The WNBA Final Four Showdown: Which Teams Will Make It To The Finals?

We are down to the last 4 teams standing in the W! And we have the top-ranked Minnesota Lynx, the 2nd-ranked Las Vegas Aces, the surprising 6th-ranked Indiana Fever, and the 4th-ranked Phoenix Mercury squeezing in just moments ago to complete the line-up for the semis. Competition has been hot and heavy as 3 of the 4 first-round series were extended to a win-or-go-home Game 3, with only the Lynx surviving the sudden-death game malaise.

The Lynx blanked the expansion team Golden State Valkyries 2-0, though that didn’t come without the thrills and spills that seem to be this year’s trademark. The Lynx took Game 1 handily 101-72, before huffing and puffing to squeeze through 75-74 in Game 2 at the Valkyries’ homecourt. The Lynx have submitted a relatively- clean injury report, and are heavily favored to reach the Finals for the second year in a row.

Facing the Lynx are the retooled Phoenix Mercury which survived a searing 3-game series with the defending champs, New York Liberty, for the right to do battle with the Lynx. The Mercury are now in the first year of an era minus all-time great Diana Taurasi and perrenial all-star Brittney Griner. They appear to have adjusted fast, with Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally providing the leadership and direction for the team.

The Las Vegas Aces, 2-time champs in ’22 and ’23, staved off a fighting Seattle Storm in a seeesaw Game 3, finally taking the win 74-73 on a Jackie Young tip-in with 12 seconds on the clock. The lower-rated Storm had taken Game 2 86-83 to set the stage for a game 3 winner-take-all. Their efforts, however, fell short as last year’s MVP A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Grey, champion Olympians all, combined for a whopping 86% of the Aces’ total points input.

Finally, the Indiana Fever, who are arguably the most injury-afflicted team in the league this year, ekked out a heart-stopping come-from-behind 87-85 triumph over the Atlanta Dream, to get their ticket to the semis. After losing 68-80 in Game 1, the Fever regained much of their fight from the hometown crowd in Indy, demolishing the Dream 77-60, in the process setting up a winner-take-all Game 3. In the deciding match played out in Atlanta, the Fever’s walking wounded were simply miraculous! Despite the absence of key players Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald, Damiris Dantas and Chloe Bibby, the battered but unbowed Fever displayed pure grit, finally willing their way to the winners’ podium.

Imagine this: 3 out of 4 teams in the W’s Final 4 were dragged to a kill-or-be-killed Game 3, with the 4th managing to escape the upset axe in Game 2 by a single point! This tells us how balanced the competition is in the league. There is parity, there is healthy competition, there is excitement in the league. And more fans are starting to appreciate and watch.

Now down to the Final 4, we have the Minnesota Lynx locking horns with the revitalized Phoenix Mercury. And in the other match-up, it’s the retooled former champs, Las Vegas Aces, going against the undermanned, but Feverishly-hot Indiana.

Having barely survived their Game 3 match-up with the dethroned New York Liberty, the Mercury are not expected to derail the Lynx’ championship aspirations. The Mercury have a relatively new team bannered by the Satou-Alyssa connection, with Kahleah Copper and new acquisition Dewanna Bonner supporting. But this may not be able to match-up well against the solid Napheesa Collier-Kayla McBride-Courtney Williams sisterhood, with able support from Bridget Carleton, new-arrival Dijonai Carrington and more.

As for the Aces-Fever match-up, it will be a battle between the veterans of past championship wars versus the upstarts of the league. A’ja Wilson leads a veteran team in its dream of getting back to the Finals. Apart from fellow Olympians Young and Grey, she will have steady support from veterans Jewell Loyd and former Fever mainstay, NaLyssa Smith. The Fever newbies, untested this deep in the post-season, play with a nothing-to-lose, devil-may-care attitude. The Fever are led by Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull, with a great cheering effort from their walking wounded. And a strong vocal 6th man in their loyal fans, who are not found in Indiana alone.

Who moves up to the Finals? It looks like it will be Phee’s Lynx returning for unfinished business, while Aja’s Aces are raring to regain the crown they last wore in 2023.

Cover pics courtesy of Sportskeeda and Yahoo Sports. Other pics courtesy of Barn City Sports, AZ Central, Indy Star, The Grio, USA Today, Seattle Times, The Hollywood Report and ESPN.com. For a closer look, just click on the pics.