The defending champions failed to clinch a first-round sweep in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs on Wednesday night, when the No. 5 New York Liberty fell hard on their home Barclays court as the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury took an 86-60 Game 2 victory to force a winner-take-all Game 3.
Mercury starting forwards Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally combined for 30 points in the win, with midseason veteran signing DeWanna Bonner adding another 14 points off the bench.
"The hope is when you get to the playoffs, you level up," said Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts. "I think we've done that."
New York's title defense took a hit well before tip-off, with injured forward Breanna Stewart playing just 20 minutes and limiting the offense's ability to execute.
"They came in and they embarrassed us on our home court," Stewart — who picked up an MCL sprain in Sunday's Game 1 win — said afterwards. "Now we have to go back there for Game 3, winner take all."
How to watch the New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury in Game 3
It's win-or-go-home for both the No. 5 New York Liberty and No. 4 Phoenix Mercury, who will head back to Arizona to put their seasons on the line in Game 3 of the playoffs on Friday.
The high-stakes matchup will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2.
The 2025 WNBA season is over for Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, but the 23-year-old star is still making headlines, with Reebok set to drop her signature Angel Reese 1 sneakers on Thursday.
The Angel Reese 1 is a cornerstone of Reebok's re-entry into the basketball market, with the sportswear giant engineering the signature shoe for on-court performance by including features like responsive cushioning and added upper support.
Inspired by the brand's classic Mobius line, the shoes will hit the shelves in three colorways — an iridescent white "Diamond Dust," a bold pink "Mebounds," and a black and white "Receipts Ready" — with Reese's personal logo incorporated into the design.
Reese first signed with Reebok as an NIL athlete at LSU in 2023, a little over six months after winning the NCAA championship with the Tigers.
This week's rollout follows the July sneak peek of the signature sneakers worn by Reese on the cover of NBA 2K26's WNBA Edition.
"This isn't just a shoe, it's my style, my story, and my stamp on the game," Reese said in Reebok's press release. "I wanted to design a basketball shoe that elevates performance, innovation, style, and creative expression, all at once."
"Reebok and I built something that's true to who I am, and I hope it pushes others to stand in their power too."
How to buy the Angel Reese 1 Reebok sneakers
All three colorways of the Angel Reese 1 sneakers will be available for a retail price of $120 beginning at 10 AM ET on Thursday at Reebok.com as well as in select stores.
No. 5 New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart isn't letting Sunday's left knee knock take her off the 2025 WNBA Playoffs court, with the forward planning to compete in Game 2 against the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night.
An emotional Stewart finished Game 1 on the bench, going down with a knee injury in overtime of the Liberty's 76-69 upset win over the Mercury on Sunday.
"What I felt in that moment scared me more than anything," Stewart told reporters on Wednesday morning.
A Monday MRI revealed a sprained MCL, and though the two-time WNBA MVP did not practice on Tuesday, she participated in the team's Wednesday shootaround and said her pain had diminished to a three out of 10.
"[As long as] I don't wake up from my nap and feel like s—t," said Stewart, "I'm willing to take that [chance of re-injury] because I want to be out with my team, and they told me that structurally everything looks OK."
Even when the game-day status for Stewart was still unknown, New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello promised that the defending champions would give their star "as much time as we can."
"We know what's at stake," Brondello told reporters on Tuesday. "We don't want to go back to Phoenix [for Game 3], but they're going to come in hungry."
Stewart echoed that sentiment on Wednesday morning, saying "We want to finish it here. Not having to go back to Phoenix is our main priority."
How to watch the Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty in Game 2
No. 5 New York will look to oust No. 4 Phoenix from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs with a first-round sweep on Wednesday night, when the Liberty host the Mercury for Game 2 at 8 PM ET.
The matchup will air live on ESPN.
The injury-riddled No. 6 Indiana Fever put on a show in their first home postseason game since 2016 on Tuesday night, handing the No. 3 Atlanta Dream a 77-60 defeat to force a deciding Game 3 in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs.
