Storm's first-round opponent is still undetermined entering regular season finale
By Christan Braswell, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The final frenzy is here. With one game remaining in the 2024 WNBA regular season, several teams are still jockeying for position before the playoffs begin. Here is an updated look at seeding entering Thursday’s season finale across the league:
The New York Liberty holds the No. 1 seed
The Minnesota Lynx holds the No. 2 seed
The Seattle Storm is locked in at No. 5
The Indiana Fever holds the No. 6 seed
The Phoenix Mercury holds the No. 7 seed
Where does that leave the Storm as far as a first-round opponent? Well, that’s where the annual frenzy IS to end the season.
Back on July 10th, 2024, the Seattle Storm hosted the Las Vegas Aces in the third game of the season series this year, falling at Climate Pledge Arena by a score of 79-84. (Photos by Kevin Ng)
After a close 78-76 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, the Connecticut Sun opened the door for the Las Vegas Aces to claim the No. 3 seed after defeating Seattle in a tiebreaker matchup on Tuesday. Here’s what the first round will look like depending on tomorrow’s end for the Aces:
If the Aces win and the Sun lose, the Aces are the No. 3 seed and face the Fever
If the Aces win and the Sun win, the Aces take the No. 4 seed instead and face the Storm
If the Aces lose, they are the No. 4 seed and face the Storm
No matter if they win or lose, both the Sun and Aces will have homecourt advantage in a best-of-three series. For reference, since the current playoff format was adopted in 2022, the Aces have yet to lose in the first round at their home, Michelob ULTRA Arena. For Las Vegas to climb a spot in the seeding, they need a win over the Dallas Wings who snuck a game away from the Aces in their season series on Aug. 27, currently standing at 2-1 in favor of the back-to-back defending champions.
If the Aces lose, they are guaranteed a first-round matchup with the Storm. As for guard Jewell Loyd (right knee), the teams availability report has the “Gold Mamba” listed as questionable for Thursday’s matchup against the Phoenix Mercury on the road in the regular season finale.
Center Ezi Magbegor (concussion) is day-to-day as she goes through concussion protocol. The two-time All-Defense talent is in good spirits, according to Storm coach Noelle Quinn in the teams pregame press conference ahead of the September 17th home loss to Las Vegas.
Seattle Storm stars Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor during the teams June 23rd, 2024 win over the Connecticut Sun at Climate pledge Arena. (Photos by Kevin Ng)
For the Sun, here’s what their first round could will look like after the final horn is sounded on Thursday:
If the Sun win, they take the No. 3 seed and face the Fever
If the Sun lose and the Aces lose, the Sun will be the No. 3 seed and face the Fever
If the Sun lose and the Aces win, the Sun are the No. 4 seed and face Seattle
Connecticut is in the driver’s seat of it’s immediate future as is Las Vegas. A win over the Chicago Sky, who sit in a three-way battle with the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream for the eight and final seed, guarantees them a meeting with the Indiana Fever.
While Storm fans are certainly happy to be back in the playoffs after an uncharacteristic-like 11-29 record in 2023, active eyes will be needed on Thursday to keep up with who Seattle will face. May the odds be ever in your favor.
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