win over the Minnesota Lynx.
She was masterful in her 38 minutes, tallying a game-high 34 factors with 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
The Liberty may need been the final workforce to make the WNBA playoff area, and the Lynx may need completed with one of the best report within the league, however anytime you’ve got a participant like this in your roster, you’re at all times going to have an opportunity. Particularly in a brief sequence the place it isn’t going to take a lot to drag off an upset.
If Stewart goes to provide the Liberty that form of play, they will be an issue regardless of who they play.
Rhyne Howard leads balanced effort from Dream
The Dream took a 1-0 sequence lead over the Washington Mystics in a 92-77 win that featured a really balanced assault from Atlanta.
Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese, Allisha Grey and Jordin Canada all completed with double-digit scoring days, whereas Howard and Grey each topped the 20-point mark.
Howard had one thing of an historic efficiency with 25 factors and 5 steals, making it just the fifth such playoff performance in WNBA historical past.
She completed the sport 7-for-18 from the sphere whereas additionally making all 10 of her free throws.
It was additionally a robust playoff debut for Reese, ending with 13 factors and a team-high 12 rebounds, together with 9 on the defensive glass.
Golden State Valkyries get first-ever playoff win
The Valkyries wasted no time in making the WNBA playoffs of their inaugural season in 2025, nevertheless it didn’t produce a postseason win.
That modified on Sunday with a convincing 104-80 win over the Dallas Wings.
The turning level on this recreation got here within the second quarter when Golden State posted a season-high 37 factors within the quarter, outscoring the Wings by a 26-point margin within the body.
Dallas by no means actually made it a lot of a recreation after that.
Gabby Williams and Cecilia Zandalasini every topped the 20-point mark within the win, whereas Tiffany Hayes got here off the bench with 21 factors, capturing 7-of-10 from the ground, together with 3-of-5 from 3-point vary.
The massive problem for Dallas within the first half was that there was merely no scoring depth after Paige Bueckers. Dallas went into the break with Bueckers recording 17 factors and the remainder of her teammates recording simply 14 factors.
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