2025 WNBA playoffs

2025 WNBA playoffs

Dates	September 14 – October 19, 2025

The 2025 WNBA playoffs is the postseason tournament of the Women's National Basketball Association's 2025 season. The playoffs began on September 14, 2025.

Overview

Updates to postseason appearances

• The Las Vegas Aces entered the postseason for their seventh consecutive season, the longest active postseason appearance streak in the WNBA.
• The New York Liberty entered the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.
• The Atlanta Dream entered the post season for the third consecutive season.
• The Minnesota Lynx entered the postseason for their third consecutive season.
• The Indiana Fever entered the postseason for their second consecutive season.
• The Phoenix Mercury entered the postseason for their second consecutive season.
• The Seattle Storm entered the postseason for their second consecutive season.
• The Golden State Valkyries entered the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

• The Connecticut Sun missed the postseason, ending a eight-season postseason appearance streak.
• The Chicago Sky missed the postseason for the second consecutive season.
• The Dallas Wings missed the postseason for the second consecutive season.
• The Washington Mystics missed the postseason for the second consecutive season.
• The Los Angeles Sparks missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive season, the longest active postseason drought in the WNBA.

Notable occurrences

• The Golden State Valkyries became the first expansion team in WNBA history to make the postseason in their inaugural season.
• This is the first time since 2011 that all playoff teams have a winning record.

Format

The first round of the WNBA playoffs consists of best-of-three series, with the following matchups: No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, and No. 4 vs. No. 5. The higher seed in the first round has home-court advantage in Games 1 and 3, if needed.

In the semifinals of the postseason, the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, and, if needed, 5 of a best-of-five series. Additionally, the WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven format for the first time in the league's history. Games 1 and 2, as well as Games 5 and 7, if needed, will be hosted by the higher seed.

Broadcast

All games will be aired across the ESPN family of networks, which includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ABC in the US and on TSN, Sportsnet, and NBA TV Canada in Canada.

All games can be watched outside USA & Canada via the WNBA League Pass.

Playoff qualifying

Seed	Team	Record	Clinched
			Playoff berth	Top record
1	Minnesota Lynx	34–10	August 13	August 30
2	Las Vegas Aces [note 1]	30–14	August 25
3	Atlanta Dream [note 1]	30–14	August 29
4	Phoenix Mercury [note 2]	27–17	August 29
5	New York Liberty [note 2]	27–17	September 2
6	Indiana Fever	24–20	September 7
7	Seattle Storm [note 3]	23–21	September 9
8	Golden State Valkyries [note 3]	23–21	September 4

^{[note 1]} The Las Vegas Aces earned the second seed by virtue of the first tiebreaker, head-to-head record between the teams, as the Aces won all three regular season match-ups with the Dream.

^{[note 2]} The Phoenix Mercury earned the fourth seed by virtue of the first tiebreaker, head-to-head record between the teams, as the Mercury won three of the four regular season match-ups with the Liberty.

^{[note 3]} The Seattle Storm and Golden State Valkyries tied their regular season series two games a piece, so a second tiebreaker was required. The second tiebreaker was record against teams with a .500+ winning percentage. The Storm finished 10–13 in this category, while the Valkyries finished 10–18. Therefore the Storm earned the seventh seed, and the Valkyries were the eighth seed.

Bracket

	First Round: Best-of-3					Semifinals: Best-of-5					Finals: Best-of-7
	1	Minnesota Lynx	2
	8	Golden State Valkyries	0
						1	Minnesota Lynx	0
								0
	4	Phoenix Mercury	1
	5	New York Liberty	1
													0
													0
	2	Las Vegas Aces	2
	7	Seattle Storm	1
						2	Las Vegas Aces	0
						6	Indiana Fever	0
	3	Atlanta Dream	1
	6	Indiana Fever	2

• Bold – Series winner
• Italic – Team with home-court-advantage

First round

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (8) Golden State Valkyries

The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx will play the eighth-seeded Golden State Valkyries in the first playoff series. The Lynx enter the post-season as the top overall seed after finishing four games ahead of the Las Vegas Aces and Atlanta Dream. The Lynx finished 6–4 in their final ten games of the regular season. The Golden State Valkyries enter the series as the first expansion team to qualify for the playoffs in their first season. They finished the regular season 5–5 in their final ten games. The regular season series between the two teams finished 4–0 in favor of the Lynx, with two of the games coming in the final three games of the season.

