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WNBA Playoffs Set: Valkyries, Aces Among Top Seeds
Confirmed
In Short: The 2026 WNBA playoffs bracket is set, featuring the Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, Las Vegas Aces, and Atlanta Dream among the top seeds.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx will host the No. 8 New York Liberty in a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals, the No. 2 Valkyries will host the No. 7 Dallas Wings, the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces will begin their title defense against the No. 6 Indiana Fever, and the No. 4 Atlanta Dream will welcome the No. 5 Washington Mystics to town.
The 2026 WNBA season has been historic, with players like Kelsey Mitchell breaking A'ja Wilson's single-season points record and Caitlin Clark becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-point, 10-assist game.
The Valkyries clinched the No. 2 seed after a thrilling comeback against the Los Angeles Sparks, overcoming a 16-point deficit in the final quarter.
The playoffs begin on Sunday, Sept. 27, with the higher seed hosting the first and third games, while the lower seed hosts the second game.
The Dallas Wings, in their first playoff appearance since 2023, will face the Valkyries in the first round.
The Valkyries, in their second season, have made the playoffs each year and are now seen as a serious contender.
The Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson expects to have Elena Delle Donne for Game 1 of the playoffs against the Atlanta Dream on Sept. 27, while Fever guard Ty Harris has been ruled out for the remainder of the game against the Lynx.
The playoffs will feature exciting matchups, including the potential for a final between Clark and Reese, and the Valkyries' home-court advantage.
The Aces, who are rolling against the Phoenix Mercury, appear to be in the driver's seat for the No. 2 seed.
The Atlanta Dream, who have home court advantage, are staying ready for the playoffs and reminding themselves of the early exit they had in last year's postseason.
What this adds
The Valkyries' comeback against the Sparks was the largest in franchise history.
The playoffs will conclude no later than Saturday, Oct. 24.
Background
The 2026 WNBA playoffs bracket is set, featuring the Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, Las Vegas Aces, and Atlanta Dream among the top seeds.
What's confirmed
- The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx will host the No. 8 New York Liberty in a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals, the No. 2 Valkyries will host the No. 7 Dallas Wings, the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces will begin their title defense against the No. 6 Indiana Fever and the No. 4 Atlanta Dream will welcome the No. 5 Washington Mystics to town.
- The 2026 WNBA season has been historic, on and off the court.
- During five months of play this year, Kelsey Mitchell broke A'ja Wilson's single-season points record, Miles broke Caitlin Clark's rookie scoring record, Clark became the first player in WNBA history with a 40-point, 10-assist game, Angel Reese broke the single-game rebounding record with 26 and Marina Mabrey merely tied the single-game scoring record with 53 points.
- And after Thursday night, when the Golden State Valkyries overcame a 16-point deficit to take down the Los Angeles Sparks in Nneka Ogwumike's farewell game and claim the No.
- The WNBA does not separate teams by conferences for the playoffs, it merely features the top eight squads from across the league.
- In the first round, the higher seed hosts the first game, the lower seed hosts the second game and then the higher seed hosts the decider, if necessary.
- The Valkyries, Aces, Fever and Mystics are looking to solidify their playoff seeding.
- 24, with the first round of playoffs starting on Sunday Sept.
- Three teams locked in their seeds after Wednesday night, with the Atlanta Dream’s 83-65 win over the New York Liberty.
- If the Valkyries lose and the Aces win, the Aces will become the No.
- The road to determining those answers begins when the playoffs officially tip off on Sunday, Sept. 27, and each team's respective journeys will be impacted by variables that have now been determined; including who drew who in the matchups, and which teams will start with homecourt advantage.
- Will the Las Vegas Aces claim their fourth WNBA title in five years and go back-to-back again?
What's still developing
- She had 24 points and 10 boards in her first game back and is averaging 19.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.2 steals. (Stats through games as of Aug. 16.) How they got here: The Aces became the second team to clinch a postseason berth, beating the Mystics on Aug. 13 to move to 24-11 with nine regular-season games remaining on their schedule.
- A single game Wednesday -- on the eve of the regular-season finales -- finally brought some clarity to seeding for the 2026 WNBA playoffs.
- All eight WNBA playoff spots were spoken for in August, but the rest of the seeds won't be determined until Thursday's regular-season finales.
- With so much at stake, USA TODAY is providing a live look at each team's seeding scenario as games unfold Thursday.
- The 2026 WNBA playoff bracket is not fully set yet, but here's where things stand seeding-wise as Thursday's games unfold.
- Going into the final night of the season, four seeds were settled: the Minnesota Lynx at No.
- WNBA Live Results, Scores, Highlights and Updated Playoff Bracket from Last Day of Regular Season Eight teams have clinched their spot in the WNBA playoffs, but only four of them have their seeds secured heading into the last day of the regular season.
- It also sets up well for a potential meeting between Clark and Reese in the WNBA final, which fans have already started to discuss online.
- It has been reported that 88.5 million unique viewers have watched the WNBA, which in itself is a great achievement.
- The first round of the playoffs commences on September 27, with all eight teams playing on the same day.
- The Golden State Valkyries ended their season on a high note, completing the largest comeback in franchise history to beat the LA Sparks 76-75 and finish with a 32-12 record.
- The defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, finished third in the WNBA standings, riding on the brilliance of A’ja Wilson having another historic season.