WNBA playoffs

The WNBA Playoffs is an elimination tournament between 8 teams in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals.

Current format[]

Following the WNBA regular season, eight teams in the entire league qualify for the playoffs and are seeded one to eight.

Regular season records determine the seedings of the teams. The team with the best record receives seed one, the team with the next best record receives seed two, and so on. These seedings are used to create a bracket that determines the matchups throughout the playoffs. The 2022 season will see the playoffs return to a standard eight-team bracket for the first time since 2015, though in a slightly different format.

The first round will consist of best-of-three series, with one side of the bracket featuring 1–8 and 4–5 pairings and the other featuring 2–7 and 3���6 pairings. Differences between the 2022 first-round format and the one abandoned after 2015 are:^[1]

• The 2015 format featured separate brackets for each conference. The 2022 format will maintain the league's recent practice of ignoring conference affiliation for playoff qualifying purposes.
• Series in the 2015 format featured a 1–1–1 home-court pattern, with the higher seed hosting game 1 and (if necessary) game 3, and the lower seed hosting game 2. The home-court pattern in the 2022 format will be 2–1, with the higher seed hosting the first two games. This in turn means that the higher seed can win the series without having to visit the lower seed.

In the newly adopted format, the playoff bracket is not reseeded after the first round.^[1]

The semifinals and WNBA Finals are best-of-five series played in a 2-2-1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage (better record) hosts games 1, 2, and 5 while their opponent hosts games 3 and 4.

The 2022 format replaced a format used from 2016–2021 in which all playoff games before the semifinals were single-elimination and played on the home court of the higher seed. The first round consisted of two matchups based on the seedings (5-8 and 6-7). The two winners advanced to the second round with a matchup between the number 3 seed and the lower of the advancing seeds and another matchup between the number 4 seed and the other first-round winner. The winners of the first two rounds advanced to the semifinals, where the lower-ranked seed of the winners faced the number 1 seed, while the other remaining team faced the number 2 seed.

Tiebreak procedures[]

1) Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams. 2) Better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record at the end of the season. 3) Better point differential in games involving tied teams. 4) Better point differential in all games. 5) Coin toss (or draw of lots, if at least 3 teams are still tied after the first 4 tiebreakers fail).

Playoff series history[]

2021 season[]

	First round: Single elimination (Sept. 23)				Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 26)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 8)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 10 – Oct. 17)
									2 Las Vegas Aces	2
									5 Phoenix Mercury	3
					4 Seattle Storm	80
					5 Phoenix Mercury	85OT
	5 Phoenix Mercury	83
	8 New York Liberty	82
													5 Phoenix Mercury	1
													6 Chicago Sky	3
	6 Chicago Sky	81
	7 Dallas Wings	64
					3 Minnesota Lynx	76
					6 Chicago Sky	89
									1 Connecticut Sun	1
									6 Chicago Sky	3

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3	4
1 Connecticut Sun	95	79	83	69
6 Chicago Sky	101 2OT	68	86	79

Team	1	2	3	4	5
2 Las Vegas Aces	96	91	60	93	84
5 Phoenix Mercury	90	117	87	76	87

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3	4
5 Phoenix Mercury	77	91 OT	50	74
6 Chicago Sky	91	86	86	80

2020 season[]

	First round: Single elimination (September 15)				Second round: Single elimination (September 17)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11)
									1 Las Vegas Aces	3
									7 Connecticut Sun	2
					4 Minnesota Lynx	80
					5 Phoenix Mercury	79
	5 Phoenix Mercury	85
	8 Washington Mystics	84
													1 Las Vegas Aces	0
													2 Seattle Storm	3
	6 Chicago Sky	81
	7 Connecticut Sun	94
					3 Los Angeles Sparks	59
					7 Connecticut Sun	73
									2 Seattle Storm	3
									4 Minnesota Lynx	0

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3	4	5
1 Las Vegas Aces	62	83	68	84	66
7 Connecticut Sun	87	75	77	75	63