Game 1

Golden State started game one of the series strongly, winning the first quarter 28–21. However, they could not sustain their performance, and Minnesota won the second quarter 26–12. Minnesota took a seven-point lead into halftime and did not look back. Minnesota came out of the break and won the third quarter 32–18 and won the fourth quarter 22–14. Minnesota went on to win game one at home by twenty-nine points and improve to 5–0 against Golden State for the season. The Lynx had five players score in double figures and were lead by Napheesa Collier, who scored twenty points. Natisha Hiedeman scored eighteen, Kayla McBride scored seventeen, Jessica Shepard scored twelve, and Courtney Williams scored eleven. The Valkyries also had five players score in double figures, and they were lead by Veronica Burton and Cecilia Zandalasini who both scored fourteen points. Janelle Salaün added thirteen points, Temi Fagbenle scored twelve, and Kate Martin added eleven points.

ESPN

September 14 1 PM ET

Box score

Golden State Valkyries 72, Minnesota Lynx 101
Scoring by quarter: 28–21, 12–26, 18–32, 14–22
Pts: Burton, Zandalasini 14 Rebs: Janelle Salaün 6 Asts: Veronica Burton 7		Pts: Napheesa Collier 20 Rebs: Jessica Shepard 8 Asts: Hiedeman, Shepard, Williams 4
Minnesota leads series, 1–0

Target Center Attendance: 8,821 Referees: Jeff Wooten, Tiara Cruse, Kevin Fahy, Gerda Gatling

Game 2

Game two saw the series move to California where the Valkyries took advantage of their home court, winning the first quarter 27–19. The second quarter was much lower scoring, with the Valkyries prevailing 14–9. Golden State took a thirteen-point lead into halftime of their first home playoff game in franchise history. The third quarter was the closest of the game, and the Valkyries prevailed 22–21 to lead by fourteen-points heading into the final frame. However, the Lynx mounted an epic comeback and won the final quarter 26–11. Their fifteen-point fourth quarter victory gave them a one point win in the game. Minnesota trailed by as many as seventeen points during the third quarter and took the lead with just 1:24 left. They secured the series victory 2–0 and advanced to the Semifinals.

The Lynx had four players score in double-figures and were led by Napheesa Collier with twenty-four points. Kayla McBride scored eighteen points, Bridget Carleton added twelve, and DiJonai Carrington scored eleven from the bench. The Valkyries also had four players score in double-digits and were led by Monique Billings who scored fifteen points. Both Janelle Salaün and Cecilia Zandalasini scored fourteen points, and Veronica Burton rounded out the double-digits scorers with thirteen points.

ESPN

September 17 10 PM ET

Box score

Minnesota Lynx 75, Golden State Valkyries 74
Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 9–14, 21–22, 26–11
Pts: Napheesa Collier 24 Rebs: Napheesa Collier 7 Asts: Hiedeman, Williams 7		Pts: Monique Billings 15 Rebs: Veronica Burton 6 Asts: Veronica Burton 9
Minnesota wins series, 2–0

SAP Center Attendance: 18,543 Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Gina Cross, Tim Greene, Clare Aubry

(2) Las Vegas Aces vs. (7) Seattle Storm

In the second playoff series, the second-seed Las Vegas Aces will play the seventh-seed Seattle Storm. Las Vegas finished four games out of first place during the regular season, and earned the second seed by winning a tiebreaker over Atlanta. Las Vegas enters the series after going 10–0 in their last ten games and having not lost in fourteen games. Seattle finished only one game out of being the sixth seed and won a tiebreaker with Golden State to earn the seventh seed. The Storm finished the regular season 6–4 in their final ten games. The Western Conference teams played four times in the regular season, with the teams splitting the series two games each.

