The Dallas Wings have clinched the playoffs and will not play All-Star Satou Sabally in their game against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday at 3 p.m. (NBA TV). Sabally returned from an Achilles injury in the Wings’ last game, but the team likely doesn’t want to push her any harder and wants to rest her for the playoffs. However, Dallas, currently the seventh seed is still playing for the No. 6 seed. If it wins both of its remaining games and the Chicago Sky lose both of theirs, the two teams will be tied for sixth at 15-17 and Dallas has the head-to-head tiebreaker.
So expect Arike Ogunbowale, Marina Mabrey and company to go full speed in an attempt to take down A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and the Aces, who have yet to clinch a double-bye.
Vegas was last seen blowing out the team that is chasing them, the third-place Minnesota Lynx. So they have just as much momentum and feel-good energy as the Wings, who beat the New York Liberty 77-76 on Saturday on a last-second block by Allisha Gray.
At halftime of the game Monday afternoon, former San Antonio Silver Star Becky Hammon’s No. 25 will be raised to the rafters at The House. The Silver Stars/Stars moved to Vegas and became the Aces in 2018.
Hammon played eight seasons in San Antonio and is currently an assistant coach for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. She also played eight seasons with the Liberty, finished her career with an impressive 3-point shooting percentage of 37.8 and made 829 threes, good for fourth all-time. Hammon is a six-time All-Star and four-time All-WNBA selection.
“Becky Hammon played a huge part in the history of our franchise before it moved to Las Vegas,” said Aces President Nikki Fargas. “And as we’ve continued to celebrate the 25th season of the WNBA, we wanted to officially recognize her retired jersey here at Mandalay Bay. Every one of the players who suited up for this team, in Las Vegas, San Antonio, or Utah, is always going to be a part of our Aces family, and we are looking forward to celebrating her tremendous career in front of our fans.”
Game information
Dallas Wings (13-7) vs. Las Vegas Aces (21-8)
When: Monday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, NV
How to watch: NBA TV or MYLVTV or BSSW+ or TSN3/5
Key to the matchup: 3-point shooting. The Aces are second in the league with a 3-point percentage of 37 and the Wings are fourth at 35.4 percent. So they’re both good, but we’ll see if the Wings have a good performance. Because if they do, they could gain some ground on Vegas, which only shoots 13 threes per game compared to 23.1 for Dallas.
Wings injury report: Bella Allarie (probable; knee), Satou Sabally (out; Achilles), Isabelle Harrison (out; health and safety protocols), Moriah Jefferson (out; hamstring)
Aces injury report: Angel McCoughtry (out for season; right knee), Liz Cambage (out; health and safety protocols), Dearica Hamby (probable; left ankle sprain)