The best underdog story of the 2026 WNBA playoffs runs headfirst into the league’s resident superteam on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Golden State Valkyries host the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the semifinals at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock \u2014 and in a twist that tells you everything about this postseason, the defending champions are the road team. Golden State is the No. 2 seed, the Aces the No. 3, so home court belongs to the franchise that did not exist two years ago.<\/p>\n
The Valkyries earned it in the most dramatic way possible. On Friday night in San Francisco, they erased a 16-point deficit to stun the Dallas Wings 77-73 in a winner-take-all Game 3, sealing the first playoff series win in franchise history in only their second season of existence.<\/p>\n
Now comes the real exam. The Aces are in their eighth straight semifinal, chasing a fourth championship in five years, and they arrive with A’ja Wilson playing at the absolute peak of her powers. The four-time MVP dismantled Indiana in the first round, capped by a 36-point, 10-rebound masterclass in the Game 3 clincher, and she now sits second on the WNBA’s all-time postseason double-doubles list with 28.<\/p>\n
Wilson has spent this entire playoff run playing with an edge. After sending the Fever home on Thursday, she made it clear that regular-season noise means nothing to her now \u2014 a message that landed as a warning for every team left standing. Golden State gets to answer it on its own floor.<\/p>\n
What makes this series genuinely compelling is the contrast. The Aces have been here so often they measure success in rings. The Valkyries are learning all of this in real time, and their Game 3 comeback showed a resilience that suggests the moment is not too big for them. Erasing 16 points in a win-or-go-home game is not a fluke; it is the mark of a team that believes.<\/p>\n
Still, championship basketball is about more than belief. Las Vegas has the best player in the series, the deepest playoff experience, and a core that has closed out big games together for years. Golden State has home court, a roaring building, and absolutely nothing to lose.<\/p>\n
The series continues Wednesday night with Game 2 at 9:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN, then shifts to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Friday. If Golden State can protect its home floor, this could become the series of the postseason. If not, the Aces’ march toward a fourth title in five years continues right on schedule.<\/p>\n
Sources: NBC Sports and USA Today semifinal schedules (Oct 3, 2026); first-round reporting on the Valkyries’ Game 3 comeback (Oct 2, 2026).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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