Game 1

The Aces used home court to their advantage to begin the game well, winning the first quarter 22–12. The game followed a similar trajectory in the second quarter, as the Aces won the quarter 23–13. The Aces took a twenty-point lead into halftime. The game became closer in the third quarter, but the Aces prevailed again, winning the quarter 31–27. The Aces again won the fourth quarter, 26–25 and won the game by twenty-five points. Five Aces scored in double figures, lead by A'ja Wilson who had twenty-nine points. Jackie Young scored eighteen points, Jewell Loyd scored fourteen, Dana Evans scored thirteen, and NaLyssa Smith added eleven points. The Storm also had five players reach double-figures in points, and were lead by Gabby Williams with sixteen points. Both Skylar Diggins and Dominique Malonga scored twelve, Nneka Ogwumike scored eleven, and Erica Wheeler added ten. Malonga added eleven rebounds to record a double-double.

ESPN

September 14 10 PM ET

Box score

Seattle Storm 77, Las Vegas Aces 102
Scoring by quarter: 12–22, 13–23, 27–31, 25–26
Pts: Gabby Williams 16 Rebs: Dominique Malonga 11 Asts: Nneka Ogwumike 3		Pts: A'ja Wilson 29 Rebs: NaLyssa Smith 9 Asts: Jackie Young 7
Las Vegas leads series, 1–0

Michelob Ultra Arena Attendance: 10,407 Referees: Tim Greene, Fatou Cissoko-Stephens, Ryan Sassano, Agon Abazi

Game 2

Game two started as a close contest, with Las Vegas barely edging out the first quarter 22–21. The second quarter played out similarly, and ended tied 23–23. The Aces held a one-point halftime lead and came out of the break strongly. The Aces locked down on the defensive end, limiting the Storm to seventeen points, and won the quarter 24–17. Las Vegas led by eight points going into the final quarter, but the Storm staged a comeback. They held the Aces to just fourteen points in the fourth, and won the quarter 25–14. Their nine-point quarter win saw them win the game by three points to force a third game in the series. Four Storm players finished scoring double figures, and they were led by Skylar Diggins, who scored twenty-six points. Nneka Ogwumike scored twenty-four points, and both Dominique Malonga and Erica Wheeler added eleven points. The Aces saw three players score in double figures, and were led by Jackie Young with twenty-five points. A'ja Wilson scored twenty-one points, and Jewell Loyd added thirteen. Three players recorded double-doubles in the game. The Storm saw Malonga record her second of the series as she added ten rebounds to her eleven points. Ogwumike also recorded ten rebounds. Wilson had thirteen rebounds for the Aces to complete her double-double.

ESPN

September 16 9:30 PM ET

Box score

Las Vegas Aces 83, Seattle Storm 86
Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 23–23, 24–17, 14–25
Pts: Jackie Young 25 Rebs: A'ja Wilson 13 Asts: Chelsea Gray 9		Pts: Skylar Diggins 26 Rebs: Malonga, Ogwumike 10 Asts: Skylar Diggins 7
Series tied, 1–1

Climate Pledge Arena Attendance: 12,500 Referees: Tiara Cruse, Isaac Barnett, Ashley Gloss, Gerda Gatling

Game 3

ESPN2

September 18 9:30 PM ET

Box score

Seattle Storm 73, Las Vegas Aces 74
Scoring by quarter: 19–14, 7–19, 22–19, 25–22
Pts: Ogwumike, Wheeler 16 Rebs: Nneka Ogwumike 9 Asts: Skylar Diggins 6		Pts: A'ja Wilson 38 Rebs: Kierstan Bell 7 Asts: Chelsea Gray 8
Las Vegas wins series, 2–1

Michelob Ultra Arena Attendance: 10,409 Referees: Eric Brewton, Amy Bonner, Jeff Wooten, Randy Richardson

(3) Atlanta Dream vs. (6) Indiana Fever

The third-seed Atlanta Dream will play the sixth-seed Indiana Fever in the third playoff series. The Dream entered the postseason as the third seed after losing a tiebreaker with the Las Vegas Aces. They finished the regular season four games out of first place, and three games ahead of the fourth-seeded Phoenix Mercury. They finished the season 8–2 in their final ten games. The Fever entered the postseason as the sixth-seed after finishing three games out of fifth place, and one game ahead of seventh place. They finished the regular season 6–4 in their final ten games. The Eastern Conference teams played four times in the regular season, with the teams splitting the series two games each.

