The No. 7 Seattle Storm crashed the playoff-clinching party on Thursday, handing the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx a 93-79 upset loss to keep multiple WNBA teams from punching postseason tickets.
"We've been searching for this type of a game to have at this juncture of the season," noted Storm head coach Noelle Quinn after Seattle handed Minnesota their biggest blown lead in franchise history.
"Play some f—ing defense, man," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve said afterwards, criticizing her team's performance. "Act like that end matters. We have not done that in a long time."
With six spots still open in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, the Storm's Thursday comeback win spurred chaos, preventing the Lynx from officially booking the postseason's No. 1 seed for at least one more game while also blocking clinching scenarios for the No. 3 Atlanta Dream and No. 4 Phoenix Mercury.
Even so, the Mercury did take one step closer to a playoff berth with a tight 83-79 win over the No. 12 Chicago Sky on Thursday, with small forward Kahleah Copper's 28 points helping Phoenix hold ground in the WNBA standings.
"I feel like we're doing an incredible job, we all want to do the right things," Copper said. "We've just got to continue to clean up the little things."
How to watch the Seattle Storm this weekend
With just four regular-season games remaining, Seattle will play host over the long Labor Day weekend.
The No. 7 Storm will first face the No. 12 Sky at 9 PM ET on Saturday, airing on WNBA League Pass.
Then on Monday, Seattle will battle the No. 9 LA Sparks at 10 PM ET, with live coverage on NBA TV.
The No. 6 Indiana Fever are still in control of their playoff destiny, taking down the No. 8 Seattle Storm 95-75 behind star center Aliyah Boston's dominant 27-point performance on Tuesday night.
Also helping to offset Indiana's slate of high-profile injuries were guards Kelsey Mitchell and midseason hardship signee Odyssey Sims, who combined for 43 points in Tuesday's win.
"Every game at this point in the season is huge, and this one was a big one for us," said Fever head coach Stephanie White afterwards. "We knew that we had to come out and show some urgency."
"Going into this game, we talked about how this is a big game for us and an important game for us considering the standings," echoed Boston. "This is a great win for us before we head on the road."
After losing multiple guards to season-ending injuries this month, Indiana entered Tuesday's matchup having lost six of their last eight games as they await the return of sidelined superstar Caitlin Clark.
"[Boston] has been the one that's been most affected by all of our injuries, all of the point guards who can get her the ball," White continued. "She set the tone for us on both ends."
As for Seattle, Tuesday's loss dropped the Storm to eighth in the WNBA standings, sitting just above the postseason cutoff line with the No. 9 LA Sparks hot on their heels.
"There's no excuse for what happened today other than not matching the energy of the other team," said Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike, who led her squad's scoring with 17 points on Tuesday.
How to watch the Indiana Fever, Seattle Storm this week
No. 6 Indiana hits the road this weekend, taking on No. 9 LA at 10 PM ET on Friday on ION before facing the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries at 8:30 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on NBA TV.
An uphill battle is on deck for No. 8 Seattle as the Storm gear up for an 8 PM ET clash against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, airing live on WNBA League Pass.
The No. 7 Golden State Valkyries refuse to give away their shot, as the first-year expansion side split their weekend results to maintain positioning above the WNBA postseason cutoff line on a 19-18 overall 2025 record.
With seven regular-season games left, the Valkyries are courting history, vying to become the first-ever expansion team to reach the playoffs in their debut year.
Golden State guard Veronica Burton is leading the Valks' charge, registering 25 points and 13 assists against the already-eliminated No. 13 Dallas Wings in Sunday's 91-80 victory to further her squad's postseason dreams.
Despite losing players to injury, the Valkyries remain on track for playoff contention, performing just well enough to fend off fellow mid-table strivers like the No. 9 Los Angeles Sparks and No. 8 Indiana Fever from ascending the WNBA standings.
"This is nothing new for us," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said of her team's consistency. "What I like about our players is we are always continuing to try to help each other."
How to watch the next Golden State Valkyries games
Golden State have earned a rest, with the Valkyries currently sitting out the week before hosting the No. 10 Washington Mystics at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday and the No. 8 Indiana Fever at the same time on Sunday.
