2026 WNBA playoffs
| Dates | September 27 – October 2026 |
|---|---|
The 2026 WNBA playoffs is the postseason tournament of the Women's National Basketball Association's 2026 season. The playoffs will begin on September 27, 2026.
Overview
Updates to postseason appearances
- The Las Vegas Aces will enter the postseason for their eighth consecutive season, the longest active postseason appearance streak in the WNBA.
- The New York Liberty will enter the postseason for the sixth consecutive season.
- The Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx will enter the postseason for their fourth consecutive season.
- The Indiana Fever will enter the postseason for their third consecutive season.
- The Golden State Valkyries will enter the postseason for their second consecutive season.
- The Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics will enter the postseason for the first time since 2023.
- The Chicago Sky will miss the postseason for the third consecutive season.
- The Connecticut Sun will miss the postseason for the second consecutive season.
- The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm will miss the postseason, ending a two-season postseason streak.
- The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will miss the postseason.
- The Los Angeles Sparks will miss the postseason for the sixth consecutive season, the longest active postseason drought in the WNBA.
Format
The first round of the WNBA playoffs consists of a best-of-three series, with the following matchups: No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No. 5. The higher seed in the first round had home-court advantage in Games 1 and, if necessary, 3.
In the semifinals of the postseason, a best-of-five series, the higher seed hosted Games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5. Additionally, the WNBA Finals was a best-of-seven format for the first time in the league's history. Games 1 and 2, as well as Games 5 and 7, if necessary, was hosted by the higher seed.[1]
Playoff qualifying
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Top record | |||
| 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 31–9 | August 9[2] | |
| 2 | Golden State Valkyries | 29–11 | August 17[3] | |
| 3 | Las Vegas Aces | 27–13 | August 13[4] | |
| 4 | Atlanta Dream | 26–14 | August 22[5] |  |
| 5 | Indiana Fever | 26–14 | August 21[6] | |
| 6 | New York Liberty | 24–16 | August 23[7] | |
| 7 | Washington Mystics | 24–16 | August 23[8] | |
| 8 | Dallas Wings | 24–16 | August 25[9] | |
Bracket
| First round Best-of-3 | Semifinals Best-of-5 | Finals Best-of-7 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||||||||
| ' | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||
- Bold – Series winner
- Italic – Team with home-court-advantage
References
- ↑ Mullin, Eric (September 10, 2025). "What we know about the 2025 WNBA playoffs: Teams, bracket, start date and more". nbclosangeles.com. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
- ↑ "McBride hits WNBA-record 10 3-pointers, scores 43 as Lynx beat Wings 103-90". CBS Sports. August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
- ↑ Smith, Marcus D. (August 17, 2026). "Golden State Valkyries clinch playoff berth: Takeaways from milestone win". USA Today. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
- ↑ "Aces secure playoff spot with 83-76 victory over the Mystics". CBS Sports. August 14, 2026. Retrieved August 17, 2026.
- ↑ Anderson, Kari (August 22, 2026). "Angel Reese scores career-high 31 points to lead Dream over Mercury and clinch WNBA playoff berth". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- ↑ Peterson, Chloe (August 21, 2026). "Without playing, Indiana Fever clinch WNBA playoff spot for third straight season". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 22, 2026.
- ↑ Crane, Andrew (August 23, 2026). "Liberty clinch playoff berth for sixth consecutive season after Fire loss". New York Post. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
- ↑ Henry, Alexa (August 23, 2026). "Washington Mystics clinch playoff berth with win over Portland Fire". wusa9.com. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Wings Defeat Fire to Earn Playoff Spot, 96-78". WNBA.com. August 25, 2026. Retrieved August 26, 2026.