The 2024 WNBA season has been defined by parity at the top to start the year: Almost every game has been a nail-biter and tightly contested, with the middle of the league quite close to blending with the top-flight title contenders. The postseason is a ways away, but if the first quarter of the season is any indication, we’re in for a wildly exciting close to the summer.

Headed into this weekend after an entertaining slate of Commissioner’s Cup play to set up the Championship Game, a trio of rivalry games stand out.

Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty (Saturday, June 15, 3 pm ET, ABC)

In our first regular season rematch since the 2023 WNBA Finals, the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces will take on the New York Liberty in Vegas. The Aces have had a rocky start to the season due to injury and absence, but A’ja Wilson has continued to dominate, somehow hitting an even higher level as a player after the best season of her career.

Las Vegas is fully exploring Wilson’s versatility on the court, running her off of screens, letting her create even more as a playmaker, and empowering her as the most dominant player in the game. How does everything start to click as star guard Chelsea Gray returns to the court? Gray is close to making her season debut, and much of what the Aces have missed can be chalked up to missing their floor general. As everyone returns to more natural roles and positions on the court, it will be interesting to see how the Aces’ bench and depth play out, as they have more to work with with Tip Hayes in the fold now.

For the Liberty, after back-to-back losses dropped them to 4-2 near the end of May, they’ve ripped off 7 straight victories, including a win over the previously unbeaten Connecticut Sun.

Sabrina Ionescu is playing the best basketball of her career and is more comfortable getting into the arc and finishing at the rim. The Liberty have been more consistent in getting Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney going offensively, which has paid dividends for the top-ranked offense in the W. They’re still finding their rhythm as they mix and match lineups, but the versatility off the bench has stood out for New York, and proven a strength during this winning streak. They have more options and solutions than last season, which bodes well for further rematches with the Aces.

This game won’t determine the full-season series, but it could be a crucial determining factor for each squad prior to the Olympic break.

Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever (Sunday, June 16, 12 pm, CBS)

In a showdown between two of the league’s up-and-coming young teams, the top talent in the association is on full display. 

First overall pick of the 2024 Draft, Caitlin Clark, and seventh overall pick Angel Reese face off for the second time as pros after a fun and exciting first matchup. 2023 Rookie of the Year, Aliyah Boston, is coming off of arguably the best game of her pro career, tying her career-high 27 points in a victory over Atlanta. Boston’s former teammate at South Carolina, Kamilla Cardoso, the third overall pick in 2024, has slid into the starting lineup of late for the Sky and continues to showcase her potential.

While neither team is contending for a championship this season, they are building towards the WNBA Finals’ of the future, and every game between the pair of teams is a must-see.

The season has been up and down for Indiana as they’ve sought to find cohesion as a team. The win against Atlanta was a highlight of that, with high highs but inconsistency along the way. However, the final 5 minutes of the 4th quarter may be the best moments we’ve seen between the past two top overall picks. Boston and Clark really found a flow and rhythm in their games, meshing with more intention in sets in the halfcourt.

Caitlin showed fantastic awareness and growth as a playmaker, handling ball pressure with a comfortability she didn’t have in the season’s opening weeks. Aliyah established position early and often, and the team worked with patience they’ve not often had this season, routinely getting her the ball in her spots. Those are the five minutes the Fever hope to build upon moving forward.

For the Sky, Angel Reese has hit second gear as she’s acclimated to the league. Before Friday night’s game with the Mystics, Reese was averaging 14 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game in June. Her defensive activity and freneticism have been vital for a Chicago team built on that defensive foundation, currently in the league’s upper half in defensive rating. She’s consistently seeing the court and making plays with the ball in her hands, popping with her potential as a point forward and offensive hub.

Seattle Storm vs Phoenix Mercury (Sunday, June 16, 3 pm ET, ABC)

In the game I’m perhaps most excited for, we get our first meeting between the Storm and Mercury with star center Brittney Griner. The Storm took the first meeting in early June, handily winning by 18 points, but the Mercury have won their first two matchups with BG healthy, wins over Minnesota and Dallas.

Phoenix has just made more sense with Griner in place, her gravity inside the arc opening up a wealth of opportunities for the Mercury’s perimeter options. Kahleah Copper has been a huge beneficiary of Griner’s return, going off for 63 points across those two matchups. They are a difficult matchup with Phoenix’s blend of shooting, off-ball movement, and Griner’s interior force.

The Storm, on the other hand, righted the ship after a tough start to the season, going 7-1 after a 1-3 start, their lone loss to the Minnesota Lynx.

Skylar Diggins-Smith has found her form again and is playing with the verve and confidence that sets her apart from her peers. Her shotmaking hasn’t yet hit her usual levels of consistency, but her playmaking and ability to get to the rim continue to open up the floor for the Storm. Jewell Loyd has carried much of Seattle’s offense and also had some difficulty getting into a rhythm, largely due to the Storm’s relative lack of floor spacing. They’re not a high-volume shooting team or a very accurate one yet, and they’ve been guarded as such, which has put a lot of pressure on Seattle’s guards and any scoring chances in the lane.

However, Seattle has really started to find something between Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor. There have been some flashes of the high-low game between the pair, and each brings unique skill and ability to attack the basket that most traditional centers can struggle to guard.

When Ogwumike and Magbegor share the court (227 minutes), the Storm currently outperform the opposition by 14.7 points per 100 possessions, sporting a 90.3 defensive rating that would lead the WNBA by a significant margin.

With one of the strongest defensive foundations in the league, the Storm have a steady base from which to keep experimenting while playing at an incredibly high level as they work towards title contention.