The 2026 WNBA playoffs is the postseason tournament of the Women's National Basketball Association's 2026 season. The playoffs began on September 27, 2026.
Overview Updates to postseason appearances
The Las Vegas Aces entered the postseason for their eighth consecutive season, the longest active postseason appearance streak in the WNBA. The New York Liberty entered the postseason for the sixth consecutive season. The Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx entered the postseason for their fourth consecutive season. The Indiana Fever entered the postseason for their third consecutive season. The Golden State Valkyries entered the postseason for their second consecutive season. The Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics entered the postseason for the first time since 2023.
The Chicago Sky missed the postseason for the third consecutive season. The Connecticut Sun missed the postseason for the second consecutive season. The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm missed the postseason, ending a two-season postseason streak. The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo missed the postseason. The Los Angeles Sparks missed the postseason for the sixth consecutive season, the longest active postseason drought in the WNBA.
Format
The first round of the WNBA playoffs consists of a 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 had home-court advantage in Games 1 and, if necessary, 3.
In the semifinals of the postseason, a best-of-five series, the higher seed hosted Games 1, 2 and, if necessary, 5. Additionally, the WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven format for the second time in the league's history. Games 1 and 2, as well as Games 5 and 7, if necessary, was hosted by the higher seed.
Playoff qualifying Seed Team Record Clinched Playoff berth 1 Minnesota Lynx 33–11 2 Golden State Valkyries 32–12 3 Las Vegas Aces 31–13 4 Atlanta Dream 30–14 5 Washington Mystics 28–16 6 Indiana Fever 28–16 7 Dallas Wings 27–17 8 New York Liberty 26–18
Bracket
First round (1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (8) New York Liberty
Game 1
Game 2
Regular-season seriesNew York won 2–1 in the regular-season series
(2) Golden State Valkyries vs. (7) Dallas Wings
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Regular-season seriesGolden State won 3–0 in the regular-season series
(3) Las Vegas Aces vs. (6) Indiana Fever
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Regular-season seriesIndiana won 2-1 in the regular-season series
(4) Atlanta Dream vs. (5) Washington Mystics
Game 1
Game 2
Semifinals (2) Golden State Valkyries vs. (3) Las Vegas Aces
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Regular-season seriesTBD won 0–0 in the regular-season series
(4) Atlanta Dream vs. (8) New York Liberty
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Regular-season seriesTBD won 0–0 in the regular-season series
References