The WNBA playoffs open Sunday. Here’s what we’re looking forward to, plus our postgame takeaways.
The WNBA playoffs are finally here. The best-of-three first round opens Sunday with four games.
The top four seeds have home-court advantage, but the road teams are looking to steal a Game 1 win. The Golden State Valkyries made history as the first expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season. The Indiana Fever, who haven’t had Caitlin Clark on the court since July 15, have overcome five season-ending injuries. The defending champion New York Liberty were also hit hard by injuries. And the Seattle Storm reached the postseason despite a second-half slump.
How will it all play out? What first-round games are we most looking forward to, which players might step up, and which matchups will have the most impact? ESPN breaks down what to expect — and will be providing postgame analysis right here throughout Sunday.
MORE: Playoff predictions | Strengths, flaws for every team | Top 25 players | Schedule
1 p.m. ET (ESPN): No. 8 seed Golden State Valkyries at No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx
3 p.m. ET (ABC): No. 6 seed Indiana Fever at No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream
5 p.m. ET (ESPN): No. 5 seed New York Liberty at No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury
10 p.m. ET (ESPN): No. 7 seed Seattle Storm at No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces
Kevin Pelton: New York’s Breanna Stewart vs. Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas. This matchup itself is nothing new — Stewart’s Liberty beat Thomas’ Connecticut Sun in the 2023 semifinals — but the Mercury’s spacing presents a different challenge for New York in slowing down Thomas.
Kendra Andrews: I’m looking at the same game as Pelton, but a different matchup: Thomas vs. New York’s Jonquel Jones. Both have size, but one plays with a bit more finesse and the other with a lot of power and force down low. I think how New York coach Sandy Brondello and Phoenix’s Nate Tibbetts deploy these players — and how they perform — will dictate the games.
Alexa Philippou: There are a few big ones in Dream-Fever. In the battle of the backcourt, Kelsey Mitchell having a historic season for Indiana, while Atlanta’s Allisha Gray has had an All-WNBA first-team caliber season — and former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard completes the Dream’s one-two guard punch.