"This group has continued to show their heart and their character, night in and night out," said Fever head coach Stephanie White post-game.
Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell led the charge once again, scoring a game-high 19 points to extend the Fever's playoff campaign.
The win marked Indiana's first postseason victory in nine years, as the Fever hopes to exceed expectations and make a deep playoff run despite carrying a lengthy injury report.
"Our backs were definitely against the wall in this, and we know that we've just been through so much this season," Fever center Aliyah Boston told reporters after Tuesday's victory. "Coming out with this win and then giving ourselves another chance in Game 3 — emotions are high."
How to watch the Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream in Game 3
The No. 6 Indiana Fever will travel back to Atlanta to battle the No. 3 Dream in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs' first-round winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday.
The teams will tip off at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2.
The No. 7 Seattle Storm came out on top on Tuesday, claiming an 86-83 Game 2 win in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs to snap the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces' 17-game winning streak — extending the best-of-three series to a winner-take-all finale.
Fueled by a combined 50 points from Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle rallied back from a 14-point second-half deficit to keep their playoffs run alive — capping Tuesday's comeback by outscoring Las Vegas 16-4 in the last four minutes of the matchup.
"We are not unfamiliar with tight games," Ogwumike said afterwards. "We are not unfamiliar with playing from behind."
"Nobody's found the answer to this [Las Vegas] equation for, what, 16, 17 games," noted Diggins. "For us, it was coming out and showing that we weren't scared to play against them.... I thought in the first game that we played hesitant and I was proud of the way that we responded tonight."
Diggins also acknowledged the impact of Seattle's raucous fans on the game's outcome, saying "Obviously, we had a great home crowd on our back to feed off of."
Thanks to the league's new home-away-home first-round playoff structure, the shared home-court advantage is making series sweeps less likely.
Seattle will face a tougher task on Thursday, when the Storm attempts to defeat the Aces again — this time in front of a Las Vegas home crowd.
"We know this team is tough to beat one time and we have to beat them again," said Diggins. "But we bought ourselves another 40 minutes tonight."
How to watch the Seattle Storm vs. the Las Vegas Aces in Game 3
No. 7 Seattle and No. 2 Las Vegas will square off in a winner-take-all Game 3 to determine which team advances to the 2025 WNBA semifinals on Thursday.
The clash tips off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN2.
The red-hot No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will hit the court in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs again on Tuesday night, facing off against the No. 7 Seattle Storm in Game 2 of the postseason's first round with an eye on scoring their 18th consecutive victory — and a trip to this year's semifinals.
"You guys celebrate this more than we do," MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson said, brushing off the team's recent dominance. "The streak stopped in the regular season."
"It's the first to nine wins [for the championship], so that's how we want to approach it," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon echoed, voicing a renewed focus on retaking the WNBA crown.
Following the league's new home-away-home first-round format, Seattle has the chance to extend their season on their home court on Tuesday night, as the Storm arrives back in market with few answers after suffering a 102-77 Game 1 loss.
"Our fans deserve for us to play well," said Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike. "We have to figure out how to do it, no matter what. That's going to be the test on Tuesday."
How to watch the Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm
No. 7 Seattle will try stay alive against No. 2 Las Vegas at 9:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage of Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs airing on ESPN.
With their backs against the wall, the No. 6 Indiana Fever will face down both the No. 3 Atlanta Dream and potential elimination from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs when they host their first home postseason game in nearly a decade on Tuesday night.
"I think you give yourself an edge as the home team. When they punched us, they punched us hard," Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell said after Sunday's 80-68 loss in Atlanta. "So we have to do the same thing."
"I would like to think that being back at home can kind of give us a sense of comfort, so hopefully we could use it for what it's worth and not take it for granted," she continued.
Mitchell will likely be the key to the Fever's survival, after an onslaught of season-ending injuries forced the three-time WNBA All-Star to step up as a scoring leader — with Mitchell dropping a postseason career-high 27 points in Sunday's Game 1.