Team	1	2	3
2 Seattle Storm	88	89	92
4 Minnesota Lynx	86	79	71

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3
1 Las Vegas Aces	80	91	59
2 Seattle Storm	93	104	92

2019 season[]

	First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11)				Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10)
									1 Washington Mystics	3
									4 Las Vegas Aces	1
					4 Las Vegas Aces	93
					5 Chicago Sky	92
	5 Chicago Sky	105
	8 Phoenix Mercury	76
													1 Washington Mystics	3
													2 Connecticut Sun	2
	6 Seattle Storm	84
	7 Minnesota Lynx	74
					3 Los Angeles Sparks	92
					6 Seattle Storm	69
									2 Connecticut Sun	3
									3 Los Angeles Sparks	0

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3	4
1 Washington Mystics	97	103	75	94
4 Las Vegas Aces	95	91	92	90

Team	1	2	3
2 Connecticut Sun	84	94	78
3 Los Angeles Sparks	75	68	56

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3	4	5
1 Washington Mystics	95	87	94	86	89
2 Connecticut Sun	86	99	81	90	78

2018 season[]

	First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21)				Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
									1 Seattle Storm	3
									5 Phoenix Mercury	2
					4 Connecticut Sun	86
					5 Phoenix Mercury	96
	5 Phoenix Mercury	101
	8 Dallas Wings	83
													1 Seattle Storm	3
													3 Washington Mystics	0
	6 Los Angeles Sparks	75
	7 Minnesota Lynx	68
					3 Washington Mystics	96
					6 Los Angeles Sparks	64
									2 Atlanta Dream	2
									3 Washington Mystics	3

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3	4	5
1 Seattle Storm	91	91	66	84	94
5 Phoenix Mercury	87	87	86	86	84

Team	1	2	3	4	5
2 Atlanta Dream	84	78	81	76	81
3 Washington Mystics	87	75	76	97	86

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3
1 Seattle Storm	89	75	98
3 Washington Mystics	76	73	82

2017 season[]

	First round: Single elimination (Sept. 6)				Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 10)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 12 – Sept. 17)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 24 – Oct. 4)
									2 Los Angeles Sparks	3
									5 Phoenix Mercury	0
					4 Connecticut Sun	83
					5 Phoenix Mercury	88
	5 Phoenix Mercury	79
	8 Seattle Storm	69
													1 Minnesota Lynx	3
													2 Los Angeles Sparks	2
	6 Washington Mystics	86
	7 Dallas Wings	76
					3 New York Liberty	68
					6 Washington Mystics	82
									1 Minnesota Lynx	3
									6 Washington Mystics	0

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3
1 Minnesota Lynx	101	93	81
6 Washington Mystics	81	83	70

Team	1	2	3
2 Los Angeles Sparks	79	86	89
5 Phoenix Mercury	66	72	87

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3	4	5
1 Minnesota Lynx	84	70	64	80	85
2 Los Angeles Sparks	85	68	75	69	76

2016 season[]

	First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21)				Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20)
									1 Minnesota Lynx	3
									8 Phoenix Mercury	0
					3 New York Liberty	94
					8 Phoenix Mercury	101
	5 Indiana Fever	78
	8 Phoenix Mercury	89
													1 Minnesota Lynx	2
													2 Los Angeles Sparks	3
	6 Atlanta Dream	94
	7 Seattle Storm	85
					4 Chicago Sky	108
					6 Atlanta Dream	98
									2 Los Angeles Sparks	3
									4 Chicago Sky	1

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3
1 Minnesota Lynx	113	96	82
8 Phoenix Mercury	95	86	67

Team	1	2	3	4
2 Los Angeles Sparks	95	99	66	95
4 Chicago Sky	75	84	70	75

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3	4	5
1 Minnesota Lynx	76	79	75	85	76
2 Los Angeles Sparks	78	60	92	79	77

2015 season[]

