Fever Open WNBA Playoffs Against Defending Champion Aces in Las Vegas

OriginalGlobal Sportscast deskSep 27, 2026 · 10:08 UTC

The short version

No. 6 seed Indiana Fever face No. 3 seed Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-three first-round series beginning Sunday, Sept. 27.
Clark scored a career-low two points in the regular-season finale, an 86-66 loss to Minnesota.
Indiana won the season series 2-1 but lost the most recent meeting 86-84 in overtime on Aug. 6.
Las Vegas beat Indiana in five games in the 2025 semifinals and won the championship over Phoenix.
The series continues Tuesday, Sept. 29 in Indiana, with a potential Game 3 on Oct. 1 in Las Vegas.

Caitlin Clark and sixth-seeded Indiana begin a best-of-three first-round series against A'ja Wilson and Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon.

The 2026 WNBA Playoffs get underway with a first-round series pitting Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. Indiana enters as the No. 6 seed, while Las Vegas holds the No. 3 seed and hosts the opener at Michelob Ultra Arena.

Indiana closed the regular season on a down note, falling 86-66 to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx on Sept. 24. Clark managed a career-low two points on 1-of-12 shooting in that game, while Kelsey Mitchell scored 10, which ended her league-record run of 27 straight games with at least 20 points. Indiana also saw All-Star Aliyah Boston and reserve guard Ty Harris leave with injuries. After the loss, Clark said everyone's record was 0-0 entering the playoffs and that the team could not dwell on the defeat.

The Fever took two of three meetings with Las Vegas during the regular season, though Clark missed one of those games entirely and played on a minutes restriction in another. The most recent matchup, an 86-84 overtime loss on Aug. 6, went against Indiana. Clark finished that game with 20 points and eight assists but missed two free throws that could have iced the game in regulation and committed eight turnovers, the last of which came in the final 10 seconds and set up Chelsea Gray's buzzer-beating three for the win.

There is recent postseason history between the clubs as well. In the 2025 semifinals, Indiana — playing without Clark — pushed Las Vegas to the brink in Game 5 before the Aces prevailed 107-98. Las Vegas went on to beat the Phoenix Mercury in the Finals, with A'ja Wilson earning her second Finals MVP after averaging 28.5 points and 11.8 rebounds in the series.

Clark's 2026 regular season was the strongest of her three-year career. Across 40 games she averaged 22.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists, shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three. She previously averaged 19.2 points as a rookie in 2024 and 16.5 points in 13 games in 2025.

The first round is a best-of-three. Game 2 shifts to Indiana on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 5:30 p.m. CT, with a decisive Game 3, if needed, back in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 1 at a time to be announced. The semifinals begin Oct. 4 as best-of-five series running no later than Oct. 14, and the best-of-seven Finals are set to start Oct. 17 and end by Oct. 31.

Elsewhere in the bracket, No. 1 Minnesota faces No. 8 New York, No. 2 Golden State meets No. 7 Dallas, and No. 4 Atlanta takes on No. 5 Washington. DraftKings listed Minnesota as the championship favorite at +115 as of Sept. 25, followed by Las Vegas at +475, Golden State at +600, Atlanta at +700 and Indiana at +950.

Game 1 tips off Sunday, Sept. 27 at 4:00 PM EDT from Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, with the broadcast airing on ABC.