The WNBA regular season is set to conclude on the 19th of September. Three days after that, on September 22, the playoffs will begin. The rise of stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in the W has generated a lot of buzz for this year’s postseason.
Before we head into the playoffs, it’s important to understand how the WNBA playoffs work. The WNBA postseason doesn’t follow the same format as the NBA, where playoff games are played in two separate Conferences. Since there are only 12 teams in the W, they are not divided between Conferences.
However, this format is equally exciting, if not more.
There will be four best-of-three series played between the eight qualified teams in the first round of the playoffs. The first seed will play three games against the eighth seed.
Similarly, the second seed will play against the seventh, the third against the sixth, and the fourth against the fifth. As far as hosting these games are concerned, the higher seed will host the first two games of the series and if there’s a need for Game 3, the lower seed will host the final game.
The four winners of the first round will then proceed to play the semifinals, which will be a five-game series. The higher seeds will host the first two games. The series will then move to the lower seeded team’s court for Games 3 and 4. After that, if there’s a need for Game 5, it’ll be played at the home court of the higher seeded team.
The semifinals will produce two finalists for the season, and they will play in the same format. The best-of-five series in the WNBA Finals will decide which team deserves the WNBA crown.
So far, five teams have secured their playoffs berth, and three more spaces are still open for the rest of the league to compete for.
Which teams have clinched playoff spots?
As of the 30th of August, five of the eight playoff spots have been booked. The New York Liberty have the best record in the league so far with 27 wins and six losses. They are in the postseason already.
The Connecticut Sun with 22 wins and eight losses have also secured their spot in the playoffs.
The Minnesota Lynx with 23 wins, nine losses, the Las Vegas Aces with 19 wins, 12 losses, and the Seattle Storm with 19 wins, 12 losses, are the remaining three teams with confirmed playoff spots.
Currently, the Indiana Fever is the sixth seeded team with a 16-16 record. They recently secured a blowout win against Chicago and are now challenging for a playoff spot.
The Phoenix Mercury also has the same number of wins and losses as the Fever and are the seventh seed in the league. The Chicago Sky with 11 wins 20 losses, and the Atlanta Dream with 10 wins and 21 losses are also contenders for one of the three remaining spots for this year’s playoffs.