WNBA Week Ahead: Caitlin Clark, Fever fight for playoff spot, Aces-Liberty face off in a Finals rematch

The WNBA season resumes on Thursday after a month-long Olympic break, and teams will battle to secure their playoff spot over the coming weeks.

There’s a whole lot of basketball to tune into this weekend, but here’s a couple of must-watch games to prioritize as we get back into the swing of the regular season.

The New York Liberty (21-4) are championship favorites. The Sparks (6-18) — dealing with injuries and in the midst of a rebuild — are mostly out of the playoff picture.

Still, WNBA basketball is officially back, and this game features two of the biggest sports markets, and several of the sport’s most exciting players.

It’s possible that some of the Liberty’s Olympians will sit this one out — Breanna Stewart (USA), Sabrina Ionescu (USA), Leonie Fiebich (Germany), and Nyara Sabally (Germany) are all back from Paris after long tournament runs, which could make this one a bit more competitive than it otherwise might be.

Meanwhile, for the Sparks, Dearica Hamby — in the midst of the best season of her career — is fresh off of a Bronze medal win with the U.S. 3x3 Olympic basketball team.

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever (11-15) have been trending upwards as the season’s progressed and currently sit in 7th place in the league standings, meaning that if the playoffs began tomorrow, the Fever would be in action. Every game matters from this point forward, and the Fever, who had no Olympic players, should be well-rested.

The Mercury (13-12) have been a .500 team for much of the season, but will want to begin rattling off some wins and build some momentum ahead of the playoffs. The star trio of Olympians Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, and Kahleah Copper is all healthy and will be key to securing victories in the last leg of the regular season.

This is game of the week. Liberty-Aces is a rematch of last year’s Finals, which the Aces (16-8) took in four games. This season, the Liberty has been the far more consistent team, and when the two teams faced off earlier this year, the Liberty came out on top. Both teams had a strong Olympic presence, so resting key players could be on the table. For the Aces, A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Kelsey Plum all represented Team USA, while Megan Gustafson represented Spain.

Still, a matchup between last year’s WNBA Finals teams — and two of the top championship contenders — is always must-watch. It could also be a preview of what’s the come in October.

It’s make-or-break time for the Storm, who have been competitive all year but haven’t quite been elite. Between Skylar Diggins-Smith, Nneka Ogwumike, Ezi Magbegor, and Jewell Loyd, this roster should have enough to contend this season, but they’ll want to come out on fire from the gate.

The Fever were playing their best basketball heading into the break, and if Caitlin Clark can continue facilitating at the historic clip she was prior to the Olympics, they’ll continue to be hard to beat. Aliyah Boston has also found a rhythm, as has Kelsey Mitchell — both were named All-Stars and will be instrumental to Indiana’s playoff chances.

Can Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky hold on to the 8th seed and last spot in the WNBA playoffs? Reese has already made history this season with the most consecutive double-doubles by any player in WNBA history, and currently sits as the league’s top rebounder. Meanwhile, Chennedy Carter has emerged as one of the league’s most unstoppable scorers, and can take over any basketball game at any given moment.

But, the Sky shipped out Marina Mabrey ahead of the break, and in turn, they lost their second-leading scorer. A win against the Mercury — a veteran team right in the middle of the playoff picture — would go a long way toward instilling confidence in this young group and fending off teams like the Dream, Sparks, Mystics, and Wings, all of whom are just a few games removed from the last playoff spot.