WNBA Playoff Picture 2024: Official Bracket Scenarios After Sun vs. Aces

Andrew PetersSeptember 16, 2024

David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images

The WNBA playoff picture is becoming clearer as the end of the regular season nears.

With just one week to go before the start of the playoffs, seven teams have punched their ticket to the postseason while two teams, the Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks, have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.

That leaves three teams fighting for the final playoff spot, meaning the final few days of play will have plenty of implications.

Ahead of the final week of regular season play, here’s a look at the current playoff picture:

New York Liberty, 31-7 (Clinched playoff berth)Minnesota Lynx, 29-9 (Clinched playoff berth)Connecticut Sun, 27-11 (Clinched playoff berth)Las Vegas Aces, 25-13 (Clinched playoff berth)Seattle Storm, 24-14 (Clinched playoff berth)Indiana Fever, 20-19 (Clinched playoff berth)Phoenix Mercury, 18-20 (Clinched playoff berth)Washington Mystics, 13-25Chicago Sky, 13-25Atlanta Dream, 13-25Heading into the week, the most intriguing storylines reside with the Mystics, Sky and Dream as those three squads battle it out for a trip to the postseason.

For the past few weeks, the race for the No. 8 seed has mostly been between the Sky and Dream, but Washington has gone 7-3 over its last 10 games to put itself in playoff position. Unfortunately for the Mystics, they have a tough schedule this week as they’ll play the top-seeded Liberty and the Fever.

On Tuesday, the Dream and Sky face off in a game filled with implications. Whichever team comes out on top in that matchup will likely earn the final spot in the playoffs. After playing Atlanta, Chicago will close its season out against the Sun. The Dream will finish out the regular season against the Liberty.

New York has been the top team in the WNBA all year, and it just needs to win or a Lynx loss to officially claim the No. 1 seed. The Lynx could force a tiebreaker if they win their final two games and the Liberty lose their last two games.

If any teams end the year with a matching record, the following will be used to determine the tiebreaker:

Head-to-head recordConference winning percentageWinning percentage against all teams with .500 or better recordPoint differential in head-to-head gamesCoin tossEarning the top seed is no small feat, as that team would get home-court advantage throughout the postseason.

While the Lynx will be chasing the Liberty this week, the Sun will be looking to overtake them for the No. 2 seed, and the Aces are hoping to steal No. 3 from Connecticut.

Whichever team earns the No. 3 seed could have a tough matchup waiting on them as Caitlin Clark and the Fever have just about secured the No. 6 seed. At the beginning of the year, Indiana seemed like a playoff hopeful, but now it seems like a team capable of upsetting a higher seed and putting together a deep playoff run.

Clark has put together one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory, and she’s not looking to end her season earlier than she needs to.

If the current standings hold after this week, fans could be in for a treat this postseason. The defending champion Aces could have a date with the Liberty in the second round in what would be a rematch of the 2023 WNBA Finals.

It hasn’t been the title-defending year Las Vegas has hoped for, but if it can take down the top team in the league in the second round it would make a three-peat significantly easier.