Saturday's clash will air live on WNBA League Pass, while NBA TV will carry the Valkyries' Sunday matchup.
Dallas star Paige Bueckers all but slammed the door on the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year race on Wednesday, tying basketball legend Cynthia Cooper's 1997 single-game rookie scoring record by dropping a career-high 44 points in the No. 11 Wings' narrow 81-80 loss to the No. 9 LA Sparks.
Despite the Sparks officially eliminating the Wings from playoff contention, Bueckers's efficiency was on full display, tallying the highest single-game performance by any player in the league this season while shooting over 80% from the field.
"People have [seen] the struggles — the injuries, the ups and downs," Bueckers said afterwards. "For people to continue to follow me and still believe in me, it really means a lot."
The 2025 No. 1 overall draftee leads a rookie class thriving in the pros, with the No. 10 Washington Mystics' Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen and the No. 13 Connecticut Sun's Saniya Rivers hot on Bueckers's heels.
On the WNBA stat sheet, Bueckers currently sits fifth overall in points per game and ninth in assists per game, while Iriafen is fourth in rebounds per game and Citron — who recently set a new Mystics rookie scoring record with 537 career points — is fifth overall in clutch points.
Despite the Sun's struggles, Rivers has excelled defensively, becoming the fastest-ever WNBA player to record 30 career blocks by doing so in just 31 games.
Ultimately, while Sparks guard Kelsey Plum's game-winning buzzer-beater ended Bueckers's postseason dreams on Wednesday night, the rookie's heroics continue to shine with the WNBA's end-of-season awards fast approaching.
The No. 9 Sparks haven't given up the fight, with LA sitting just outside the 2025 WNBA playoff picture ahead of Wednesday night's clash with a No. 11 Dallas Wings side facing postseason elimination.
The Sparks have had an up-and-down season, arriving at a 16-18 record with six wins in their last 10 games.
"We control our destiny, so what do we do with it?" LA head coach Lynne Roberts said on Tuesday. "And I love that we're in that spot, but we'll see how competitive we are."
"Obviously we feel like there's some games that we should have and could have won at the beginning of the season early on, but [you] can't change the past," echoed Sparks forward Dearica Hamby. "We have good momentum right now still. We're still in good position to make the playoffs, so just take it a game at a time."
Meanwhile, Dallas will try to stave off joining the last-place Connecticut Sun in playoff elimination, though their draft lottery odds rise with every loss.
The Wings will be even more shorthanded on Wednesday after losing Li Yueru to a season-ending ACL sprain on Friday, with the center now joining star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is suffering from knee tendinitis, on the sideline.
How to watch the Dallas Wings vs. LA Sparks on Wednesday
The No. 9 Sparks will host the No. 11 Wings at 10 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.
One of the WNBA's newest signings re-introduced herself to the league on Tuesday night, as forward Emma Meesseman led the No. 2 New York Liberty to a splashy 105-97 road win over the No. 9 LA Sparks.
Meesseman made up for injured Liberty star Breanna Stewart's ongoing absence by scoring a season-high, team-leading 24 points. Fellow big Jonquel Jones also put up a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double and forward Leonie Fiebich added 20 points in a game that saw every New York starter contribute double-digit points.
"She's one of the best players in the world," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said of the 32-year-old Belgian international following Tuesday's game. "There's a lot of problems one of the best players in the world can bring you."
Meesseman — the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP — made her New York Liberty debut on August 3rd, entering a squad struggling with availability and chemistry.
"It's fundamentals, really," she said of her team's recent on-court issues. "No matter who we have on the court, no matter what level, players [or] what league, it's all about hustle. I don't think you can practice that. So we just have to go out there and fight."
Despite their problems, the reigning champion Liberty are continuing to cruise toward a playoff berth at the top of the WNBA standings, while the Sparks are still searching for a boost above the postseason cutoff line.
How to watch the New York Liberty in Wednesday's WNBA action
New York will try to score back-to-back road wins by visiting the No. 5 Las Vegas Aces at 9:30 PM ET on Wednesday, airing live on ESPN.
The LA Sparks are hitting their stride, riding an 8-2 record into a Tuesday night home matchup against the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty.
