The most exciting season in the WNBA is about to enter the most dramatic season of the year — the playoffs.
The postseason is here in the league. Soon, a champion for the 2024 season will be crowned, ending what has been a historic season for the WNBA.
There have been plenty of exciting storylines that should continue into the postseason. The Liberty have been dominant, standing atop the WNBA standings for a majority of the season, and are looking to win the franchise's first title. A'ja Wilson and the Aces have eyes on a three-peat, entering the 2024 playoffs as back-to-back defending champions.
Of course, there are young and hungry teams looking to make deep postseason runs as well, such as the Caitlin Clark-led Fever, who snapped an eight-year playoff drought.
How do the playoffs work in the WNBA? The Sporting News explains.
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WNBA playoff bracket
Here's a current look at the WNBA playoff bracket if the season were to end today:
- 1. New York Liberty vs. 8. Atlanta Dream
- 2. Minnesota Lynx vs. 7. Phoenix Mercury
- 3. Connecticut Sun vs. 6. Indiana Fever
- 4. Las Vegas Aces vs. 5. Seattle Storm
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How many teams make the WNBA playoffs?
The WNBA playoffs consist of the top eight teams from the regular season. While there are two conferences in the league, they are not used to determine the postseason format.
That means that 66 percent of the league has a chance to win the championships. Only four teams miss the postseason in the WNBA.
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How many rounds are in the WNBA playoffs?
In total, there are three rounds in the WNBA playoffs — the first, the semifinals and the finals.
To start the postseason, teams are seeded one through eight based on their regular-season records. In the first round, the No. 1 seed faces the No. 8 seed, the No. 2 seed takes on the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed goes against the No. 6 seed and seeds Nos. 4 and 5 go head-to-head.
There is no reseeding in the WNBA. It is a bracket-style format where the matchups are pre-determined based on the initial seeding.
In the semifinals, the winner of the 1-8 matchup faces the winner of the 4-5 matchup while the winner of the 2-7 series faces the winner of the 3-6 series.
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How many games are in a series?
The series length varies in the WNBA playoffs depending on the round.
The first round of the WNBA playoffs is a best-of-three series. The higher-seeded team hosts Games 1 and 2. If necessary, Game 3 is hosted by the lower-seeded team.
The semifinals change to a best-of-five, with the higher-seeded team hosting Games 1 and 2 as well as a potential Game 5, if necessary. The lower seed hosts Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4.
The WNBA Finals are also a best-of-five series. Once again, the higher-seeded team has homecourt advantage, hosting Games 1, 2 and, if necessary, a Game 5. The lower seed is home for Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4.
