WNBA round-up: Playoff picture set as record-breaking regular season comes to a close

CNN
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It has been a WNBA season unlike any other.

The 2024 campaign has seen unprecedented growth, records shattered and an introduction to one of the most hyped rookie classes in the history of the league – and we still have the postseason to go.

Eight of the 12 WNBA teams make the playoffs and are seeded from one to eight, regardless of conference.

The regular season came to a close on Thursday night with all 12 teams in action. While some squads already knew where they stood heading into the playoffs, there were still some matters to be decided on the final day and storylines everywhere you looked.

The Phoenix Mercury fell to the Seattle Storm 89-70 on Thursday, but much off the attention was focused on what happened after the buzzer.

Diana Taurasi, widely considered to be one of the best women’s basketball players of all time, addressed the Phoenix crowd on the court after what was possibly her final regular season game ever.

The 42-year-old was drafted first overall by the Mercury in 2004 and has spent her entire WNBA career with the franchise. She is a former MVP, a three-time WNBA champion, six-time EuroLeague champion, six-time Olympic champion, an 11-time WNBA All-Star and the league’s all-time leading scorer.

It has been speculated that this will be Taurasi’s final season as an active player. While the rumors are still unconfirmed, she delivered an emotional speech to the adoring home faithful.

“There’s really no place to start, but there’s always a place to finish,” she said. “It seems to be the same place, which, as you guys know, when I got here in 2004, I kinda knew I was going to be here for a long time. I had a feeling that this was home in a strange and mysterious way.

“I want to thank every single coach, every single player, every single person that’s put on a WNBA jersey because it takes a village and our league is about uplifting each other and, in return, to see where we are now, 28 years later, for the ones who played before, this league is where it is now, we’re thankful for you guys, and we’re thankful for the next generation.

“If it is the last time, it felt like the first time,” she added.

Taurasi will get at least one more opportunity to perform in front of the home crowd – the seventh-seeded Mercury will take on the No. 2 Minnesota Lynx in a best-of-three first round playoff series.

This season has seen record highs in attendance and viewership, continuing right until the end of the regular season.

20,711 fans packed into Capital One Arena in Washington DC as the Mystics defeated the Indiana Fever, 92-91, making it the highest-attended WNBA game ever.

After breaking the single-season assist record earlier this month, transcendent rookie Caitlin Clark entered the game eight three-pointers shy of the single-season record of 128 set by Sabrina Ionescu in 2023.

Though Clark didn’t catch Ionescu’s tally in the game – she played just under 20 minutes with the 20-20 Fever having already secured the sixth seed – she made two triples to take her total to 122, passing Taurasi for second place.

Indiana’s return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 marks an incredible turnaround for the team. The franchise found itself 3-10 to open the season, but caught fire after the Olympic break to claw its way back to .500 and secure a spot in the postseason.

“Just really proud of their growth, their resiliency,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said after the game. “They went to work, they got better. We didn’t have the time early, but they just kept getting better as the season progressed.

“They deserve the opportunity to play in these playoffs.”

The Mystics came into the game as the ninth seed, knowing that they would have to win to give themselves a chance of making the postseason. The game got off to the worst possible start for Washington, falling into a 20-2 deficit, but it mounted a huge comeback to steal the win.

Sika Koné led the way with 20 points and four other Mystics players scored in double figures in the crucial victory, but a playoff berth simply wasn’t to be, as the Atlanta Dream took the matter out of Washington’s hands.

The Dream edged out the Mystics for the eighth seed with a 78-67 win over the New York Liberty, with center Tina Charles etching her name into the record books in the process.

Charles, a former league MVP and an eight-time All-Star, pulled down her third rebound of the game in the first quarter to become the all-time WNBA rebounding leader with 4,007 boards, passing Sylvia Fowles for top spot.

Her record-breaking performance could not have come at a better time for Atlanta, which needed a lift heading into Thursday’s matchup on the road. The Dream entered the matchup as the eighth seed but had the Mystics hot on their heels only one game behind, and knew that only a win would guarantee a postseason berth.

According to Charles, however, the outcome was never in doubt.

“We came here with our bags packed,” said the 35-year-old postgame. “We knew we’d take care of business. For us, honestly, the playoffs had started maybe like a week ago just because of the situation that we had been in.”

Charles also ended the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds to record her 194th career double-double, the most by any player in league history. Fowles was also the previous holder of this record.

The matchup also served as a playoff preview: Atlanta will take on the first-seeded Liberty in the first round of the postseason.

New York had already wrapped up the No. 1 spot prior to Thursday’s game, so it remains to be seen how the squad will fare against a revitalized Dream group when the season is on the line.

First round series are best of three games.

Away @ Home (Game 1)

No. 8 Atlanta Dream @ No. 1 New York Liberty

No. 7 Phoenix Mercury @ No. 2 Minnesota Lynx

No. 6 Indiana Fever @ No. 3 Connecticut Sun

No. 5 Seattle Storm @ No. 4 Las Vegas Aces