The WNBA Playoff field was officially set after the Connecticut Sun blew out the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream beat the New York Liberty on the final night of the regular season. Those results meant Connecticut was locked in as the 3-seed, while the Dream would make it as the 8-seed, ending any final day drama with the standings, even with three late games still yet to tip-off.
With those results, each team knew who they’d face in their best-of-3 first round series which will start with all four Game 1s on Sunday.
1. New York Liberty vs. 8. Atlanta Dream
2. Minnesota Lynx vs. 7. Phoenix Mercury
3. Connecticut Sun vs. 6. Indiana Fever
4. Las Vegas Aces vs. 5. Seattle Storm
The WNBA also was able to finalize the TV schedule for Games 1 and 2 in each first round series, which will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. Game 3s, if necessary, will be played on ESPN2 on Thursday and Friday, but timing on those games will be dependent on whether there are one or two games that night. In the least surprising news, the lone ABC game will be Caitlin Clark’s playoff debut with the Fever in Connecticut, while the rest of the Game 1s (and all of the Game 2s) will be on ESPN.
Sunday, September 22
Atlanta at New York (1:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Indiana at Connecticut (3:00 p.m. ET, ABC)
Phoenix at Minnesota (5:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Seattle at Las Vegas (10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Tuesday, September 24
Atlanta at New York (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Seattle at Las Vegas (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Wednesday, September 25
Indiana at Connecticut (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Phoenix at Minnesota (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Thursday, September 26
New York at Atlanta (TBD, ESPN2)
Las Vegas at Seattle (TBD, ESPN2)
Friday, September 27
Connecticut at Indiana (TBD, ESPN2)
Minnesota at Phoenix (TBD, ESPN2)