The Valkyries, Aces, Fever and Mystics all have playoff seeding at stake on the final night of the WNBA regular season.
The Golden State Valkyries play at the Los Angeles Sparks and the Las Vegas Aces visit the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night, and the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs will go to one of them. Both games tip off at 10 p.m. ET.
Golden State enters 31-12. Las Vegas, the defending champion, is 30-13.
A Valkyries win or an Aces loss gives Golden State the No. 2 seed. If Golden State loses and Las Vegas wins, both teams finish 31-13, and the Aces take No. 2 on the tiebreaker after going 3-0 against the Valkyries this season.
No. 2 Seed Comes Down to Valkyries and Aces
The No. 2 seed draws the Dallas Wings. Dallas was locked into No. 7 when the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty on Wednesday, then beat the Seattle Storm 103-91 later that night to finish 27-17. The Wings are in the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
The team that finishes third will face the No. 6 seed.
Fever and Mystics Battle for No. 5 Seed
Earlier in the night, the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics settle No. 5. Indiana (28-15) plays at the Minnesota Lynx at 8 p.m. ET. Washington (27-16) hosts the Chicago Sky at 7:30 p.m. ET.
A Fever win puts Indiana at 29-15 and in the No. 5 seed. Indiana also gets No. 5 if both teams lose.
Washington needs a win and a Fever loss. That would leave both teams at 28-16, and the Mystics hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series 2-1, including a 93-77 win in Indianapolis on Sunday.
The No. 5 seed opens on the road at No. 4 Atlanta, which finished 30-14. The No. 6 seed opens at Golden State or Las Vegas.
On Tuesday, Washington beat the Connecticut Sun 79-69 for a franchise-record 27th win. The Mystics missed the playoffs the past two seasons. Indiana has been the No. 6 seed in each of the past two postseasons.
Fever Return to Minnesota After Dominant Win
Thursday's game in Minneapolis is a rematch of Indiana's 96-77 win over Minnesota on Tuesday in Indianapolis. The Fever led 31-16 after one quarter and 57-34 at halftime. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve kept her regular starters on the bench for the entire second half.
Caitlin Clark finished with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals. Kelsey Mitchell scored 20, her 27th consecutive game with at least 20 points, extending her own WNBA record. Mitchell set the league's single-season scoring record last week.
Aliyah Boston added 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals on 7-of-9 shooting.
Indiana scored 57 points in the first half Tuesday.
"We're scary when we're clicking," Clark said, according to ESPN's Kareem Copeland. "We're the best offensive team in the league, and we've shown moments where we can be really good defensively. I feel very confident in everything and everybody that we have in this locker room, and I think for us it's just finding a level of consistency."
Lynx Locked Into No. 1 Seed
Minnesota will again be without Olivia Miles. The rookie point guard has been ruled out Thursday with a left calf injury, ESPN's Michael Voepel reported, after missing Tuesday's game as a late scratch.
The Lynx wrapped up the No. 1 seed Tuesday night when the Portland Fire beat Golden State 90-82 in overtime. Minnesota, at 32-11, will face No. 8 New York in the first round.
The fifth game Thursday, the Toronto Tempo at Connecticut at 7 p.m. ET, has no playoff implications.
All four best-of-three first-round series begin Sunday on the higher seed's home court. The higher seed also hosts Game 3 if a series goes the distance.
