WNBA playoff preview: How all eight teams could win the championship — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Minnesota Lynx earned the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year and seek to become the first franchise to win five WNBA championships, with their last title coming in 2017 and a 2024 Finals rematch against the No. 8 New York Liberty looming.
- Golden State Valkyries became the first WNBA team to reach the playoffs in each of its first two seasons, boasting the league's best defensive rating (98.9) and holding opponents to a league-low 78.8 points per game.
- Las Vegas Aces look to join Houston, Minnesota, and Seattle as four-time WNBA champions behind reigning MVP A'ja Wilson (26.2 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.0 BPG), though they must absorb the Aug. 23 season-ending leg injury to NaLyssa Smith.
- Atlanta Dream host Angel Reese's postseason debut (16.4 PPG, 12.1 RPG) as they chase their first Finals appearance since 2013, despite having lost in the first round in each of their past three playoff trips.
- Indiana Fever drew a No. 6 seed for the third consecutive season and will face defending champion Las Vegas in the first round, while the Washington Mystics return to the postseason for the first time in three years as the No. 5 seed against Atlanta.
Why it matters: The bracket carries league-shaping stakes across the field: the Lynx pursue a record fifth title, the Aces try to join an exclusive four-time champions club, and the Valkyries chase their first-ever playoff win after a historic expansion-era start. First-round matchups deliver a 2024 Finals rematch (Lynx-Liberty), Angel Reese's playoff debut, and a third straight Fever-Aces collision.
Ask SkimNews
