{"id":46131,"date":"2026-08-15T06:55:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T01:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46131"},"modified":"2026-08-15T06:55:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T01:55:34","slug":"updated-2026-wnba-playoffs-bracket-picture-and-standings-after-aja-wilson-aces-clinch-berth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=46131","title":{"rendered":"Updated 2026 WNBA Playoffs Bracket Picture and Standings After A&#8217;ja Wilson, Aces Clinch Berth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/0\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">The Las Vegas Aces&#8217; quest for a fourth title in five seasons remains on track as they secured a berth in the 2026 WNBA playoffs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/2\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">As things currently stand, the reigning champions would claim the No. 3 seed in the postseason.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/9\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">The book on the Aces is basically exactly as it was in 2025: How far can they go on the strength of their best player?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/10\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Las Vegas is more than just four-time MVP A&#8217;ja Wilson. Chelsea Gray continues to be an elite playmaker with <strong class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit mui-8p7r4r\">7.0<\/strong> assists per game. Five-time All-Star Jackie Young is once again filling out the stat sheet (<strong class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit mui-8p7r4r\">18.7<\/strong> points, <strong class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit mui-8p7r4r\">4.<\/strong>5 rebounds and <strong class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit mui-8p7r4r\">6.6<\/strong> assists) as well.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/11\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Still, the Aces&#8217; biggest advantage is that they have the best player in the planet, and they&#8217;re noticeably worse whenever she&#8217;s not on the court.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/12\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Wilson is leading the WNBA in points (25.9) and blocks (2.1), and she&#8217;s third in rebounding (9.7). She continues to add more dimensions to her game as well. She&#8217;s shooting at a 41.6 percent clip from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/14\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Midway through the 2025 season, Las Vegas appeared to be reaching a crisis point when it sat at 14-14 into early August. The sharpness <a class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-inherit MuiLink-root MuiLink-underlineAlways MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__ui__link__medium_strong mui-mlpnpn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/onsi\/womens-fastbreak\/news\/becky-hammon-takes-undisciplined-aces-to-task-after-blowout-loss-to-storm-01jw4zejp391\">wasn&#8217;t there<\/a> compared to previous years, and that was exacerbated the lack of depth behind the team&#8217;s top stars. Perhaps it was time to shake things up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/16\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">The Aces proceeded to go on a 16-game winning streak to close out the year, and Wilson was firmly at the center of the turnaround. She averaged a double-double (26.1 points, 12.0 rebounds) and shot an astonishing 59.3 percent from long range during that run. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/17\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">The 6&#8217;4&#8243; center didn&#8217;t let up in the playoffs. In the Aces&#8217; last two wins of the Finals, she combined to score 65 points and collect 23 boards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/18\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Las Vegas faces some serious competition in its repeat bid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/19\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">Napheesa Collier made her return to the Minnesota Lynx in July, and Olivia Miles is the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year. The Indiana Fever have made positive strides with Caitlin Clark healthy for a full season. The Golden State Valkyries are building on making the playoffs as an expansion franchise in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/20\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">As long as Collier stays healthy, this could be the year the Lynx get over the hump after back-to-back playoff heartbreaks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5469724\/element\/21\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium mui-m06sf4\">But you don&#8217;t feel all that confident betting against Wilson in a postseason series.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Las Vegas Aces&#8217; quest for a fourth title in five seasons remains on track as they secured a berth in the 2026 WNBA playoffs. As things currently stand, the reigning champions would claim the No. 3 seed in the postseason. The book on the Aces is basically exactly as it was in 2025: How&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/gsp-image-cdn.wmsports.io\/cms\/prod\/bleacher-report\/getty_images\/2026-08\/2288380367_large_cropped.jpg?w=1120&h=630","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}