Conference Semi-Finals: Best-of-3

Conference Finals: Best-of-3

WNBA Finals: Best-of-5

E1

New York

2

E4

Washington

1

E1

New York

1

Eastern Conference

E3

Indiana

2

E2

Chicago

1

E3

Indiana

2

E3

Indiana

2

W1

Minnesota

3

W1

Minnesota

2

W4

Los Angeles

1

W1

Minnesota

2

Western Conference

W2

Phoenix

0

W2

Phoenix

2

W3

Tulsa

0

Bold Series winner
italics Team with home-court advantage

2014 season[]

There were 12 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals: Best-of-3

Conference Finals: Best-of-3

WNBA Finals: Best-of-5

E1

Atlanta

1

E4

Chicago

2

E4

Chicago

2

Eastern Conference

E2

Indiana

1

E2

Indiana

2

E3

Washington

0

E4

Chicago

0

W1

Phoenix

3

W1

Phoenix

2

W4

Los Angeles

0

W1

Phoenix

2

Western Conference

W2

Minnesota

1

W2

Minnesota

2

W3

San Antonio

0

2013 season[]

There were 12 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Chicago

0

E4

Indiana

2

E4

Indiana

0

Eastern Conference

E2

Atlanta

2

E2

Atlanta

2

E3

Washington

1

E2

Atlanta

0

W1

Minnesota

3

W1

Minnesota

2

W4

Seattle

0

W1

Minnesota

2

Western Conference

W3

Phoenix

0

W2

Los Angeles

1

W3

Phoenix

2

2012 season[]

There were 12 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Connecticut

2

E4

New York

0

E1

Connecticut

1

Eastern Conference

E2

Indiana

2

E2

Indiana

2

E3

Atlanta

1

E2

Indiana

3

W1

Minnesota

1

W1

Minnesota

2

W4

Seattle

1

W1

Minnesota

2

Western Conference

W2

Los Angeles

0

W2

Los Angeles

2

W3

San Antonio

0

2011 season[]

There were 12 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Indiana

2

E4

New York

1

E1

Indiana

1

Eastern Conference

E3

Atlanta

2

E2

Connecticut

0

E3

Atlanta

2

E3

Atlanta

0

W1

Minnesota

3

W1

Minnesota

2

W4

San Antonio

1

W1

Minnesota

2

Western Conference

W3

Phoenix

0

W2

Seattle

1

W3

Phoenix

2

2010 season[]

There are 12 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference are seeded one to four. Starting in 2010, the first two rounds changed to a 1-1-1 format, with the higher-seeded team hosting games 1 & 3.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Washington

0

E4

Atlanta

2

E4

Atlanta

2

Eastern Conference

E2

New York

0

E2

New York

2

E3

Indiana

1

E4

Atlanta

0

W1

Seattle

3

W1

Seattle

2

W4

Los Angeles

0

W1

Seattle

2

Western Conference

W2

Phoenix

0

W2

Phoenix

2

W3

San Antonio

0

2009 season[]

There are 13 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference are seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Indiana

2

E4

Washington

0

E1

Indiana

2

Eastern Conference

E3

Detroit

1

E2

Atlanta

0

E3

Detroit

2

E1

Indiana

2

W1

Phoenix

3

W1

Phoenix

2

W4

San Antonio

1

W1

Phoenix

2

Western Conference

W3

Los Angeles

1

W2

Seattle

1

W3

Los Angeles

2

2008 season[]

There were 14 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Detroit

2

E4

Indiana

1

E1

Detroit

2

E3

New York

1

E2

Connecticut

1

E3

New York

2

E1

Detroit

3

W1

San Antonio

0

W1

San Antonio

2

W4

Sacramento

1

W1

San Antonio

2

W3

Los Angeles

1

W2

Seattle

1

W3

Los Angeles

2

2007 season[]

There were 13 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Detroit

2

E4

New York

1

E1

Detroit

2

E2

Indiana

1

E2

Indiana

2

E3

Connecticut

1

E1

Detroit

2

W1

Phoenix

3

W1

Phoenix

2

W4

Seattle

0

W1

Phoenix

2

W2

San Antonio

0

W2

San Antonio

2

W3

Sacramento

1

2006 season[]

