The WNBA regular season closed out with a frantic final day of action Sunday. Now all eyes turn to the postseason.

Eight teams will face off in the WNBA playoffs, which are set to kick off on Aug. 17. The league’s postseason will feature three rounds, with best-of-three first-round series followed by best-of-five semifinals and finals.

Check out every team in the postseason, in order of seeding, as well as the matchups and the full WNBA playoff schedule.

WNBA playoff seeding

1. Las Vegas Aces

The Las Vegas Aces booked their tickets to the WNBA playoffs with an 84-66 blowout over the Los Angeles Sparks on July 23.

An explosive offense propelled the Aces to a postseason berth, with Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson leading the team’s scoring tear. Las Vegas’ perimeter presence has been overwhelming, leading the league in points per game and 3-pointers made.

First-round opponent: No. 8 Phoenix Mercury

2. Chicago Sky

The 2021 WNBA champions were the first team to clinch a postseason berth, securing their place in the playoffs with a 78-74 victory over the Seattle Storm on July 20.

Chicago’s dominant 2022 campaign is a far cry from the team’s 2021 season, which the Sky finished with a 16-16 record. Chicago finished the season with a franchise record .722 win percentage.

First-round opponent: No. 7 New York Liberty

3. Connecticut Sun

The Connecticut Sun clinched their spot with an 88-83 win over the Seattle Storm in what could be Sue Bird’s final game in Connecticut on July 28.

While the storyline for the game lent itself toward retiring legend Bird, Alyssa Thomas was the standout performer, notching 19 points, five rebounds and 11 assists while shooting 8-of-11 from the field.

The Sun have been red-hot since the All-Star break and they’ll look to carry that momentum into the postseason.

First-round opponent: No. 6 Dallas Wings

4. Seattle Storm

The Seattle storm sealed their postseason fate with an 82-77 win over the Washington Mystics on July 30, clinching the team’s 18th playoff appearance.

Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd and Tina Charles led the charge for the Storm, contributing 18, 17 and 16 points, respectively. Seattle will rely on their offensive trio in the postseason as the Storm looks to send Bird into retirement with a title.

First-round opponent: No. 5 Washington Mystics

5. Washington Mystics 

The Washington Mystics clinched a playoff berth behind the Atlanta Dream’s July 30 loss to the Dallas Wings.

The Mystics then charged to a 78-75 victory over Seattle Storm on July 31, but the Storm won the season series 2-1, which could bode well for Seattle in the best-of-three first round series.

First-round opponent: No. 4 Seattle Storm

6. Dallas Wings

The Wings clinched their postseason berth on Aug. 8 with an 86-77 win over the New York Liberty.

Despite being without Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally, the team stepped up. Marina Mabrey had 31 points in the win to help send Dallas to the playoffs.

First-round opponent: No. 3 Connecticut Sun

7. New York Liberty

For the second year in a row, the New York Liberty are in the WNBA playoffs after beating Atlanta 87-83 in their season finale to secure their spot. Natasha Howard and Marine Johannes combined for 36 points while Stefanie Dolson added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

First-round opponent: No. 2 Chicago Sky

8. Phoenix Mercury

With a Minnesota Lynx loss on Sunday, the Mercury clinched the eighth seed in the playoffs despite an 82-67 loss to the Chicago Sky to close out the season.

The availability of injured star Diana Taurasi remains up in the air for the first round, as does the availability of Skylar Diggins-Smith, who missed the last three games due to personal reasons.

First-round opponent: No. 1 Las Vegas Aces

Let the games begin. 🔥

The #WNBAPlayoffs kick off this Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ISmbLnjW9R

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 15, 2022

WNBA playoff schedule

First round:

• Wednesday, Aug. 17:
  • (2) Chicago Sky vs. (7) New York Liberty @ 8 p.m. on ESPN2
  • (1) Las Vegas Aces vs. (8) Phoenix Mercury @ 10 p.m. on ESPN
• Thursday, Aug. 18:
  • (3) Connecticut Sun vs. (6) Dallas Wings @ 8 p.m. on ESPNU/NBA TV
  • (4) Seattle Storm vs. (5) Washington Mystics @ 10 p.m. on ESPN2
• Saturday, Aug. 20:
  • (2) Chicago Sky vs. (7) New York Liberty @ 12 p.m. on ESPN
  • (1) Las Vegas Aces vs. (8) New York Liberty @ 9 p.m. on ESPN2
• Sunday, Aug. 21:
  • (3) Connecticut Sun vs. (6) Dallas Wings @ 12 p.m. on ABC
  • (4) Seattle Storm vs. (5) Washington Mystics @ 4 p.m. on ESPN
• Tuesday, Aug. 23:
  • (2) Chicago Sky at (7) New York Liberty @ TBD*
  • (1) Las Vegas Aces at (8) Phoenix Mercury @ TBD*
• Wednesday, Aug. 24:
  • (3) Connecticut Sun at (6) Dallas Wings @ TBD*
  • (4) Seattle Storm at (5) Washington Mystics @ TBD*

Semifinals:

