The first half of the 2023 WNBA season is in the books, and now, so too is the All-Star break. When the action begins again on Tuesday, there will be less than two months until the end of the regular season on Sept. 10. There is still plenty to be decided during the stretch run, and plenty of exciting basketball in store.
Here's a look at the five biggest storylines of the second half of the season:
1. Can the Aces finish with the highest winning percentage ever?
The defending champion Las Vegas Aces are, without a doubt, the best team in the league. What was supposed to be a season-long superteam battle between themselves and the Liberty has not developed, simply because the Aces have been too good.
They were tied for the best start through 15 games in WNBA history, and had the third-best record through 20 games. Their plus-305-point differential through 20 games was the best ever, and they're on pace to have the most efficient offense of all-time (114.7 offensive rating). They have six of the 10 biggest wins in the league this season and their plus-19.1 net rating is on pace to be the best in league history.
Perhaps the most notable statistic, however, is that they're set to smash the single-season wins record, which was set by the 2009 Phoenix Mercury, who won 29 games. That was in a 34-game season, however, and with how often the league has changed the amount of games played – this season teams are playing a record 40 games – it's worthwhile to look at their winning percentage to see where they stand in history.
There have been four instances in WNBA history of a team posting a winning percentage of .850 or better:
| Year | Team | Record | Winning % |
|---|---|---|---|
1998 | Comets | 27-3 | .900 |
2000 | Sparks | 28-4 | .875 |
2001 | Sparks | 28-4 | .857 |
2009 | Mercury | 29-5 | .853 |
At 19-2, the Aces have a .905 winning percentage, which would be the best ever recorded. With the wins record all but locked up, can they surpass the 1998 Comets and claim the best winning percentage ever as well?
2. Another Wilson vs. Stewart MVP race
The two best players in the WNBA are reigning MVP A'ja Wilson and 2022 MVP runner-up Breanna Stewart. Or, 2022 MVP runner-up Breanna Stewart and reigning MVP A'ja Wilson, depending on how you view the debate. But whatever side you're on, there's no question that those two superstars are the best in the game.
In two of the past three seasons, they have finished in the top two in MVP voting, with Wilson winning both times. It appears that will be the case once again this summer, though Stewart has the advantage heading into the All-Star break. She's a -350 favorite, while Wilson checks in at +325; no one else is better than +1400, per Caesars Sportsbook.
Stewart has been unbelievable for the Liberty in her first season with the club. Her 23.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game are all career-highs, and she's shooting 47.6% from the field and 41.1% from 3-point land. She's second in scoring, first in rebounding and has a chance to become the first player to average 20 points and nine rebounds for a season, let alone four assists as well. And while the Liberty may be a bit underwhelming relative to expectations, they're still 14-4 and sit in second place.
If Stewart is able to finish the season strong and win the award for the second time in her career, it will put her in rarefied air. Only seven other players have won multiple MVPs, and she would join Cynthia Cooper and Lisa Leslie as the only players with at least two MVPs, Finals MVPs and championships.
3. Jewell Loyd chasing history
As expected, the Seattle Storm have taken a step back following the departures of Breanna Stewart (free agency) and Sue Bird (retirement). Now without two members of their two-time title-winning big three, the Storm sit in last place at the All-Star break at 4-16.
While the team may be struggling, Jewell Loyd is not. The veteran shooting guard has had to take on a much bigger role, and is pouring in the points. Through 18 games, she's averaging a career-high and league-leading 25.7 points – her previous best was 17.9 points in 2021 – while shooting 40.5% from 3-point land.
She's not only on pace to win the first scoring title of her career, but she's also on pace to have the best scoring season in WNBA history. Diana Taurasi is the only other player to ever average at least 25 points for a season, and currently holds the record at 25.3 points in 2006. In fact, no one besides Taurasi has even gotten to 24 points per game for an entire season.
There have been 26 30-point games in the league this summer, and Loyd has six of them. She's set a new career-high multiple times this season, and her 41-point effort on June 29 is the second-highest-scoring game in Storm franchise history.
Unless she gets injured – she's had an ankle sprain and foot problem in recent weeks, though neither seems major – she'll have every chance to break Taurasi's record and become the league's new single-season scoring champion.
4. Taurasi to invent the 10,000 points club
Speaking of Taurasi, the legend's career is winding down, but she can still put the ball in the basket. Her 14.7 points per game are good for 25th in the league, and second only to herself in 2022 for the best scoring season by a 40-year-old in league history.
While her single-season scoring record may be going down this summer, her all-time scoring mark is safe and secure. Taurasi passed Tina Thompson for first place in 2017 and has continued to grow her lead. Entering the All-Star break she has 9,914 career points – 2,426 more than Thompson and 3,340 more than Candace Parker, the next closest active player.
The next major milestone is 10,000 points, which no WNBA player has ever reached. Assuming Taurasi doesn't miss any games in the next few weeks, she's on pace to reach that mark on Aug. 1 against the Indiana Fever. The accomplishment, when it happens, will be a testament to her incredible scoring ability and longevity.
5. When will the tanking begin?
The threshold for making the WNBA playoffs is not that high. Nearly every season there is at least one team that makes the postseason with a sub-.500 record, if not multiple. We've seen teams take advantage of that and go on runs, such as the 2021 Chicago Sky, who won the title as a 16-16 No. 6 seed, or the 2016 Phoenix Mercury, who went to the semifinals as a 16-18 No. 8 seed. More often, though, teams that should be in the lottery end up backing into the playoffs and getting sent home early.
That dilemma is more relevant than ever this season. At the All-Star break, the Minnesota Lynx sit in seventh at 9-11, while the Chicago Sky are in eighth at 8-12. Behind both of them are in front of the ninth-place Los Angeles Sparks at 7-13 and the 10th-place Indiana Fever at 5-15. None of those teams are going to compete this season, but two of them will have to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the 2024 draft class, which could feature all four of Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese, has a chance to be one of the best we've ever seen.
As we move toward the stretch run, it will be interesting to see when the tanking begins. The Sky don't have their first-round pick next year, so they might as well try to make the playoffs, but everyone else would be better off getting into the lottery. A player like Clark or Bueckers could change the course of a franchise, and the chance to draft them is worth far more than a bit of playoff experience.