There were 14 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Connecticut

2

E4

Washington

0

E1

Connecticut

1

E2

Detroit

2

E2

Detroit

2

E3

Indiana

0

E2

Detroit

3

W2

Sacramento

2

W1

Los Angeles

2

W4

Seattle

1

W1

Los Angeles

0

W2

Sacramento

2

W2

Sacramento

2

W3

Houston

0

2005 season[]

There were 13 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-5

E1

Connecticut

2

E4

Detroit

0

E1

Connecticut

2

E2

Indiana

0

E2

Indiana

2

E3

New York

0

E1

Connecticut

1

W1

Sacramento

3

W1

Sacramento

2

W4

Los Angeles

0

W1

Sacramento

2

W3

Houston

0

W2

Seattle

1

W3

Houston

2

2004 season[]

There were 13 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-3

E1

Connecticut

2

E4

Washington

1

E1

Connecticut

2

E2

New York

0

E2

New York

2

E3

Detroit

1

E1

Connecticut

1

W2

Seattle

2

W1

Los Angeles

1

W4

Sacramento

2

W4

Sacramento

1

W2

Seattle

2

W2

Seattle

2

W3

Minnesota

0

2003 season[]

There were 14 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-3

E1

Detroit

2

E4

Cleveland

1

E1

Detroit

2

E3

Connecticut

0

E2

Charlotte

0

E3

Connecticut

2

E1

Detroit

2

W1

Los Angeles

1

W1

Los Angeles

2

W4

Minnesota

1

W1

Los Angeles

2

W3

Sacramento

1

W2

Houston

1

W3

Sacramento

2

2002 season[]

There were 16 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-3

E1

New York

2

E4

Indiana

1

E1

New York

2

E3

Washington

0

E2

Charlotte

0

E3

Washington

2

E1

New York

0

W1

Los Angeles

2

W1

Los Angeles

2

W4

Seattle

0

W1

Los Angeles

2

W3

Utah

0

W2

Houston

1

W3

Utah

2

2001 season[]

There were 16 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-3

E1

Cleveland

1

E4

Charlotte

2

E4

Charlotte

2

E2

New York

1

E2

New York

2

E3

Miami

1

E4

Charlotte

0

W1

Los Angeles

2

W1

Los Angeles

2

W4

Houston

0

W1

Los Angeles

2

W2

Sacramento

1

W2

Sacramento

2

W3

Utah

0

2000 season[]

There were 16 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-3

E1

New York

2

E4

Washington

0

E1

New York

2

E2

Cleveland

1

E2

Cleveland

2

E3

Orlando

1

E1

New York

0

W2

Houston

2

W1

Los Angeles

2

W4

Phoenix

0

W1

Los Angeles

0

W2

Houston

2

W2

Houston

2

W3

Sacramento

0

1999 season[]

There were 12 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the three teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to three. The top seeded team in each conference got a bye for the first round.

Conference Semi-Finals Single Game

Conference Finals Best-of-3

WNBA Finals Best-of-3

E1

New York

2

E3

Charlotte

1

E2

Detroit

54

E3

Charlotte

60

E1

New York

1

W1

Houston

2

W1

Houston

2

W2

Los Angeles

1

W2

Los Angeles

71

W3

Sacramento

58

1998 season[]

There were 10 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was switched to the Western Conference in 1998 so two Western Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Finals.

	Playoff Semi-Finals Best-of-3					WNBA Finals Best-of-3
	W1	Houston	2
	E2	Charlotte	0
						W1	Houston	2
						W2	Phoenix	1
	W2	Phoenix	2
	E1	Cleveland	1

1997 season[]

This was the first year of existence for the WNBA. There were only 8 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was in the Eastern Conference in 1997 so two Eastern Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Championship.

	Playoff Semi-Finals Single Game					WNBA Championship Single Game
	E1	Houston	70
	E4	Charlotte	54
						E1	Houston	65
						E2	New York	51
	W3	Phoenix	41
	E2	New York	59

See also[]

• Women's National Basketball Association
• WNBA Finals

References[]

External links[]

• WNBA Playoff History