WNBA playoffs: Seeding, matchups and full schedule

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

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.