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.

WNBA Playoffs logo
WNBA Playoffs logo

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 saw the playoffs return to a standard eight-team bracket for the first time since 2015, though in a slightly different format.

The first round consists 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 current first-round format and the one abandoned after 2015 are:[1]

  • The 2015 format featured separate brackets for each conference. The 2022 format maintains 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 is 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, though the lower seed will host the series decider if it wins one of the first two games.

In the current 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 to 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
See also: List of WNBA playoff series

2021 season
First round
Sept. 23		Second round
Sept. 26		Semifinals
Sept. 28 – Oct. 8		WNBA Finals
Oct. 10 – Oct. 17
2Las Vegas Aces9691609384
4Seattle Storm805Phoenix Mercury90117877687
5Phoenix Mercury835Phoenix Mercury85OT5Phoenix Mercury7791OT5074–
8New York Liberty826Chicago Sky91868680–
1Connecticut Sun95798369–
3Minnesota Lynx766Chicago Sky1012OT688679–
6Chicago Sky816Chicago Sky89
7Dallas Wings64

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

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)
1Las Vegas Aces6283688466
4Minnesota Lynx807Connecticut Sun8775777563
5Phoenix Mercury855Phoenix Mercury791Las Vegas Aces809159
8Washington Mystics842Seattle Storm9310492
2 Seattle Storm888992
3Los Angeles Sparks594Minnesota Lynx867971
6Chicago Sky817Connecticut Sun73
7Connecticut Sun94

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

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)
1Washington Mystics971037594
4Las Vegas Aces934Las Vegas Aces95919290
5Chicago Sky1055Chicago Sky921Washington Mystics9587948689
8Phoenix Mercury762Connecticut Sun8699819078
2Connecticut Sun849478
3Los Angeles Sparks923Los Angeles Sparks756856
6Seattle Storm846Seattle Storm69
7Minnesota Lynx74

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

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)
1Seattle Storm9191668494
4Connecticut Sun865Phoenix Mercury8787868684
5Phoenix Mercury1015Phoenix Mercury961Seattle Storm897598
8Dallas Wings833Washington Mystics767382
2Atlanta Dream8478817681
3Washington Mystics963Washington Mystics8775769786
6Los Angeles Sparks756Los Angeles Sparks64
7Minnesota Lynx68

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

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)
2Los Angeles Sparks798689
4Connecticut Sun835Phoenix Mercury667287
5Phoenix Mercury795Phoenix Mercury881Minnesota Lynx8470648085
8Seattle Storm692Los Angeles Sparks8568756976
1Minnesota Lynx1019381
3New York Liberty686Washington Mystics818370
6Washington Mystics866Washington Mystics82
7Dallas Wings76

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

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)
1Minnesota Lynx1139682
3New York Liberty948Phoenix Mercury958667
5Indiana Fever788Phoenix Mercury1011Minnesota Lynx7679758576
8Phoenix Mercury892Los Angeles Sparks7860927977
2Los Angeles Sparks95996695
4Chicago Sky1084Chicago Sky75847075
6Atlanta Dream946Atlanta Dream98
7Seattle Storm85

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

2015 season
Main article: 2015 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2015 WNBA season and 2015 WNBA Finals
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
Main article: 2014 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2014 WNBA season and 2014 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2013 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2013 WNBA season and 2013 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2012 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2012 WNBA season and 2012 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2011 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2011 WNBA season and 2011 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2010 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2010 WNBA season and 2010 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2009 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2009 WNBA season and 2009 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2008 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2008 WNBA season and 2008 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2007 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2007 WNBA season and 2007 WNBA Finals

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
Main article: 2006 WNBA Playoffs
Further information: 2006 WNBA 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
Further information: 2005 WNBA 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
Further information: 2004 WNBA 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
Further information: 2003 WNBA 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
Further information: 2002 WNBA 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
Further information: 2001 WNBA 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
Further information: 2000 WNBA 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
Further information: 1999 WNBA 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
Further information: 1998 WNBA 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
Further information: 1997 WNBA 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

References
  1. "WNBA Approves New Playoff Format" (Press release). WNBA. November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.