The 2026 WNBA playoffs begin Sunday with four first-round series. Here's the full schedule, key injuries, season-series results, and biggest storylines.
Four best-of-three first-round series open Sunday, Sept. 27, when the WNBA playoffs tip off with Game 1s in Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
Seeding was not settled until the final seconds of Thursday's regular-season finales. The Golden State Valkyries rallied from 16 points down to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75 and took the No. 2 seed, which dropped the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to No. 3.
Earlier Thursday night, the Washington Mystics beat the Chicago Sky 101-93 and the Indiana Fever lost 86-66 at Minnesota. Both teams finished 28-16. Washington won the season series 2-1 and took the No. 5 seed, and Indiana is the No. 6 seed for the third straight year.
Each series runs in a 1-1-1 format, with the lower seed hosting Game 2. The semifinals go to best-of-five, and 2026 is the second year of a best-of-seven Finals.
In three of the four matchups, the road team for Game 1 won the regular-season series 2-1: the New York Liberty over the Minnesota Lynx, Indiana over Las Vegas, and Washington over the Atlanta Dream. Golden State beat the Dallas Wings all three times.
Lynx vs. Liberty
Minnesota has held or shared the WNBA's best record since May 27. The Lynx finished 33-11 for their second straight No. 1 seed, which gives them home court throughout the playoffs.
Olivia Miles, the second overall pick in April, broke Caitlin Clark's rookie scoring record this season. She averaged 19.8 points and 6.0 assists, both team highs.
A left calf injury kept Miles out of both games against Indiana to close the regular season. She was scratched about 90 minutes before tip-off Tuesday in Indianapolis, where the Fever won 96-77, and Minnesota ruled her out of Thursday's rematch the next afternoon.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve had said Tuesday that Miles would probably be a game-time decision. Reeve said the Lynx "simply can't take a chance" with the rookie's health, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Without her, Minnesota beat Indiana 86-66 on Thursday. Kayla McBride scored 22 points, and Natasha Howard added 21. The Lynx had lost four of their previous five games.
In Chris DeMarco's first season as coach, New York finished 26-18. The Liberty won the Commissioner's Cup for the second time, the first team to do so. They beat Minnesota 99-86 on July 3 and 93-81 on Sept. 18. The Lynx won the other meeting 90-85 on July 11.
Breanna Stewart averaged 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 42 games. The only other season to reach all five of those marks was Stewart's own in 2023, according to the league.
Her left knee started bothering her after a play in Monday's 95-84 loss to Atlanta, when she had 27 points and 14 rebounds in 37 minutes. Stewart sat out the rematch Wednesday, and DeMarco said the move was precautionary. Late in the third quarter of that game, Jonquel Jones tweaked her ankle on a 3-point attempt and did not return.
The series is a rematch of the 2024 Finals, which New York won in overtime of Game 5 at home. Stewart and Napheesa Collier won a national title together at UConn in 2016. Stewart leads their WNBA head-to-head meetings 8-3 in the regular season and 6-2 in the playoffs, according to the league.
Minnesota led the WNBA with 18.2 points off turnovers per game. New York ranked last at 13.3.
Game 1 tips at 2 p.m. ET Sunday at Target Center on ABC. The series moves to New York for Game 2 on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC. Game 3, if necessary, would be Thursday, Oct. 1, in Minneapolis.
Valkyries vs. Wings
Golden State plays its first playoff game at Chase Center on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC. Last season, the Valkyries played their home playoff game at SAP Center in San Jose because of a scheduling conflict, and Minnesota swept them in the first round. The franchise is still looking for its first playoff win.
In its second season, Golden State finished 32-12. The Valkyries allowed a league-low 75.1 points per game, 7.6 fewer than any other team. Their bench scored 35.9 points per game, 7.4 more than any other team's. Gabby Williams, the franchise's first All-Star starter, led Golden State in scoring and assists.
Dallas finished 27-17, 17 wins better than its 10-34 record in 2025. No team in league history has improved by more in a single season. Wings coach Jose Fernandez was hired Oct. 28 after coaching South Florida since 2000. Dallas clinched on Aug. 25 with a 96-78 home win over the Portland Fire, its first playoff berth since 2023.
