Preview: Liberty take on Aces in nationally-televised matchup between WNBA’s best

The New York Liberty (21-6) will host the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces (24-2) this Sunday, Aug. 6 in a matchup between the league’s top two teams. The game will be broadcast nationally on ABC, with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.

The Liberty and Aces entered the 2023 WNBA season expected to be the cream of the crop, and through early August, they’ve largely lived up to those expectations. New York has been hyped as a “super team” after massive offseason acquisitions, including former league MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones, while Las Vegas has gotten even better just months after taking the WNBA by storm and winning the 2022 Finals. The Aces’ 24-2 record through 26 games is rivaled only by that of the 1998 Houston Comets (Across the Timeline), who finished that season 27-3 and won the second of four championships.

The Aces’ individual stars have improved, too. A’ja Wilson, who won both Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, is making a strong case to repeat in both awards, having won her second-straight Western Conference Player of the Month honor this past July with averages of 22.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. Reigning Most Improved Player Jackie Young has continued her own upward trajectory, averaging a career-high 18.8 points per game and shooting 54 percent from the field.

Indeed, Sunday’s game will be one of enormous star power. Between the two teams, seven of their players made the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game (Wilson, Young, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum for the Aces and Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu for the Liberty), meaning that there will be high-level individual matchups all over the court. In particular, the backcourts of Gray and Plum for Las Vegas and Ionescu and Vandersloot for New York are among the most dynamic in the league, while Young will have her hands full on the perimeter with a similarly physically strong wing in Betnijah Laney.

Then, of course, there’s the matchup between Wilson and Stewart, which makes any game between their two teams must-see TV. Widely regarded as the two best players in the world, Wilson and Stewart are once again near the top of the leaderboards in MVP consideration, and don’t think that Sunday’s matchup will be lost on award voters; the Aces comfortably took their first game of the season against the Liberty, winning 98-81 on June 29, though neither Wilson nor Stewart clearly outplayed the other. Expect fireworks between the two superstars, who will be at the center of attention on national TV.

Elsewhere on Sunday, the Atlanta Dream (14-13) will try to continue their playoff push against the rebuilding Indiana Fever (7-20), while two injury-riddled teams in the Los Angeles Sparks (9-18) and the Washington Mystics (13-13) hope for a stretch of better luck. Both games are scheduled for 3 p.m. ET tip-offs and can be streamed live on ESPN3. Later on, the Dallas Wings (15-12) will get another crack at the Chicago Sky (11-15), who defeated them on Friday; that game will also be streamed on ESPN3 and is scheduled to tip at 4 p.m. ET.

Game information

Las Vegas Aces (24-2) vs. New York Liberty (21-6)

When: 3 p.m. ET

Where: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY

How to watch: ABC

Aces injury report: Candace Parker (out; foot)

Liberty injury report: Stefanie Dolson (out), Han Xu (not with team; overseas)

Indiana Fever (7-20) vs. Atlanta Dream (14-13)

When: 3 p.m. ET

Where: Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, GA

How to watch: ESPN3, Bally Sports South, Indiana Fever Facebook live stream

Fever injury report:

Dream injury report:

Los Angeles Sparks (9-18) vs. Washington Mystics (13-13)

When: 3 p.m. ET

Where: Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.

How to watch: ESPN3, NBC Sports Washington, Monumental Sports

Sparks injury report: Lexie Brown (out; non-COVID illness), Chiney Ogwumike (out; foot), Nia Clouden (out; knee), Katie Lou Samuelson (out; maternity leave)

Mystics injury report: Ariel Atkins (out; ankle), Kristi Toliver (out; plantar fasciitis), Elena Delle Donne (out; ankle), Shakira Austin (out; hip)

Chicago Sky (11-15) vs. Dallas Wings (15-12)

When: 4 p.m. ET

Where: College Park Center in Arlington, TV

How to watch: ESPN3, Bally Sports Southwest Extra, Marquee Sports Network

Sky injury report: Isabelle Harrison (out; knee), Rebekah Gardner (out; foot), Sika Koné (not with team; overseas)

Wings injury report: Diamond DeShields (out; knee), Lou Lopez Sénéchal (out; knee), Awak Kuier (out; ankle)