Despite falling to the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries over the weekend, LA's recent run has lifted the Sparks to No. 9 in the WNBA standings, with four of their last five wins coming against teams above the playoff line — including a 101-99 victory over No. 2 New York on July 26th.
"That's just learning how to win," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said on Sunday. "The worst thing you can do is fear losing."
Bolstered by 2024 No. 2 overall draftee Cameron Brink's return from injury, a Tuesday win could launch the Sparks into postseason positioning — but they'll have to top a motivated Liberty side looking to avenge their Sunday home loss to the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx.
"I think the most important part is when it gets hard for us, tough for us, we don't really stay together, and I think we have to do a better job," New York guard Marine Johannes told reporters.
The Liberty will take the court without veteran star forward Breanna Stewart, who is targeting an end-of-August return from a bone bruise in her right knee.
How to watch the LA Sparks vs. New York Liberty on Tuesday
The No. 9 Sparks will tip off against the visiting No. 2 Liberty at 10 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage on NBA TV.
The No. 1 Minnesota Lynx are inching toward the clinch, closing in on booking a 2025 WNBA Playoffs spot after weekend victories over the No. 10 Washington Mystics and No. 2 New York Liberty extended the league leaders' winning streak to five straight games.
"We didn't make them feel uncomfortable, and they made us feel really uncomfortable," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said of Minnesota's locked-in defense — fueled by recent addition DiJonai Carrington.
The top two teams in the WNBA standings will meet twice more in the next nine days, as both Minnesota and New York look to maintain their positioning while waiting for their MVP short-listers — Lynx star Napheesa Collier and Liberty standout Breanna Stewart — to return from injury.
As Minnesota widens the gap with just 12 games remaining before the 2025 Playoffs, last weekend's lineup saw other teams rise and fall as clock ticks down on 2025 play.
No. 8 Seattle experienced a precipitous drop, pulling level with the postseason cutoff line after two narrow weekend losses to the No. 6 Las Vegas Aces and No. 9 LA Sparks stretched the Storm's skid to five games.
Taking advantage of other teams' shortcomings, the previously struggling Aces are again climbing the standings, logging a four-game winning streak capped by forward A'ja Wilson's record-setting 32-point, 20-rebound Sunday performance.
How to watch the WNBA game on Monday
The WNBA's lone Monday matchup pits the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries against the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.
The East Coast vs. West Coast clash tips off at 10 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.
Like their NWSL counterparts, the WNBA is hyping up a rivalry slate of its own, with recent history and tight standings raising the tension in more than a few of the matchups this weekend:
- No. 6 Seattle Storm vs. No. 7 Las Vegas Aces, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): Hunting a third straight win, the Aces could make a major statement by leapfrogging a struggling Seattle with a victory on Friday.
- No. 9 Los Angeles Sparks vs. No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, Saturday at 8:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): While the Valkyries have struggled to retain their early season form, the Sparks are on the rise, and a Saturday win could give LA both California rivalry bragging rights and a boost above the playoff line.
- No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 2 New York Liberty, Sunday at 12:30 PM ET (ABC): For the second time this season, a 2024 WNBA Finals rematch pits the league's two titans against each other — though both are contending with injuries to star players, leaving the Lynx competing without Napheesa Collier against a Breanna Stewart-less Liberty squad.
- No. 3 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 4 Phoenix Mercury, Sunday at 6 PM ET (NBA TV): Tied with season records of 19-11, Sunday's duel will see both the Dream and the Mercury put their multi-game winning streaks on the line.
Law enforcement officers made two arrests after anonymous crowd members at five different WNBA games this week disrupted play by tossing green sex toys onto the court.
"It's ridiculous, it's dumb, it's stupid," LA Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said after one of the flying objects nearly hit visiting Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham during the teams' Tuesday matchup.
"It's also dangerous, and you know, player safety is number one, respecting the game, all those things," she continued.
Each act appears to be the work of different individuals, with one teenage perpetrator reportedly calling it a "stupid prank that was trending on social media."
The first documented incident occurred during a July 29th game between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream, with copycat incidents then cropping up in Chicago, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
In response, the WNBA released a statement last week, affirming that "The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans."
The league also promised immediate ejection and a one-year minimum ban for anyone who intentionally tosses anything onto a WNBA court, in addition to local arrests and prosecution.