The final day of the 2023 WNBA regular season brought clarity to the playoff picture, as the eight teams that clinched playoff berths are now able to prepare for their first round series.
The Aces secured the top-seed in the playoffs, with the Liberty in the 2-seed on the opposite side of the bracket with the wide expectation being that the two superteams will meet in the Finals. However, to get there, they will each have to win two series, starting with a Best of 3 in the first round and then a Best of 5 in the semis (and Finals). The Aces will open up against the 8-seed Chicago Sky, while the Liberty will face the 7-seed Washington Mystics (who beat them on a buzzer-beater on Sunday).
The official bracket for the 2023 #WNBAPlayoffs presented by @Google
First Round begins Wednesday September 13th at 8pm/ET on ESPN2 #MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/Jc90UfZUKt
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 10, 2023
The other two matchups will feature the Dallas Wings and Atlanta Dream in the 4-5 matchup, while the Connecticut Sun will face the Minnesota Lynx, and each of those squads will have designs on spoiling a Liberty-Aces playoff series. While there isn’t as much variance in the early rounds now that the first round is a 3-game series rather than a 1-game playoff, it’s still a short enough series that one loss can bring an awful lot of pressure as it means the higher seed will have to go on the road for Game 3 and inspire a lot of belief in an underdog.
The full TV schedule for each series is also out, with ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 carrying each game.
1. Las Vegas Aces vs. 8. Chicago Sky
Game 1: Wednesday, Sept. 13; 10:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 2: Sunday, Sept. 17; 3:00 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 3: Wednesday, Sept. 20; TBD (ESPN)
4. Dallas Wings vs. 5. Atlanta Dream
Game 1: Friday, Sept. 15; 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Game 2: Tuesday, Sept. 19; 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3: Friday, Sept. 22; TBD (ESPN2)
2. New York Liberty vs. 7. Washington Mystics
Game 1: Friday, Sept. 15; 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Game 2: Tuesday, Sept. 19; 7:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3: Friday, Sept. 22; TBD (ESPN2)
3. Connecticut Sun vs. 6. Minnesota Lynx
Game 1: Wednesday, Sept. 13; 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 2: Sunday, Sept. 17; 1:00 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 3: Wednesday, Sept. 20; TBD (ESPN)