WNBA Playoff Picture 2024: Official Bracket Scenarios After Liberty vs. Wings

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 13, 2024

Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

One might be the loneliest number, but it is also the New York Liberty’s magic number to clinch the WNBA’s No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the upcoming playoffs.

After New York defeated the Dallas Wings in the only WNBA game on Thursday’s slate, it is one win or one Minnesota Lynx loss away from securing the top seed. It is likely just a matter of time before the Liberty are celebrating that accomplishment, but they surely have their eyes on the bigger prize of a championship.

And here is what the current playoff picture and standings look like with seven of the eight spots secured:

New York Liberty, 31-6Minnesota Lynx, 27-9 (3.5 GB)Connecticut Sun, 26-10 (4.5 GB)Las Vegas Aces, 23-13 (7.5 GB)Seattle Storm, 22-14 (8.5 GB)Indiana Fever, 19-18 (12 GB)Phoenix Mercury, 17-19 (13.5 GB)Chicago Sky, 13-23 (17.5 GB)Atlanta Dream, 12-24 (18.5 GB)Washington Mystics, 12-24 (18.5 GB)One look at the standings hints at the thrilling postseason matchups to come.

If the seedings hold, the Liberty could face the Las Vegas Aces in the second round. That would be a showdown between the top team this season and the two-time reigning champions who are attempting to become the first WNBA team to win three straight titles since the Houston Comets won the league’s first four championships.

The star power alone with A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, Jackie Young and Jonquel Jones, among others, would make that entire series appointment viewing.

Caitlin Clark will also be a featured player in the postseason after helping lead the Indiana Fever’s impressive turnaround following their 1-8 start. The rookie has fully adjusted to the WNBA level and could pose a threat to some of the top teams in the league alongside Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.

But there is still one more seed to determine in the regular season before fans can start turning their attention toward the playoffs.

The Chicago Sky are holding onto the final playoff seed despite going 2-8 in their last 10 games. As if the recent struggles weren’t enough, star rookie Angel Reese is also out for the season with a wrist injury.

It seemed like Chicago might finally have some momentum when it followed a seven-game losing streak with back-to-back wins against the Los Angeles Sparks and Dallas Wings, but it is now without Reese and coming off a blowout 89-58 loss to the Washington Mystics on Wednesday.

That was an important result for Washington, as it is now just one game behind the Sky and tied with the Atlanta Dream.

There figures to be far more clarity in the race for the No. 8 seed after the upcoming weekend, as the Dream and Mystics face each other in back-to-back contests on Friday and Sunday.

Atlanta also faces Chicago on Tuesday, so it can play itself into the postseason picture with a strong finish.