UCLA Women's Basketball: Bruins To Watch As WNBA Playoffs Kick Off Today

As the 2023 WNBA postseason commences this evening, several former UCLA Bruins greats will be involved in all aspects of contention.

As the official UCLA women's basketball Twitter account points out, this year's playoffs will be packed with a not-insignificant Bruins presence.

Former All-Pac-12 Team power forward Monique Billings is the lone healthy ex-Bruin actually playing in the postseason. The 6'3" Riverside native's Atlanta Dream (the fifth-seeded underdog with a 19-21 record) will match up with the fourth-seeded Dallas Wings (22-18) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PT on ESPN 2. In her sixth pro season, the 27-year-old is averaging 4.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists across 39 contests, mostly off the bench, with Atlanta.

Key Chicago Sky reserve wing Rebekah Gardner had a season-ending foot surgery in June, but her team snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed, where Chicago will be the heavy underdog against the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces in its first round matchup. Their playoff battle is slated to start at 7 p.m. PT tonight on ESPN. The Aces are a -16.5 point favorite.

The Aces are themselves loaded with plenty of former UCLA players. Former Pac-10 Player of the Year Natalie Jean Williams, who was herself a four-time WNBA All-Star while with the Utah Starzz (that's how they spelled it) and Indiana Fever, is now Vegas' GM. Ex-UCLA point guard Natalie Nakase, meanwhile, is an assistant coach on head coach Becky Hammon's staff. Williams and Nakase were with the club last year when it won its first-ever franchise title.

Add us as a preferred source on Google