Game 1

The Fever began the game well and won the first quarter 21–18. Atlanta came back strong in the second quarter, winning 22–12. Therefore, Atlanta took a seven-point lead into halftime. The third quarter was a tight affair, with Indiana winning 20–18, cutting the deficit to five heading into the fourth quarter. Atlanta improved their defensive play and limited the Fever to fifteen points, and won the quarter 22–15. Atlanta won game one by twelve points. Atlanta had four players score in double figures. They were lead by Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard who scored twenty points each, Naz Hillmon scored sixteen points, and Brionna Jones scored twelve. Only two Fever players scored in double figures; Kelsey Mitchell scored twenty-seven and Odyssey Sims added ten. Aliyah Boston reached double-figures in rebounds with twelve.

ABC

September 14 3 PM ET

Box score

Indiana Fever 68, Atlanta Dream 80
Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 12–22, 20–18, 15–22
Pts: Kelsey Mitchell 27 Rebs: Aliyah Boston 12 Asts: Aliyah Boston 5		Pts: Gray, Howard 20 Rebs: Naz Hillmon 9 Asts: Canada, Gray 4
Atlanta leads series, 1–0

Gateway Center Arena Attendance: 3,800 Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Maj Forsberg, Marcy Williams

Game 2

Indiana took advantage of their home court in the second game of the series and won the first quarter 20–14. The two teams were more even in the second quarter, which played out to a 15–15 tie. Indiana came out of halftime as the stronger team and won the third quarter 24–15. Again, the second quarter of the half was the closer quarter, but the Fever prevailed in the fourth 18–16. The Fever won game two by seventeen points to force game three. The Fever had three players score in double figures and were led by Kelsey Mitchell who scored nineteen. Aliyah Boston scored fifteen points, and Natasha Howard added twelve points. The Dream had two players score in double digits: Te-Hina Paopao, who scored eleven points from the bench, and Rhyne Howard who scored ten points.

ESPN

September 16 7:30 PM ET

Box score

Atlanta Dream 60, Indiana Fever 77
Scoring by quarter: 14–20, 15–15, 15–24, 16–18
Pts: Te-Hina Paopao 11 Rebs: Gray, Hillmon 7 Asts: Jordin Canada 6		Pts: Kelsey Mitchell 19 Rebs: Aerial Powers 7 Asts: Mitchell, Sims 4
Series tied, 1–1

Gainbridge Fieldhouse Attendance: 16,682 Referees: Eric Brewton, Angelica Suffren, Randy Richardson, Catherine Chang

Game 3

ESPN2

September 18 7:30 PM ET

Box score

Indiana Fever 87, Atlanta Dream 85
Scoring by quarter: 29–27, 20–29, 20–17, 18–12
Pts: Kelsey Mitchell 24 Rebs: Aliyah Boston 12 Asts: Odyssey Sims 8		Pts: Allisha Gray 19 Rebs: Allisha Gray 12 Asts: Jordin Canada 10
Indiana wins series, 2–1

Gateway Center Arena Attendance: 3,800 Referees: Tiara Cruse, Isaac Barnett, Kevin Fahy

(4) Phoenix Mercury vs. (5) New York Liberty

The final first round series will see the fourth-seed Phoenix Mercury play the fifth-seed New York Liberty. The two teams finished tied in the regular season standings, and Phoenix won the tiebreaker to earn home-court advantage for the series. The teams were both three games behind the third seed, and three games ahead of the sixth seed. Both teams enter the post-season having gone 6–4 in their final ten games. The teams played four games in the regular season, and the Mercury won three of the four games.

