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WNBA Playoffs Set: Valkyries, Aces Among Top Seeds
Confirmed
In Short: The 2026 WNBA playoffs bracket is set, with 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 the first round, while the No. 2 Valkyries will face the No. 7 Dallas Wings. The No. 3 Las Vegas Aces will defend their title against the No. 6 Indiana Fever, and the No. 4 Atlanta Dream will welcome the No. 5 Washington Mystics.
The 2026 WNBA season has been historic, with records broken by players like Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark, and Marina Mabrey. Mitchell broke A'ja Wilson's single-season points record, while Clark became the first player to score 40 points and dish out 10 assists in a game.
The Valkyries secured the No. 2 seed after rallying from a 16-point deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Sparks in Nneka Ogwumike's farewell game. The WNBA does not separate teams by conferences for the playoffs, featuring 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 the higher seed hosts the decider if necessary. The Valkyries, Aces, Fever, and Mystics are looking to solidify their playoff seeding.
The playoffs begin on Sunday, Sept. 27, with each team's respective journeys impacted by variables like matchups and homecourt advantage. The Minnesota Lynx, Valkyries, Aces, and Dream have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Las Vegas Aces are in the driver's seat for the No. 2 seed, while the Atlanta Dream are preparing for their first-round matchup against either the Fever or the Mystics. Dream forward Naz Hillmon emphasized the importance of staying ready for the playoffs and improving on areas that led to an early exit in last year's postseason.
Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson expects to have key player Austin for Game 1 of the playoffs, while Fever guard Ty Harris has been ruled out for the remainder of Thursday's game against the Lynx.
The final day of the regular season saw the top eight teams already locked into the postseason, with the Valkyries clinching the No. 2 seed after defeating the Portland Fire later in the evening.
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 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.
- The final day of the WNBA regular season did not disappoint.
- But after losing to the Indiana Fever, 96-77, Minnesota backed in when the Valkyries lost to the Portland Fire later in the evening.
What's still developing
- Will the Las Vegas Aces claim their fourth WNBA title in five years and go back-to-back again?
- Is Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase going to supersede owner Joe Lacob's mandate to win a championship in the first five years of the team's existence and do it in two?
- With so much at stake, here's how the WNBA playoff seeding race unfolded on Thursday: Here's a first look at the 2026 WNBA playoff bracket.
- 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.