WNBA Playoffs: What’s at stake in the final week

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The final week of the 2024 WNBA regular season is a playoff race, and for three teams, it’s a playoff race. The top eight teams, regardless of conference, enter the postseason, and seven teams earned a spot in the playoffs. Chicago, Atlanta and Washington they are fighting for the last place.

No one is locked into the seed yet. not even New Yorkthe most consistent team of the season and the first 30-win team on the year, has taken first place overall with four games remaining on most teams’ schedules. The season ends on September 19, and the playoffs begin on September 22. Here’s how the playoffs look, what’s at stake in the final week of the season, and which teams have the edge.

From Thursday 12.09.

  1. New York (30-6)*

  2. Minnesota (27-9, 3 GB)*

  3. Connecticut (26-10, 4 GB)*

  4. Las Vegas (23-13, 7 GB)*

  5. Seattle (22-14, 8 GB)*

  6. Indiana (19-18, 11.5 GB)*

  7. Phoenix (17-19, 13)*

  8. Chicago (13-23, 17 GB)

  9. Atlanta (12-24, 18 GB)

  10. Washington (12-24, 18 GB)
    *Won a spot in the playoffs

Washington made a big move to steal the No. 8 seed with an Victory 89-58 in Chicago on Wednesday night. The Mystics tied with Atlanta for the standings and pulled both franchises within one game of tying the Sky. They all have four games left.

Chicago started the night with a 1.5-game lead over Atlanta and a two-game lead over Washington, but continued its post-Olympic freefall. The Sky are 2-8 in their last 10 games, bettered only by the lowly Sparks (1-9), and without Angel Reese (joint) i Diamond DeShields (ankle). Chicago signed Kael Davis, a 6-2 forward who last played in 2022, to a contract on Wednesday.

This was always going to be a rebuilding year for first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, and the franchise did it again with their trade Marina Mabrey before the break. And an eighth or even ninth place finish would exceed pre-season expectations, when some predicted Sky would finish last.

Of the three contenders for the No. 8 seed, Sky have the toughest final stretch. Three of Sky’s four final games are away games. The two are against top four seeds in Minnesota and Connecticut, both of which will be battling for the season. Meanwhile, the Sky host Phoenix (also going for a goal) and travel to Atlanta (2-1).

The Dream and Mystics play each other twice (at Atlanta on Friday, at Washington on Sunday) in games that will decide whether one of them can overtake the Sky. The Dream and Mystics split their previous two games, but both came within the first month.

Sleep is the most dangerous of the three. Rhyne Howardwho returned from injury shortly before the All-Star break, scored at least 30 (46% shooting) in three straight games last week. The Dream’s last four games are the easiest of the teams fighting for a playoff spot with a home finale against Chicago, although the Dream ends the season in league-leading New York. If the Dream finish last, they will again play Liberty in the first round.

Washington hosts New York and Indiana to end the season.

New York, the first franchise with back-to-back 30-win seasons, is in the captain’s seat for the top seed over Minnesota, which is three games back with four games to play. Third-ranked Connecticut could win and tie New York atop the standings if Liberty loses, but New York holds that tiebreaker (3-1).

The Liberty will host Minnesota on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, League Pass) in a game that could ultimately decide the top seed. They split their two regular season meetings. New York outscored Minnesota by 17 in May and the Lynx outscored Liberty by nine in July. Minnesota too won the Commissioner’s Cup over Freedom.

New York has the easiest schedule of the top-seeded contenders with three of the final four games against teams that are currently in the lottery. Minnesota must travel to Connecticut one last time immediately after the New York game.

It would be the second time in league history that the Liberty finished with the best record in the league. Liberty was also the No. 1 seed in 2015, when it led the league defensively but ranked 10th in offensive rating under head coach Bill Laimbeer. They lost in the Eastern Conference finals to Fever.

Minnesota and Connecticut are in a tight battle for the No. 2 seed that will guarantee home field advantage through the semifinals. It would also likely prevent them from meeting the Scorching Fever in the first round, which is a welcome outcome at this rate. Indiana could clinch the No. 6 seed as early as Friday.

Ris leads the way Sun one game. They wrap up their three-game regular season series on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, League Pass). Connecticut won 83-82 (overtime) in May and 78-73 in July. Napheesa Collier she injured her foot in that July loss and missed the next five games before the All-Star/Olympic break. It will be the first game with Marina Mabrey in the Sun jersey. She scored 26 with six 3-pointers off the bench against LA on Tuesday.

Neither team has a particularly easy stretch until the end of the season.

Minnesota’s trip to the East Coast is sandwiched between Friday night’s home game against Chicago and the season finale against Los Angeles at home. Sky has been hampered by injuries, and Los Angeles is already at the top of the odds for the number one pick in the 2025 draft lottery.

Connecticut travels to Phoenix and Las Vegas before finishing at home against Minnesota and Chicago. He could make up ground on the Lynx. The Suns beat Phoenix three times by an average of 20 points, but they had some of their closest wins of the season against Chicago.

With New York and Minnesota among the top four seeds and Connecticut almost as close, the key is the race for the No. 4 seed between Las Vegas and Seattle. The winner hosts the first two games of the best-of-three series between the two as they are all but guaranteed to finish with the fourth and fifth seeds.

Las Vegas has the edge over Seattle, but faces a tougher schedule down the stretch. The Aces play the Fever again in Indianapolis on Friday after a narrowly contested win on Wednesday night. They host Connecticut, travel to Seattle and the hosts Dallas in the season finale.

Seattle nearly lost ground in the run, having to fight back from a first-half deficit against the Sparks. It was the team’s first consecutive victory since before the Olympic break. The Storm are in a similar position to the Liberty in 2023, trying to build chemistry after signing two All-Stars in the offseason. The Storm play against Dallas on the road, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

No. 8 Chicago at No. 1 New York
no. 5 Seattle at no. 4 Las Vegas
No. 7 Phoenix at No. 2 Minnesota
No. 6 Indiana at No. 3 Connecticut

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