Less than a month remains in the 2024 WNBA season, and the playoff picture is starting to take shape. The Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx clinched playoff spots on Saturday, joining the New York Liberty as confirmed postseason teams. While no one has officially been eliminated, there’s a big gap for the three teams at the bottom.
On a rare busy Monday night, the Liberty continued their march toward the No. 1 seed with a win over the Mercury. Elsewhere, the Fever closed in on their first playoff appearance since 2016 by holding off the Dream, while the Mystics pulled off a big upset over the Storm.
There’s just one game on the docket for Tuesday, with the Aces set to take on the Wings.
As a refresher, the top eight teams, regardless of conference affiliation, make the playoffs in the WNBA. Under the current playoff format, the teams are placed into a standard bracket with the No. 1 seed playing No. 8 in the first round, No. 2 vs. No. 7, and so on. Teams will play a best-of-three series in the first round and best-of-five series in the semifinals and Finals. Notably, the first round is a 2-1 format, which means the higher seed gets the first two games at home, while the lower seed gets the deciding Game 3 at home should the series go that far. In the semifinals and Finals, it is a standard 2-2-1 format, with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2, and 5, if necessary.
Here’s everything you need to know about the current playoff picture, including the standings and key tiebreakers:
Standings
New York Liberty (26-5) — Playoff spot clinched
Connecticut Sun (22-7) — Playoff spot clinched
Minnesota Lynx (22-8) — Playoff spot clinched
Las Vegas Aces (18-11)
Seattle Storm (18-11)
Phoenix Mercury (16-15)
Indiana Fever (14-16)
Chicago Sky (11-18)
Atlanta Dream (10-19)
Washington Mystics (8-22)
Dallas Wings (7-22)
Los Angeles Sparks (6-24)
Note: Two-team ties are decided first by head-to-head record and then, if necessary, better record against .500+ teams. Ties between more than two teams are determined by combined head-to-head record against the other teams.
Liberty alone at the top
1. New York Liberty (26-5)
Tiebreakers: vs. Sun (3-1)
The Liberty got back to winning ways on Monday with a comfortable win over the Mercury. Their lead over the Sun in the race for the No. 1 seed is now back to three games, and with the tiebreaker is essentially four. They’re guaranteed a playoff spot and are closing in on securing homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
Key remaining games: vs. Lynx, Sept. 15
Sun, Lynx battling for second
2. Connecticut Sun (22-7)
Tiebreakers: vs. Liberty (1-3); vs. Lynx (2-0); vs. Storm (0-1); vs. Aces (0-1)
The Sun haven’t been super convincing lately, but they keep picking up big wins. Most recently, they took down the Liberty to extend their winning streak to three games, clinch a playoff spot and stay ahead of the red-hot Lynx. They’re half a game up in the race for second.
Key remaining games: vs. Storm, Sept. 1; vs. Storm, Sept. 3; vs. Aces, Sept. 6; at Aces, Sept. 15; vs. Lynx, Sept. 17
3. Minnesota Lynx (22-8)
Tiebreakers: vs. Sun (0-2); vs. Storm (3-1); vs. Aces (3-1)
The Lynx kept rolling on Saturday with a victory over the Fever on Maya Moore’s jersey retirement night. They’ve now won six games in a row and have guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. With a three-game lead over the Storm and the tiebreaker, they likely won’t fall below the No. 3 seed. Now, they question is if they can chase down the Sun.
Key remaining games: at Sun, Sept. 17
Storm and Aces fighting over fourth
4. Las Vegas Aces (18-11)
Tiebreakers: vs. Sun (1-0); vs. Lynx (1-3); vs. Storm (2-1)
The Aces finally got back in the win column with a dramatic victory over the Sky. After blowing a 13-point fourth-quarter lead, A’ja Wilson hit a buzzer beater to avoid a third consecutive loss. That was a huge result to move the Aces within half a game of the Storm.
Key remaining games: at Lynx, Aug. 23; at Sun, Sept. 6; at Liberty, Sept. 8; vs. Sun, Sept. 15; at Storm, Sept. 17
5. Seattle Storm (18-11)
Tiebreakers: vs. Sun (1-0); vs. Lynx (1-3); vs. Aces (1-2)
The Storm’s strange start to the second half of the season continued on Monday with a loss to the Mystics at home. Now 1-3 since play resumed, they’ve dropped back down to fifth place. Worse yet, this was supposed to be the easy stretch of their remaining schedule. It will only get more challenging from here.
Key remaining games: vs. Liberty, Aug. 30; at Sun, Sept. 1; at Sun, Sept. 3; at Liberty, Sept. 5; vs. Aces, Sept. 17
Mercury fairly comfortable in sixth
6. Phoenix Mercury (16-15)
Tiebreakers: vs. Fever (0-3); vs. Sky (2-0)
The Mercury fell apart in the fourth quarter on Monday and lost to the league-leading Liberty. They’re still 1.5 games up on the Fever in the race for sixth, but do not own the tiebreaker between the clubs. For now, they’re fairly comfortable, but still have some work to do to hold off Caitlin Clark and Co.
Key remaining games: at Sky, Sept. 15
Fever, Sky, Dream battling for final two spots
7. Indiana Fever (14-16)
Tiebreakers: vs. Mercury (3-0); vs. Sky (2-1); vs. Dream (3-0)
The Fever picked up their biggest win in nearly a decade on Monday, as they held off the Dream on a night where Caitlin Clark tied the rookie 3-point record. They are now 3.5 games up on the Dream and own the tiebreaker, which turns that into a 4.5-game advantage. With 10 games remaining, they are almost certainly going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Key remaining games: at Dream, Aug. 26; at Sky, Aug. 30; vs. Dream, Sept. 8
8. Chicago Sky (11-18)
Tiebreakers: vs. Mercury (0-2); vs. Fever (1-2); vs. Dream (2-1)
The Sky’s difficult start to the second half of the season continued Sunday with a narrow loss to the Aces. They’re now 1-4 since the season got back underway, and their lead over the Dream for the eighth and final playoff spot is down to one game.
Key remaining games: vs. Fever, Aug. 30; vs. Mercury, Sept. 15; at Dream, Sept. 17
9. Atlanta Dream (10-19)
Tiebreakers: vs. Fever (0-3); vs. Sky (1-2)
The Dream suffered a critical loss on Monday when they could not manage to pull off a dramatic comeback against the Fever. They’ve now lost their last two games in narrow fashion and have fallen one game behind the Sky in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Key remaining games: vs Fever, Aug. 26; at Fever, Sept. 8; vs. Sky, Sept. 17
A clear gap at the bottom
10. Washington Mystics (8-22)
The Mystics have been competitive all season long, and they’re finally turning their performances into wins. They’ve suddenly won two in a row after their upset over the Storm on Monday. Almost certainly too little, too late, however, as they are still 3.5 games back of a playoff spot.
11. Dallas Wings (7-22)
The Wings picked up their most impressive win of the season Sunday when they stunned the Sparks with a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback behind 33 points from Arike Ogunbowale. They remain four games out of the playoffs with 11 games to play, however, and are looking at another lottery trip.
12. Los Angeles Sparks (6-24)
The Sparks suffered a devastating loss Sunday when they blew a 22-point lead to the Wings. They’ve lost all six games since play resumed and seven games in a row overall. Now in last place, it’s time for them to start focusing on the lottery.
