WNBA Changes Playoff Format: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The WNBA's 20th season might not start until May, but the league announced on Thursday it is making some big changes this offseason that will alter the postseason format. 

Per Bleacher Report's Howard Beck, the top eight teams in the league, regardless of conference, will make the postseason, and there will be reseeding after every round. Beck believes that this could be a "test case" for the NBA.   

The WNBA outlined the other numerous changes it has made to the playoff format. 

There will now be four, instead of three, playoff rounds, as the top two seeds get a bye into the semifinals while the third- and fourth-place teams have a bye until the quarterfinals. 

In the first two rounds of the playoffs, matchups will be single-elimination before going to a best-of-five in the semifinals and final. 

This is a pretty large revamp for the league, whose playoff format consisted of the top four teams in each conference advancing to the playoffs. The conference semifinals and final were a best-of-three before the WNBA championship's best-of-five series between the two conference winners. 

Per the league, it also did some tweaking to the regular season scheduling, which allows a more balanced interconference slate.

NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum spoke about the changes on Thursday:

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First and foremost, the new postseason format provides an enhanced opportunity to showcase the best teams in the WNBA Finals. Coupled with the new regular season structure that creates more competitive balance and additional excitement during the stretch run toward the playoffs, the new postseason format will provide a heightened sense of urgency to the start of the postseason.

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Tatum is spot-on with that last statement. With more teams involved, a single-elimination format will create a do-or-die feeling that will most likely result in some electric games and memorable results. 

It also sets up the possibility of Cinderella stories captivating the league. Nothing could catch the public's attention quite like a No. 8 seed surviving a pair of single-elimination games and taking on some of the top teams for the chance at an unlikely title. 

The single-elimination concept has been adopted by other big leagues. Major League Baseball's Wild Card Game, adopted in 2012, is a win-it-and-you're-in-it setting with a trip to the playoffs on the line. 

It's produced winners, too. In the 2014 World Series, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals, two teams that had to survive the Wild Card game, in a memorable seven-game series.

With such high stakes involved, this should keep the fans coming back for more until the familiar WNBA Finals format takes over.

If this new setup does succeed in dialing things up for the WNBA, it could make its way to the NBA, as Beck alluded to. However, taking these exact parameters would greatly shorten the playoffs, which could generate issues.  

But for a league that is looking to expand its reach across the nation and reel in more fans, this type of postseason format could help the WNBA do just that. 

Playoff information courtesy of WNBA.com