WNBA: Lynx, Liberty meet in second Finals rematch

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There are five games scheduled for Sunday in the WNBA, but if you can only watch one, then be prepared for a Minnesota Lynx-New York Liberty matinee.

The Liberty are the defending champs and the Lynx are running away with the No.1 seed, making this second rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals—and possible preview of this year’s WNBA Finals—a contest every fan should be watching. Minnesota won the first rematch 100-93 at home on July 30. The second installment will take place in Brooklyn at 12:30 p.m. ET and will air on ABC/ESPN+.

Let’s jump right in and preview this one before running through the rest of the WNBA games that will bring the weekend to a close.

Where the Lynx and Liberty stand

While the Lynx have been running away with the league, they are without their ace Napheesa Collier. She’s dealing with a right ankle sprain and will miss the next couple of weeks.

In her absence, players like Alanna Smith will have to step up. She did just that against the Mystics earlier this week, scoring 25 points to extend the Lynx’s winning streak to four games. Even though Minnesota has been in front for essentially the entire year, the front office has been hard at work trying to improve this team. They traded for DiJonai Carrington, giving them an elite defensive guard who could be the missing piece the Lynx need to secure the franchise’s fifth title.

The Liberty also made a move before the trade deadline, signing free agent Emma Meesseman. By adding an All-Star-level talent to an already elite team, Meesseman’s arrival almost feels unfair, with the best simply getting better. However, when you have a window for winning titles, you do whatever is possible to secure rings, and with Meesseman, the Liberty have done just that.

This game won’t be the end-all, be-all on how these two match up, as Breanna Stewart, who missed the first rematch between the two teams, also remains sidelined with a knee injury, but it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top.

With the Phoenix Mercury and Atlanta Dream both sitting at 19-11, this game has huge standings implications. Luckily for Atlanta, they’ve already won the season series, so this game is a chance for them to earn the sweep.

For Phoenix, a win would place them as the No. 3 seed and, depending on the result of the above game, potentially tied with the Liberty for the No. 2 spot. Alyssa Thomas is having an MVP-type season, and her coming up big against Allisha Gray and the Dream could help bolster her case, all while also placing the Mercury higher in the standings.

Like a monster in a horror movie, the Aces refuse to die. They appeared dead in the water at the halfway point of the season, but they’ve won seven of their last 10 and are just a half-game back of the No. 5 seed.

The same players you know and love getting it done in Las Vegas. A’ja Wilson is averaging 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds, while Jackie Young leads the backcourt with 16.9 points.

With Chelsea Gray and Jewell Lloyd finding their grooves, the Aces may continue to stack wins. They have a great opportunity to do just that on Sunday as they face the worst team in the league, the Connecticut Sun.

The Los Angeles Sparks lost a brutal game against the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday. They have no time to linger on it, as they have a game on Sunday at home against the Seattle Storm.

The last time these two teams played, it went into double overtime, where Dearica Hamby secured the Sparks win. If LA wants to replicate that result, they’ll have to dig deep on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Washington Mystics and Dallas Wings also meet on Sunday. Washington is slowly slipping out of the playoff picture, and Dallas was never in the running this year. The Mystics need this win if they still want to have games on their schedule after the regular season ends.