The WNBA history books are clear: a 2-0 series deficit has been a death sentence for every single team in postseason play. Seriously, teams that go up 2-0 in a series? They’re a perfect 20-0 all time. Right now, the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces and the star-studded New York Liberty are both staring down that impossible stat, trailing their respective semifinal series 2-0, with both series set to resume Friday.
20-0 and the Weight of WNBA History
Look, 20-0 isn’t some tiny sample size, even if the playoff format has changed over the years. We’re talking about a record that stretches back decades. Best-of-five series only hit the WNBA Finals in 2005, and then weren’t even in the semifinals until 2016 when the league switched to a top-eight format. And last season, they even bumped the Finals to best-of-seven! For the first two decades, there were only 11 series where a team could even get a 2-0 lead. Until this year’s Finals, the only way to come back was to win three straight in a best-of-five. It all adds up: no team has ever pulled this off. The Golden State Valkyries have taken a 2-0 lead over the Aces, and the Atlanta Dream are up 2-0 on the Liberty, and let’s be real, both the Dream and Valkyries have played some inspired basketball so far. They’ve been the better teams, no question. Now, with the series shifting to Las Vegas and Brooklyn, it feels like everyone’s writing off both the Aces and Liberty already.
Can the Best Players in the World Rewrite History?
So, can it actually happen? Our experts are split, but there’s a strong vibe that if *any* teams are going to make WNBA history, it’s these two squads. We’re talking about championship cores, led by arguably the two best players in the world: Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson. Even though one expert, Lindsay Gibbs, originally picked both the Liberty and Aces to win their series and didn’t expect them to go down 0-2 (even on the road!), she also knows that recency bias is real and it’s tough to see them advancing right now. But here’s the thing: if anyone can flip the script, it’s these two.
Gibbs actually thinks the Liberty are “simply a better team” than the Aces, pointing to their depth, length, and versatility. Just a few days ago, the Liberty looked absolutely unstoppable when they knocked out the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx. But against the Dream, the physicality has clearly rocked them, leading to 19 turnovers in Game 1 and then another 16 in Game 2. That’s just too many giveaways. The good news? Turnovers are definitely something you can clean up. For the Liberty, they need Stewie to keep doing “Stewie things,” Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich to get back to their first-round form, and Sabrina Ionescu to pull some magic out of Barclays, because we’ve all seen her do it before.
Both the Aces and Liberty have a monumental task ahead of them as their semifinal series move to their home courts. The stakes are everything: a trip to the WNBA Finals and a chance to make unprecedented history. Can either of these teams really become the first to break the WNBA’s ironclad 20-0 rule? Friday can’t come fast enough!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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