• Sunday, Aug. 28: Game 1 @ 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on ESPN and ESPN2
• Wednesday, Aug. 31: Game 2 @ 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on ESPN2
• Sunday, Sept. 4: Game 3 @ 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on ESPN2 and ABC
• Tuesday, Sept. 6: Game 4* @ 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on ESPN2
• Thursday, Sept. 8: Game 5* @ 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on ESPN2

Finals:

• Sunday, Sept. 11: Game 1 @ 3 p.m. on ABC
• Tuesday, Sept. 13: Game 2 @ 9 p.m. on ESPN
• Thursday, Sept. 15: Game 3 @ 9 p.m. on ESPN
• Sunday, Sept. 18: Game 4* @ 3 p.m. on ESPN
• Tuesday, Sept. 20: Game 5* @ 9 p.m. on ESPN

*If necessary. All times listed in ET.

The 2025 NWSL Championship claimed a major viewership milestone on Saturday, as Gotham FC's 1-0 title win over the Washington Spirit became the first-ever league match to record an average of more than one million viewers.

The CBS evening broadcast averaged an impressive 1.184 million fans and peaked at 1.55 million viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match of all time.

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The 2025 final marked a 22% viewership increase over the 967,900 fans who watched 2024's Orlando Pride victory — the previous NWSL viewership record-holder — and a 45% ratings gain over Gotham's 2023 championship win, which averaged 816,800 viewers.

Saturday's gains both matched the 22% viewership increase the NWSL regular season saw this year and also far exceeded the 2025 postseason's pre-final year-over-year increase of 5%.

Calling the one-million viewer mark "an extraordinary achievement" in Tuesday's league statement, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman also noted that the "record-setting audience demonstrates the deepening connection fans have with our players, our clubs, and the world-class competition on the field, and it underscores the growing demand for women's soccer on the biggest stages."

"We're incredibly proud of what this moment represents for the NWSL and for everyone who continues to invest in and believe in the future of our game," Berman added.

Incoming offseason league Project B scored more major WNBA signings this week, as the upstart venture continues stacking its roster ahead of a planned November 2026 launch.

Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham have both publicly signed on with Project B, joining already announced talent like Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd.

Also inking deals to join the inaugural season of Project B are Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün, and Li Meng, a former Washington Mystics guard and current player in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

The multi-continent, Formula One-style traveling tournament circuit will ultimately sign 66 international stars, as Project B looks to field six 11-player teams in its debut 2026/2027 campaign.

Project B player signings will undoubtedly impact other offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, but the new venture is also looming large over the ongoing WNBA CBA talks.

With negotiations racing toward this Sunday's extended deadline, Project B is putting WNBA compensation offerings under increased pressure, as the new league is reportedly anteing up multimillion-dollar salaries to its signees — far exceeding the 2025 WNBA maximum as well as the $1.1 million-max currently on the negotiating table.

World No. 1 Spain will take aim at a second-straight UEFA Nations League title this week, as La Roja take on No. 5 Germany in the first leg of the 2025 tournament's final at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.

The defending Nations League champions booked their spot in the 2025 final by dismantling No. 3 Sweden 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinal round, while Germany advanced after a tense 3-2 aggregate win over No. 6 France.

Germany must also contend with availability issues during Friday's match, as 28-year-old Bayern Munich forward and senior national team leading scorer Lea Schüller will be out due to family reasons.

To overcome that disadvantage, German head coach Christian Wück is reinforcing the team's back line, adding Athletic Bilbao defender Bibi Schulze Solano to the roster on Wednesday.

Also aiming to shut down Spain's offensive firepower on Friday is new NWSL champion goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who joined her German compatriots late following Gotham FC's title celebrations in New York this week.

While Spain and Germany will contend for the 2025 Nations League trophy this week, the pair — along with ousted semifinalists Sweden and France — have already booked spots in the top group of teams battling for tickets to the 2027 World Cup, with UEFA qualifying set to begin in 2026.

A full 19 months removed from their back-to-back Final Four runs, No. 11 Iowa basketball refuses to go away, with the Hawkeyes already notching one Top-25 win in the young 2025/26 NCAA campaign so far.

The still-unbeaten Hawkeyes took down No. 15 Baylor 57-52 last Thursday, with Iowa starting post players Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden combining for 28 points while guard Taylor Stremlow added another 12 off the bench in the marquee win.

"We have nice pieces," said Iowa head coach Jan Jensen this week. "But it's knowing when to play which pieces and with whom, and we're six games in."

The Hawkeyes have been finding their new identity under Jensen after a transformative period saw Iowa's longtime head coach Lisa Bluder retire while superstar guard Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA.

"Jan's been amazing," Stuelke told JWS at the Big Ten Media Day in October. "She stepped up like she needed to, and she's been growing every day since she's been the head coach, which it's really cool to see she cares. And it's a great environment for all of us."

"I have a year under my belt," Jensen echoed. "I know what this chair feels like now, and I have a little better of understanding of what that first road trip feels like, what that first big win feels like, or the tough loss feels like."

Iowa's season heats up with a ranked rivalry matchup against No. 10 Iowa State on Wednesday, December 10th.

The state rivals will tip off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.