The 2026 WNBA Playoffs are underway, and after an eventful opening slate, four teams are already one win away from advancing.
The road to a WNBA championship officially began Sunday, September 27, with eight teams still standing after a regular season that rarely gave anybody much time to get comfortable. The Minnesota Lynx finished with the league’s best record for the second straight season, the Golden State Valkyries climbed all the way to the No. 2 seed in just their second year of existence, and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces once again caught fire at exactly the right time, closing the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.
But if the opening day of the postseason taught us anything, regular season seeds only mean so much once the playoffs begin. No. 8 New York immediately flipped the bracket on its head by beating top-seeded Minnesota, while Las Vegas, Golden State and Atlanta all defended home court with convincing Game 1 victories. That means every first-round series now heads to the lower seed’s home floors with one team trying to close things out and the other trying to keep its season alive.
There is also no shortage of star power involved. A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart opened the postseason with monster performances, while players including Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard are all trying to push their teams deeper into October. With the first round being so short, there is little room for a slow start — something several teams already learned the hard way.
The top eight teams qualify for the postseason regardless of conference and are seeded by their regular-season records. The first round is best-of-three and uses a 1-1-1 format, meaning the higher seed hosts Games 1 and 3 while the lower seed hosts Game 2. From there, the semifinals become best-of-five with a 2-2-1 format, while the WNBA Finals are now best-of-seven with a 2-2-1-1-1 setup.
The 1-1-1 first-round format makes Game 2 especially interesting this year. Every team that lost Sunday (except the Lynx) now gets an elimination game at home, while the Game 1 winners have their opportunity to finish the series without having to return for a deciding Game 3.
If there were any doubts about whether the eighth-seeded Liberty could make this a real series, Breanna Stewart erased them quickly. Stewart finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks as New York beat Minnesota 91-75, continuing a season in which the Liberty have consistently presented problems for the league’s top seed. New York shot 13-of-25 from 3-point range, with Leonie Fiebich knocking down four triples and scoring 16 points, while Sabrina Ionescu added 13. Meanwhile, Minnesota never really found its normal offensive rhythm: Napheesa Collier and Natasha Howard both fouled out, rookie Olivia Miles finished with 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting and just one assist, and reserve Nia Brodie led the Lynx with 16 points. The biggest takeaway from Game 1 is that New York’s No. 8 seed may be misleading — the Liberty. also won the regular-season series 2-1, so Sunday was hardly their first success against Minnesota. The stakes now feel even higher for a Lynx team that received two of the league’s biggest individual honors Monday, with Miles unanimously being named the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year and Cheryl Reeve earning Coach of the Year for a record fifth time. Now the newly crowned Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year will immediately have to help Minnesota save its season when the series shifts to New York for Game 2 on Tuesday, September 29. The Liberty can eliminate their No. 1 seed on their home floor, while Minnesota has to win at Barclays Center to force a deciding Game 3 back in Minneapolis.
Golden State’s first true home playoff game at Chase Center turned into a statement. The Valkyries crushed Dallas 104-80, setting a franchise scoring high behind 22 points from Cecilia Zandalasini, 21 off the bench from Tiffany Hayes, and 20 from Gabby Williams. The game was essentially broken open in the second quarter, when Golden State outscored Dallas 37-11 and took a 58-31 advantage into halftime; the Valkyries eventually finished 18-of-36 from beyond the arc. Paige Bueckers was excellent in her playoff debut, scoring 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, but she simply did not get enough offensive help — she had 17 by halftime while the rest of the Wings combined for only 14. What we learned is that the regular season matchup may have been telling the truth all along: Golden State swept Dallas 3-0 before the playoffs and has now beaten the Wings four times this year, with its league-leading defense once again making life difficult for Dallas. The Wings do get their chance to respond at home when Game 2 moves to Dallas on Wednesday, September 30. Golden State will be trying to earn the first playoff series victory in franchise history, while Bueckers and the Wings need a win to send the series back to San Francisco.
The defending champions looked very comfortable being back in the postseason. A’ja Wilson dominated from the jump with 38 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, shooting 15-of-19 from the field as Las Vegas rolled past Indiana 102-85. Jackie Young added 21 points and 10 assists, Chelsea Gray finished with 14 points and eight assists, and the Aces turned Indiana’s 17 turnovers into 28 points. Aliyah Boston led the Fever with 18 points and eight rebounds despite dealing with a lower-leg issue, while Caitlin Clark recorded 15 points and 10 assists and Kelsey Mitchell was held to 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting after finishing the regular season on a record 27-game streak of 20-point performances. If there was one clear lesson from Game 1, it was that Indiana cannot afford to give Las Vegas extra possessions or let Wilson establish herself that comfortably; the Aces already had 62 points by halftime and led by as many as 27. The good news for Indiana is that Game 2 is Tuesday, September 29, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Fever will try to extend the series in front of their home crowd. Las Vegas can close it out there and move one step closer to defending its title, while an Indiana victory would send the series back to Vegas for Game 3.
Washington actually controlled much of the first half of Game 1, but Atlanta showed how quickly its defense can completely change a game. The Dream erased an 11-point deficit and stormed ahead in the third quarter before finishing off a 92-77 victory. Rhyne Howard led Atlanta with 26 points and five steals, Allisha Gray scored 22, Jordin Canada had 10 points and 11 assists, and Angel Reese recorded 13 points and 12 rebounds in her first career playoff game. Veteran DeWanna Bonner also provided one of the biggest sparks of the night, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter as Atlanta flipped the game after halftime and built a lead Washington never recovered from. Her scoring punch off the bench, along with her postseason experience, gave the Dream another weapon during the most important stretch of the game. Washington got 25 points from Sonia Citron, while Kiki Iriafen had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Shakira Austin added 12 points and 16 boards, but the Mystics’ 22 turnovers were devastating — Atlanta turned them into 27 points and recorded a franchise playoff-record 16 steals. That feels like the biggest thing to watch heading into Game 2: Washington proved it can rebound and score against the Dream, but taking care of the ball has to be significantly better. Game 2 is Wednesday, September 30, in Washington, where the Mystics will try to avoid elimination. Atlanta, meanwhile, can win its first playoff series since 2016 with a victory on the road.
Tuesday, September 29 — Game 2
Wednesday, September 30 — Game 2
Thursday, October 1 — Game 3, If Necessary
Friday, October 2 — Game 3, If Necessary
The WNBA also posted its complete postseason calendar — including the first round, semifinals and Finals — ahead of the playoffs.
With all four Game 1 winners now one victory away from advancing, the first round could move quickly. But with each lower seed getting Game 2 at home, Tuesday and Wednesday will tell us whether Sunday’s winners are ready to finish the job — or whether the 2026 postseason is headed for a few winner-take-all Game 3s.
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WNBA Playoffs Are Here: Everything You Need To Know was originally published on newsone.com
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