The Las Vegas Aces finished the regular season on an absolute tear winning 16 straight games. While it wasn't the longest winning streak in WNBA history, it was close and it was especially impressive after the team started the season 12-13.
The Aces then won the first game of their first round series against the Storm before losing Game 2 to Seattle to even the series and end the overall winning streak at 17.
So the longest winning streak in league history, which is nearly a quarter-century old at this point, is safe for another season. Here's how close the Aces came to making history.
What is the longest winning streak in WNBA history?
The 2001 Los Angeles Sparks, led by Lisa Leslie, started the season 9-0 before they lost three straight games. Then they won 18 straight to set the record for the longest winning streak in league history. The Utah Starzz, who would go 19-13 that season and lose in the first round of the playoffs, beat the Sparks in overtime to end the streak. Jennifer Azzi (now the Aces' Chief Business Development Officer) had 11 points, seven assists and seven rebounds for the Starzz in that game.
The Sparks would go on to win the WNBA championship, going 6-1 in the postseason along the way.
What are the other longest winning streaks in WNBA history?
*The '01 Sparks, '14 Mercury, '98 Comets and '10 Storm all won WNBA titles.
The '11 Lynx were the beginning of a dynasty. Minnesota won three straight games to close out the regular season, lost their second game in the first round and finished with six straight wins to win their first championship after missing the playoffs entirely the previous six season.
The Lynx started the '12 season 10-0 before losing to Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm. The Lynx went to the Finals six times in seven seasons and won four championships.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Longest Winning Streaks in WNBA History.