Game 1

Game one began with a low-scoring quarter, which was won by the Liberty 17–13. Offenses came alive in the second quarter and the Mercury won the quarter 30–27. The Liberty took a one-point lead into halftime. The third quarter was another low-scoring affair, with the Mercury winning 14–11. The game sat on a knife's edge heading into the final quarter, with the Mercury holding a two-point lead. The fourth quarter was the lowest scoring of all the quarters, and the Liberty won 10–8 and forced overtime. The Liberty's defense carried through into the overtime period, and the Liberty won overtime 11–4 to take game one by seven points. Four Liberty players scored in double-figures, and they were lead by Natasha Cloud with twenty-three points. Breanna Stewart scored eighteen points, Sabrina Ionescu added sixteen points, and Leonie Fiebich finished with ten points. Jonquel Jones reached double-figures in rebounds with twelve. The Mercury had three players reach double-figures in scoring and were lead by Kahleah Copper who scored fifteen. Alyssa Thomas scored fourteen points, and DeWanna Bonner added twelve points.

ESPN

September 14 5 PM ET

Box score

New York Liberty 76, Phoenix Mercury 69 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 17–13, 27–30, 11–14, 10–8, Overtime: 11–4
Pts: Natasha Cloud 23 Rebs: Jonquel Jones 12 Asts: Sabrina Ionescu 7		Pts: Kahleah Copper 15 Rebs: Alyssa Thomas 9 Asts: Alyssa Thomas 8
New York leads series, 1–0

PHX Arena Attendance: 10,095 Referees: Eric Brewton, Amy Bonner, Isaac Barnett

Game 2

Game two picked up where game one left off as a even affair. The teams tied in the first quarter 25–25. Phoenix improved their defense to flip the script in the second quarter to win 26–12, which allowed them to carry a fourteen-point lead into halftime. Both teams scored fewer points in game three where Phoenix won 18–10. The fourth quarter was another lower scoring affair, which the Mercury won 17–13. The Mercury dominated all but the first quarter to win the game by twenty-six points and force a deciding game three of the series. Their biggest lead was thirty one during the game.

Phoenix had five players score in double-figures and they were led by Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas who both scored fifteen points. DeWanna Bonner and Kahleah Copper both scored fourteen points, and Kathryn Westbeld scored ten points in her second career playoff game. The Liberty had only Emma Meesseman score in double-digits, as she scored eleven points. Jonquel Jones recorded thirteen rebounds but fell short of a double-double as she only scored seven points.

ESPN

September 17 8 PM ET

Box score

Phoenix Mercury 86, New York Liberty 60
Scoring by quarter: 25–25, 26–12, 18–10, 17–13
Pts: Sabally, Thomas 15 Rebs: DeWanna Bonner 8 Asts: Alyssa Thomas 7		Pts: Emma Meesseman 11 Rebs: Jonquel Jones 13 Asts: Ionescu, Meesseman 3
Series tied, 1–1

Barclays Center Attendance: 17,017 Referees: Maj Forsberg, Fatou Cissoko-Stephens, Jenna Reneau, Agon Abazi

Game 3

ESPN2

September 19 TBD

Preview

New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury

PHX Arena

Semifinals

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (4/5) TBD

Game 1

ESPN

September 21 5 PM ET

Preview

TBD vs. Minnesota Lynx

Target Center

Game 2

ESPN

September 23 7:30 PM ET

Preview

TBD vs. Minnesota Lynx

Target Center

Game 3

ESPN2

September 26 TBD

Preview

Minnesota Lynx vs. TBD

TBD

Game 4

TBD

September 28 TBD

Preview

Minnesota Lynx vs. TBD*

TBD

Game 5

TBD

September 30 TBD

Preview

TBD vs. Minnesota Lynx*

Target Center

(2) Las Vegas Aces vs. (6) Indiana Fever

Game 1

ABC

September 21 3 PM ET

Preview

Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces

Michelob Ultra Arena

Game 2

ESPN

September 23 9:30 PM ET

Preview

Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces

Michelob Ultra Arena

Game 3

ESPN2

September 26 TBD

Preview

Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Game 4

ABC

September 28 3 PM ET

Preview

Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever*

Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Game 5

TBD

September 30 TBD

Preview

Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces*

Michelob Ultra Arena