Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson and top challenger Alyssa Thomas will meet for the third time this season when the Las Vegas Aces play the host Phoenix Mercury on Friday.

Aces center Wilson and Mercury point forward Thomas are in a race with injured Minnesota center Napheesa Collier for the award that Wilson has won three times in the last five seasons.

The Aces (19-14) enter on a five-game winning streak after defeating defending league champion New York 83-77 on Wednesday, and now look to gain another game on Phoenix (19-12).

The Mercury have not played since having a three-game winning streak broken Sunday in a 74-66 home loss to the Atlanta Dream (who sit atop the Eastern Conference at 21-11).

Wilson had 17 points and 16 rebounds against the Liberty, getting seven rebounds (five offensive) in the fourth quarter as the Aces overcame a two-point deficit after three.

Guard Jewell Loyd had 21 points and five 3-pointers in her eighth game off the bench. The Aces are 7-1 since she took that role.

“I just try to come in and get a rhythm, try to see what we need,” said Loyd, who is averaging 15.5 points off the bench and 10.4 as a starter.

The teams split the first two in the series, each winning on the other’s home floor. Wilson had 26 and 18 in the Aces’ 84-81 victory in Phoenix on June 29. She did not play in the Mercury’s 76-70 victory June 15.

Both Wilson and Thomas set WNBA records in the last week. Wilson had the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in league history in a 94-86 victory over Connecticut last Sunday, when she also tied Tina Charles’ league record with six 30/15 games.

Thomas became the first player in league history to record three straight triple-doubles (she was also the first player with two) in a 95-60 victory over Indiana on Aug. 7, a streak that ended in the loss to Atlanta.

Thomas has 16 double-doubles this season. Wilson has 15. Chicago’s Angel Reese leads the league with 17.

Wilson is second to Collier in scoring (22.0) and second to Reese in rebounds (9.8). Thomas is averaging 16.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and a league-high 9.0 assists.

The Mercury, in the last of a four-game homestand, welcomed the recent break before a three-game road trip that begins Sunday and ends with a rematch in Las Vegas on Aug. 21.

The Mercury played nine games in 19 days after the All-Star break.

“We’re all looking forward to having these days off to reset mentally, physically,” Thomas said.

–Field Level Media

Meeting for the second time in three days, this time in the WNBA’s first regular-season game outside the United States, the red-hot Atlanta Dream will try to make matters worse for the reeling Seattle Storm on Friday in Vancouver.

The neutral site game in Canada will mark the fifth time the league has played internationally, following preseason exhibitions in Mexico (2004), England (2011), Toronto (2023) and Edmonton (2024). Friday will also be a precursor to the first WNBA team based outside the States, as the Toronto Tempo will begin play next season.

Atlanta (21-11) remains in the Pacific Northwest following its 85-75 victory at Seattle on Wednesday. The Dream extended their season-long winning streak to six games and overtook the New York Liberty by half a game atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Rhyne Howard, in her second game back from a knee injury after a monthlong absence, led the Dream with 25 points, including three 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter to help Atlanta pull away.

“It’s fun to have her back,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said of Howard. “To break out like she did, especially at the end of the third quarter, that’s exactly what she’s capable of doing and it was huge for us.”

Allisha Gray leads Atlanta with 19 points per game, followed by Howard’s 16.3 ppg.

The Dream will again be without starting point guard Jordin Canada (right hamstring), who was hurt Sunday against the Phoenix Mercury.

Seattle (16-17) enters play 0-6 in August, the team’s longest losing skid since dropping 10 in a row in 2023. Each of the Storm’s five previous defeats were decided by four points or fewer before Wednesday’s 10-point setback.

“These moments, they deflate us and we can’t get them back,” Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said. “For me as a coach, it’s about empowering and providing confidence and having a next-play mentality, but individual players have to find that within themselves and pour that into their teammates. … Time is running out and my team knows it.”

In the midst of a dreadful stretch, veteran Nneka Ogwumike has scored in double figures in 16 straight games, including a 29-point output on Wednesday. Ogwumike is averaging 18.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for the Storm, who are in danger of missing out on the postseason for just the seventh time in 26 seasons.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Sparks, one of the hottest teams in the WNBA over the past month, will try to recover from a modest stumble when they face the Dallas Wings on Friday in Arlington, Texas.

The Sparks won the initial game of the season series with Dallas 93-79 on the road June 6. Friday’s contest is the first of three between the teams over the final month of the campaign.

Los Angeles (15-17) is coming off a 105-97 home loss to the New York Liberty on Tuesday. Kelsey Plum poured in 26 points, Dearica Hamby added 21 points and Azura Stevens and Rickea Jackson had 17 and 16 points, respectively.

The Sparks fell for just the third time in their past 12 games. They were looking to get back to .500 for the first time since opening the season 1-1.

“(We plan to) just continue the momentum we’ve had the last 12 games,” Hamby said following the loss. “One game shouldn’t break us. We did a lot of things well, but we didn’t play our best basketball. We have really important games coming up that we should win, and (we’ll) go from there.”

