Another exciting and record-breaking regular season is in the books and the 2024 WNBA playoffs have arrived. All four first round series will get underway on Sunday with a quadruple header that will span the entire day. From there, it’s a month-long sprint to determine the newest champion.
The New York Liberty have secured the No. 1 overall seed and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, but they won’t have an easy path. If they want to win the first championship in franchise history, they’ll likely have to get through the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who beat them in the Finals last season, and the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx, who went 3-1 against them this season.
As for the Aces, they got off to a slow start this season, but caught fire down the stretch to earn the No. 4 seed. They’ll now begin a quest for a threepeat, which hasn’t been done since the now-defunct Houston Comets won the first four titles from 1997-2000.
The Indiana Fever are also in the playoffs this season, making their first appearance since 2016. No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark transformed the team into an offensive powerhouse and their ability to score at will makes them a dangerous opponent for the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun in the first round.
With the playoff bracket now set, here’s a look at the first-round matchups and the full schedule for the playoffs:
Bracket
In the current playoff format, teams will play a best-of-three series in the first round and best-of-five series in the semifinals and finals. Notably, the first round is a 2-1 format, which means the higher seed gets the first two games at home, while the lower seed gets the deciding Game 3 at home should the series go that far. In the semifinals and finals, it is a standard 2-2-1 format, with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2 and 5, if necessary.
First round (best-of-three)
All times Eastern
Sunday, Sept. 22 (Game 1s)
- No. 8 Atlanta Dream at No. 1 New York Liberty, 1 p.m. — ESPN
- No. 6 Indiana Fever at No. 3 Connecticut Sun, 3 p.m. — ABC
- No. 7 Phoenix Mercury at No. 2 Minnesota Lynx, 5 p.m. — ESPN
- No. 5 Seattle Storm at No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, 10 p.m. — ESPN
Tuesday, Sept. 24 (Game 2s)
- No. 8 Atlanta Dream at No. 1 New York Liberty, 7:30 p.m. — ESPN
- No. 5 Seattle Storm at No. 4 Las Vegas Aces, 9:30 p.m. — ESPN
Wednesday, Sept. 25 (Game 2s)
- No. 6 Indiana Fever at No. 3 Connecticut Sun, 7:30 p.m. — ESPN
- No. 7 Phoenix Mercury at No. 2 Minnesota Lynx, 9:30 p.m. — ESPN
Thursday, Sept. 26 (Game 3s*)
- No. 1 New York Liberty at No. 8 Atlanta Dream, TBD — ESPN2
- No. 4 Las Vegas Aces at No. 5 Seattle Storm, TBD — ESPN2
*If necessary
Friday, Sept. 27 (Game 3s*)
- No. 3 Connecticut Sun at No. 6 Indiana Fever, TBD — ESPN2
- No. 2 Minnesota Lynx at No. 7 Phoenix Mercury, TBD — ESPN2
*If necessary
Semifinals (best-of-five)
All information to be announced
Finals (best-of-five)
All information to be announced