WNBA Semifinals Begin Sunday: Dream Host Liberty, Valkyries Welcome Aces
The short version
- Both WNBA semifinal series open Sunday: Atlanta hosts New York at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, and Golden State hosts Las Vegas at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
- Golden State is in the semifinals for the first time in its second season; Atlanta last reached this round in 2018.
- Atlanta won the season series against New York 2-1; Las Vegas swept Golden State 3-0.
- DeWanna Bonner is in her seventh consecutive semifinals after signing with Atlanta on Aug. 27; Angel Reese is the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
- Yahoo Sports expert Annie Costabile picks New York to eliminate Atlanta in four games.
Defending champion Las Vegas opens at Golden State and New York visits Atlanta as the WNBA semifinals begin Sunday — full schedule and TV channels for both series.
The WNBA semifinals begin Sunday, barely two days after the matchups were set. Defending champion Las Vegas faces Golden State, a second-year franchise in the round for the first time, while Atlanta meets New York in its first semifinals since 2018.
No. 4 Atlanta hosts No. 8 New York to open. Game 1 is Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, Game 2 is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and Game 3 is Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET in New York on ESPN2. If necessary, Game 4 is Oct. 11 in New York on ABC and Game 5 is Oct. 14 in Atlanta on ESPN. Atlanta won the season series 2-1.
In the other series, No. 3 Las Vegas visits No. 2 Golden State for Game 1 on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Game 2 is Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, Game 3 is Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas on Peacock and NBCSN, and if-necessary games follow Oct. 11 in Las Vegas on NBC and Peacock and Oct. 14 at Golden State on Peacock and NBCSN. Las Vegas swept the season series 3-0.
Atlanta's experience at this stage rests with two veterans. Jordin Canada brings nine seasons and a third semifinals berth, while DeWanna Bonner, in year 17 and her seventh straight semifinals, signed with the Dream on Aug. 27 and played only five regular-season games for the club. Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese is in her first postseason, and Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray and Naz Hillmon have been part of three consecutive first-round exits dating to 2023. Atlanta's previous semifinals trip ended against Washington in 2018.
The Dream swept the Mystics, the youngest team in the playoffs, behind a top-three defense built on disruption, having led the league with 9.1 steals per game that produced 18.1 points per game in the regular season. Bonner scored 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter of Game 1 to fuel a comeback. Canada answered in Game 2 with 13 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter plus two steals after Washington had cut the lead to three.
New York also arrives off a sweep, having held Minnesota to 25 points in the paint in the first round after the Lynx averaged 39.1 there in the regular season, largely by limiting Rookie of the Year Olivia Miles at the rim. It was the Liberty's best defensive stretch of the year, an upgrade from a regular season that ranked seventh in defensive rating (106.9) and sixth in points allowed in the paint (38.3).
New York's preparations have centered on the interior after Atlanta outscored the Liberty 128-104 in the paint across their three meetings. Gray rates among the league's best rim-attacking guards, and the Dream take the WNBA's largest share of their shots, 31.8 percent, from within five feet. Even in Atlanta's two wins — one with Breanna Stewart on the bench — New York won the rebounding battle and trailed only 18-15 on second-chance points.
Jonquel Jones versus Reese in the post, along with Gray against Pauline Astier and Sabrina Ionescu on the perimeter, shape up as the decisive individual battles. Yahoo Sports' Annie Costabile predicts the Liberty to win in four games, and writes that keeping up the defensive intensity would leave New York playing for a second championship in two seasons.
Golden State owned the WNBA's best regular-season defense by a wide margin, anchored by paint protection, and is at its strongest against offenses that move the ball in the half court. Isolation defense is the soft spot — Dallas guard Arike Ogunbowale exploited it in the first round, though the Valkyries advanced by limiting Paige Bueckers and Jessica Shepard — and it is the biggest reason Las Vegas won all three meetings. A'ja Wilson averaged 25 points on 51.9 percent shooting in those games, slightly below her season averages, and Jackie Young added 23.7 per game on 59.1 percent, her most efficient output against a playoff opponent. Gabby Williams, the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, had few answers for Wilson.
Games to watch