Los Angeles’ Cameron Brink, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2024, collected two points and three rebounds in five first-half minutes and did not see the court in the second half after tweaking her ankle. She was playing in her seventh game since missing more than a year following knee surgery. She was back at practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Wings (9-24) head home after a rousing 81-80 win in Indiana on Tuesday that snapped a five-game losing streak. Maddy Siegrist tied a career high with 22 points for Dallas, with Li Yueru adding 20 points and Paige Bueckers amassing 16 points and eight assists.

The Wings used a 19-0 run in the third quarter to build a huge lead and were still up by 17 midway through the fourth before Indiana roared back. The Fever actually had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Kelsey Mitchell’s shot was off the mark, which allowed Dallas to win for just the second time in its past nine outings.

Star guard Arike Ogunbowale did not play for Dallas against Indiana because of right knee soreness and has been ruled out for Friday’s game.

“For me, the most important thing was getting the win,” Siegrist said. “So that was the mentality going in. Obviously, without Arike (Tuesday night), we kind of knew it was going to be step-up-by-committee. It feels good when shots go in. I’m just trying to be more consistent.”

–Field Level Media

After two games away from Chicago, the Sky return home to try to turn the season around with one month remaining, starting Friday with a matchup against the Golden State Valkyries.

Chicago (8-24) is on a 1-11 skid, which included the absence of star forward Angel Reese in the last six contests. A back injury continues to keep Reese out of games, with no timetable provided by the Sky or head coach Tyler Marsh.

On Wednesday against the host Connecticut Sun, the Sky were down 27-21 in the second quarter when Chicago’s Rebecca Allen and Connecticut’s Bria Hartley got into a shoving match that led to both players’ ejections, along with the ejection of Sky starting guard Ariel Atkins for joining the altercation.

Their ejections turned into a 15-7 run for the Sun to end the first half in a 71-62 win, Chicago’s third defeat in a row. Without Atkins, the Sky struggled but still battled back late in the fourth quarter.

“Ariel (Atkins) is one of one. Obviously as a player, as an Olympian, but as a person more importantly, and I think she just does a great job of lifting everybody up,” Chicago’s Elizabeth Williams said. “So, we just tried to emulate that as much as possible.”

The Valkyries (17-15) traveled to Chicago after Golden State defeated the host Washington Mystics 88-83 on Wednesday night in a game that was not as close as the final score indicates.

In the second quarter, the Valkyries were up 25 points and held the Mystics’ All-Star rookie guard Sonia Citron to two points in the first three quarters. Golden State, led by career highs in scoring from Veronica Burton (30) and Cecilia Zandalasini (20), weathered Citron’s 13-point barrage in the final quarter to hold on to the victory.

That’s something the team struggled with earlier in the season due in part to roster instability.

“It’s the stop of changes of the roster and also, you know, no more EuroBasket,” head coach Natalie Nakase said. “So, we finally have a team that I feel like we now have some rhythm.”

Golden State has two victories over Chicago this season, including a 73-66 win in Chicago on Aug. 1 behind an 18-point performance from Burton.

–Field Level Media

The Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever are both slumping, so one of them will claim a much-needed outcome when they meet Friday night in Indianapolis.

The Mystics (14-18) have lost five of their last six games, including 88-83 at home to Golden State despite outscoring the Valkyries 31-18 in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night.

The Fever (18-15) have lost three of their last four games. That includes an 81-80 setback at home to the lowly Dallas Wings on Tuesday night despite Kelsey Mitchell’s 24 points.

Defensive glitches have defined the Mystics in recent games, and those were glaring when they yielded 15 3-point baskets to the Valkyries.

But the offense is up to snuff, Washington coach Sydney Johnson said. He’s putting a positive spin on the situation.

“There is so many other good things that went on,” he said. “There’s just so many different success stories with this group.”

Washington forward Shakira Austin missed Wednesday’s game with a sore left leg, but the ailment isn’t expected to cause a long-term absence.

“Everyone has a bump or bruise,” Johnson said.

Indiana is looking for crisper execution on offense.

“I did want us to push in transition with a low clock and limited opportunity,” Fever coach Stephanie White said of an ill-fated final possession against Dallas.

Mitchell, who missed the game’s final shot on Tuesday, continues to carry an offensive load as she was Indiana’s top scorer in three of the last four games.

White has been outspoken about officiating, again offering opinions this week. She said Mitchell is held or chucked regularly and “never gets a call.”

The coach is also defending center Aliyah Boston.

“I think Aliyah Boston is the worst officiated post player in the league,” White said. “She never gets a call. There’s a double standard there.”

Yet the Fever are expecting to see backcourt pressure from opponents because of injuries. All-Star Caitlin Clark has missed 11 consecutive games because of a right groin injury, and fellow guards Aari McDonald (foot) and Sydney Colson (knee) sustained season-ending injuries.

Turnovers have been troublesome and there might not be an easy solution in sight.

“All our point guards are injured. I think that’s the first thing,” White said. “It’s tough because point guards are the ones who get you organized. There were times when we weren’t organized.”

The teams split games in the spring, with the Mystics winning 83-77 at home on May 28 and the Fever avenging that outcome with an 85-76 home victory June 3.

–Field Level Media