We’re headed into the Commissioner’s Cup championship game between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty. Still, the two teams met up before this contest for a fun preview ahead of their clash at Barclays Center on June 30th. 

These two squads are pretty clear contenders, but the Aces seem to be flying a lot higher than the Liberty at the moment. Despite that, New York managed to beat Las Vegas in their Cup championship preview. 

Another contentious game between the Dallas Wings and Minnesota Lynx, a quadruple overtime game between the Washington Mystics and Portland Fire, a surge from an unlikely source in Chicago, and Cheryl Reeve on the brink of history were all things I liked from this past week in the WNBA.

First Taste of Commissioner’s Cup Championship

Han Xu #21 of the New York Liberty

Who would’ve thought that the Liberty’s X-factor against the Aces wouldn’t be winning the guard battle, or Breanna Stewart edging out perennial MVP candidate A’ja Wilson, but Han Xu providing 12 points in 13 minutes off the bench en route to a New York win?

Xu went a perfect 6-6 from the field in her limited minutes off the bench for the Liberty, hitting both of her three-point attempts. Her bench contributions were key for New York in the 2nd half, as she helped match the scoring from Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu to get New York over the hump necessary to take Las Vegas down. 

Since this contest, though, New York has lost their only two contests prior to the Cup championship – one game against the Seattle Storm, when they were shorthanded, and one against the Golden State Valkyries, where they simply couldn’t stop their paint penetration or match their shooting from the field. 

Las Vegas, on the other hand, took down the Wings and Sky as they head to New York for the Cup. They’re still looking like the team to beat this season, with Wilson somehow looking so good this year that it isn’t getting enough hype – her unbelievably performances are actually just becoming routine for us all to witness.

Wings-Lynx Rivalry Continues to Brew

Hand clapping, technicals, and “too little” celebrations were sprinkled throughout the Wings’ loss to the Lynx at home over the weekend. Things were a bit heated between Wings star Paige Bueckers and current ROTY frontrunner Olivia Miles, specifically, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to fans with how competitive those two players are. 

It was a physical matchup that nearly became a down-to-the-wire battle thanks to some clutch Azzi Fudd buckets in the second half, but Dallas continues to struggle to get stops at the rim with a lack of a protector in the front court. Minnesota, and specifically Miles and Natasha Howard, took full advantage of this by posting 38 paint points to Dallas’ 28. 

These two young backcourt stars could very well meet in the postseason, so their games against one another have been a fun potential preview of a new playoff rivalry brewing.

Quadruple OT Game Makes WNBA History

Yes, you’re reading that subheading right – there were four extra quarters played to determine a winner of a Mystics-Fire game over the weekend. Exhausted watching the players doesn’t even begin to describe what it felt like watching this contest, which ended in a win for Washington. 

The game, which ended 124-123, ties a 2001 game between Washington and Seattle as the longest in WNBA history. The 247 points scored in this game were also the second-most scored in WNBA history. And, to add even more history, the eight players who logged 45 or more minutes on the court were the most players to go for that long in WNBA history. 

This was, aside from the obvious barn-burner feel of it all, also a great showcase of young talent in Portland and Washington. Carla Leite and Sarah Ashlee Barker did their best to lead the Fire to the win in this one, with Leite hitting the three-pointer that carried Portland into the first overtime period that kicked off the mayhem. But, Washington’s young core – Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron – in addition to veteran Michaela Onyenwere, carried them to a win. 

Sydney Taylor Turning Heads in Chicago

Sydney Taylor #12 of the Chicago Sky

“She’s from New York, and she plays like she’s from New York, and sometimes you can just tell. We were kind of surprised that she had gone under the radar as much as she has.”

That was Tyler Marsh speaking to reporters about Sky guard Sydney Taylor, an undrafted free agent who has gone from an end-of-bench piece to one of Chicago’s biggest spark plugs amid a down season. 

The Long Island native has put together some sensational performances in June, including a 30-point game in a loss against the Indiana Fever, a 29-point game in a win against the Fire on Friday, and a solid 6-13 shooting performance in a loss to the Aces. Chicago had been sorely missing that floor-spacing shooting from its lineup to aid its front-court-heavy roster, and Taylor seems to be the answer to those problems as of now.

Reeve One Win Away from History

As I wrote about last week, Reeve is on the brink of history. She’s now just one win away from surpassing Mike Thibault as the all-time WNBA regular-season wins holder, and that could come as soon as this coming Friday against the Liberty. It’s a 2024 Finals rematch, so that’s already an exciting factor involved in the game, but it could also get Reeve over that 380-win hump necessary to become the sole regular-season wins record holder. 

With the way these two teams are playing – Minnesota acting as a bulldozer led by Miles, and New York still seemingly working out the kinks related to a new coach and a re-tooled bench – it feels likely that the Lynx can secure that record-sealing win with Reeve this weekend. 

This will be the two teams’ first meeting with one another this season – what a way to kick off their remaining three contests against one another for the year.