"It's a lot of little things," said Indiana head coach Stephanie White following the weekend result. "I like where we are, I'm proud of our group for continuing to fight, and we're going to be better on Tuesday."
How to watch Atlanta vs. Indiana in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
No. 6 Indiana will tip off against No. 3 Atlanta in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage airing on ESPN.
Paige Bueckers is the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced early Tuesday, as the Dallas Wings guard becomes the fifth consecutive No. 1 draft pick to win the award.
Bueckers is the first Wings player to earn the honor since Allisha Gray in 2017, finishing the 2025 season averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game and shooting 47.4% from the field.
The 23-year-old was the only player this season to finish in the Top 10 league-wide in points, assists, and steals per game — all while becoming the fastest rookie in WNBA history to notch 500 points and 100 assists.
While the conversation around the Class of 2025 included several high performers, the Rookie of the Year vote proved to be near unanimous, with Bueckers receiving 70 of the sports media panel's 72 votes.
The remaining two votes went to Washington Mystics rookie Sonia Citron.
While the race tightened as Citron heated up mid-season, Bueckers's August 20th rookie-record 44-point performance against the LA Sparks likely shut the door to any challengers.
"I know that we continue to do things the right way, we continue to believe in each other, continue to invest our whole lives into this basketball thing, the results will come," Bueckers told reporters after Dallas ended the season with a 10-34 record — securing the highest odds for next year's No. 1 draft pick.
Game 1 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs is in the books, with the top two seeds putting up more than 100 points each in blowout wins when the postseason tipped off on Sunday.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx opened the playoffs' eight-team first round with a 101-72 drubbing of the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, as MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier led scoring with 20 points while guard Natisha Hiedeman added 18 off the bench.
Elsewhere, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces' 102-77 victory over the No. 7 Seattle Storm capped Sunday's slate, with reigning MVP A'ja Wilson leading the way with 29 points alongside double-digit performances off the bench from guards Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans.
The lower seeds walked away less unscathed, as Valkyries boss and Coach of the Year favorite Natalie Nakase picked up a technical foul for arguing a call in the game's second half.
"I want a fair fight, I really do. I want a clean fight, but I love the fact that both teams are playing their hearts out," she said afterwards, criticizing Sunday's officiating. "They're fighting. But I would like it to be fair."
"I understand it, but it's the playoffs," Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said in response. "Obviously, we fouled a lot at the end. But I didn't think that was a factor in the game."
How to watch the top seeds in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Both Minnesota and Las Vegas are now one win away from advancing to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs semifinals.
The No. 2 Aces will look to sweep the No. 7 Storm at 9:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.
Then on Wednesday, the No. 1 Lynx will try to silence the No. 8 Valkyries at 10 PM ET, with live coverage also on ESPN.
The No. 5 New York Liberty secured the sole upset in the Sunday tip-off of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, topping the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury 76-69 following a tightly contested Game 1 overtime battle.
Liberty guard Natasha Cloud dropped a game-leading 23 points on her former team, while Mercury star Alyssa Thomas neared yet another triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists on the night.
"I'm proud of the way we stuck together, we weathered the runs they went on, and ultimately found a way to win," New York guard Sabrina Ionescu said after the game.
The newly healthy Liberty will hope for full availability in Game 2, though forward Breanna Stewart went down with a knock to the knee in overtime after posting an 18-point performance on Sunday.
"We're just hoping that she will be okay," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said after the game.
Brondello also confirmed that it was Stewart who asked for a sub in overtime after coming down hard on her left knee.
Concerns about the health of the two-time WNBA MVP — who recently returned from missing 13 games with a bone bruise on her right knee — overshadowed the defending champions' comeback win.
How to watch Phoenix vs. New York in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
The No. 5 Liberty now return to New York looking to knock the No. 4 Mercury out of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs with a Game 2 victory on Wednesday.
The matchup tips off at 8 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.