WNBA Playoff Bracket 2025 and Clinch, Elimination Scenarios for Updated Picture

The race for WNBA postseason seeding remains tight.

The No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury suffered a surprising 87-84 loss to the already-eliminated Connecticut Sun on Saturday, dropping them half a game behind the surging Las Vegas Aces for third place. The Mercury, who had been neck and neck with the 13-game-win-streak Aces, fell to 27-15.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Valkyries — who clinched a playoff berth Thursday in their historic inaugural season — lost ground after falling to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx. The red-hot Lynx extended their lead to five games over the second-place Atlanta Dream, while the Valkyries dropped a game back in the standings.

Updated WNBA Playoff Picture

Standings After Saturday's Games:

1. Minnesota (33-9)
2. Atlanta (28-14)
3. Las Vegas (27-14)
4. Phoenix (27-15)
5. New York (25-17)
6. Golden State (23-19)
7. Indiana (22-20)
8. Seattle (22-21)

Projected First-Round Matchups (If Season Ended Today):

• No. 1 Minnesota vs. No. 8 Seattle
• No. 2 Atlanta vs. No. 7 Indiana
• No. 3 Las Vegas vs. No. 6 Golden State
• No. 4 Phoenix vs. No. 5 New York

Clinched Seeds

Minnesota Lynx
With just two regular-season games remaining, the Lynx have clinched the No. 1 seed and are now focused on staying healthy heading into the postseason.
If the playoffs began today, Minnesota would face the No. 8 seed Seattle Storm in the opening round. The teams split their season series 2-2, with the Lynx dropping the most recent meeting — a 93-79 loss at home.

Remaining schedule: at Indiana (Sept. 9), vs. Golden State (Sept. 11)

Atlanta Dream
Atlanta holds a slim half-game lead over Las Vegas for the No. 2 seed. With only two games left — both against the struggling Connecticut Sun — the Dream are in a strong position to maintain their seeding.

Remaining schedule: vs. Connecticut (Sept. 8), at Connecticut (Sept. 10)

Las Vegas Aces
Winners of 13 straight, the Aces sit just half a game behind Atlanta and have three remaining games. Led by reigning MVP A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas holds the tiebreaker over both Atlanta and Phoenix.

Remaining schedule: vs. Chicago (Sept. 7), vs. Chicago (Sept. 9), at Los Angeles (Sept. 11)

Phoenix Mercury
In a three-way battle for the No. 2–4 seeds, Phoenix slipped to fourth after a surprising loss to Connecticut. Without the tiebreaker advantage over either Las Vegas or Atlanta, the Mercury will need to win out and hope for help.

Remaining schedule: vs. Los Angeles (Sept. 9), at Dallas (Sept. 11)

New York Liberty
The defending champions are locked into fifth place for now, sitting 1.5 games ahead of the sixth-place Valkyries. With two games remaining against already-eliminated teams, the Liberty are looking to finish strong after a rocky stretch.

Remaining schedule: vs. Washington (Sept. 9), at Chicago (Sept. 11)

Golden State Valkyries
Golden State clinched a playoff berth in its inaugural season but face a tough finish aiming to hold on to the sixth seed, with two of its final three games against top-seeded Minnesota. The Valkyries will have to keep an eye out for the Fever who could be gunning for their sixth place position.

Remaining schedule: vs. Seattle (Sept. 9), at Minnesota (Sept. 11)

Elimination Scenarios

Indiana Fever
The Fever sit seventh and are close to clinching a playoff spot despite losing star rookie Caitlin Clark for the season. At 22-20, they're just half a game ahead of Seattle.

• If Indiana wins: Indiana needs just one win to clinch a playoff spot.
• If they lose both: At 22-22, they risk being passed by Seattle if they win their remaining game and Los Angeles (19-22) if the Sparks finish 3-0.

Remaining schedule: at Washington (Sept. 7), vs. Minnesota (Sept. 9)

Seattle Storm
Seattle is currently eighth and needs a win in its final game to solidify a playoff spot. The Storm are half a game behind Indiana but hold only one more opportunity to impact their fate.

• If Seattle wins and Indiana loses both, the Storm would claim the No. 7 seed.
• If Seattle loses, Indiana retains its position, and the door opens for Los Angeles who would need to win all three remaining games and have the tiebreaker advantage.

Remaining schedule: vs. Golden State (Sept. 9)

Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks must win all three remaining games to finish 22-22 and have a shot at sneaking into the playoffs. They hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over both Seattle (3-1) and Indiana (3-1), making a clean sweep their only path forward.

Remaining schedule: vs. Dallas (Sept. 7), at Phoenix (Sept. 9), vs. Las Vegas (Sept. 11)