Paige Bueckers averaged 20.9 points and 5.9 assists and set the franchise single-season scoring record with 878 points. Jessica Shepard averaged 14.5 points and 11.1 rebounds in her first season in Dallas and finished with a league-high six triple-doubles. Azzi Fudd, the first overall pick in April, has been out since a knee injury ended her season in August.
Golden State won 91-80 on June 17, 94-76 on Aug. 7, and 78-70 on Aug. 17. Dallas scored 75.3 points per game in those three games after averaging 89.4 for the season.
Bueckers averaged 17.7 points against the Valkyries and shot 28.6% from 3-point range, according to the team. She had 11 turnovers and 12 assists across the three games. Veronica Burton averaged 16.3 points in the series and had 17 assists against three turnovers.
Dallas led the league with 12.1 fast-break points per game. Golden State allowed 7.2, second-fewest in the WNBA.
The Wings host Game 2 on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Game 3, if needed, is Friday, Oct. 2, at Chase Center.
Aces vs. Fever
Las Vegas opens its title defense Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on ABC. The Aces won their final seven regular-season games to finish 31-13, the last a 100-82 win at the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday. A year ago, they ended the regular season with 16 straight wins and went on to their third championship in four years.
A'ja Wilson led the WNBA in scoring at 26.2 points per game and led it in blocks for the third straight season. Jackie Young averaged 18.9 points. Forward NaLyssa Smith is out for the season after a leg injury last month.
Indiana scored 96.0 points per game, a league record. Kelsey Mitchell averaged 24.7 points and broke Wilson's single-season points record. Caitlin Clark averaged 22.3 points, and Aliyah Boston added 16.1 points and 8.0 rebounds.
Boston left Thursday's loss in Minneapolis in the second quarter with a flare-up of a right lower leg injury, Fever coach Stephanie White said. Ty Harris was carried off in the third quarter of the same game with a left ankle injury.
The Fever won 84-68 on July 5 and 109-75 on July 12. Las Vegas took the Aug. 6 meeting 86-84 in overtime.
Las Vegas eliminated Indiana in Game 5 of last year's semifinals, winning in overtime after Mitchell left in the third quarter with severe leg cramping. The Aces then swept Phoenix in the Finals.
Indiana hosts Game 2 on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET. A Game 3 would be Thursday in Las Vegas.
Dream vs. Mystics
Atlanta hosts Game 1 at 7 p.m. ET on Prime. The Dream finished 30-14 for the second straight season and won their last five games. Last year, Atlanta lost its first-round series 2-1 to Indiana. The franchise has not won a playoff series since 2016.
Angel Reese led the league in rebounding in her first season in Atlanta. On Aug. 24, she set the WNBA single-game record with 26 rebounds. Six days later, she recorded her 29th double-double, breaking the single-season mark Alyssa Thomas set in 2023.
Reese left Wednesday's win over New York after Sabrina Ionescu hit her in the face. Dream coach Karl Smesko said she had been cleared to return and was held out of the second half. Sunday is scheduled to be her playoff debut.
Rhyne Howard led the WNBA in steals. Reese, Howard, and Allisha Gray combined for 53.1 points per game, and Jordin Canada averaged 12.1 points and 7.3 assists.
Washington opened the season as the youngest team in league history, with eight rookies and three second-year players. In Sydney Johnson's second season as coach, the Mystics went from 16-28 to 28-16. Eighteen of their wins came in games within five points in the final five minutes, the most in the league.
Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen made the All-Star team in their second seasons. Iriafen averaged a league-high 4.3 second-chance points. Reese was second at 4.2.
The Dream won the June 6 meeting by 32 points, 109-77. Washington took the next two by five apiece, 81-76 on July 2 and 79-74 on Aug. 7. The Mystics' last series win came in the 2019 Finals, the year of their only championship.
Game 2 is Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN in Washington. A Game 3, if needed, would be Friday in Atlanta.
The semifinals begin Sunday, Oct. 4. Game 1 of the Finals is Saturday, Oct. 17.
