How does WNBA home court advantage work in a 3-game series?

The WNBA regular season is coming to an end. While it will be sad to see the 2024 regular season go, the postseason will begin, and it will be grand.

This season, the league has taken its fame and popularity to new heights. Record-breaking viewership, popularity and merchandise sales have propelled the W forward more than any year prior.

Fans learned so much about the league this year and how truly unique it is compared to other professional sports associations. Yet, there is still so much that even the average fan does not know about the WNBA.

With the playoffs beginning on Sept. 22, let's take a look at how the first round will work:

How does home court advantage work in a three-game series?

Once the regular season is done, the top eight teams in the WNBA standings will make the postseason, while the other four will be eliminated.

Those eight teams, based on record, will be seeded 1-8, and face off according to seeding in this format:

• 8 seed vs. 1 seed
• 5 seed vs. 4 seed
• 6 seed vs. 3 seed
• 7 seed vs. 2 seed

The higher seeded team (the team with the better record) will have home court advantage in the series, a perk that they earn for playing better in the regular season.

These first round matchups will be a best-of-three series, meaning the team that wins two games will advance to the next round.

The higher seeded team will host the lower seeded team in the first two games, and if the series is pushed to three games, then the higher seed will be forced to play on the road in the elimination game.

This format greatly benefits the higher seeds, as they get a chance to win both games at home before ever traveling on the road. However, if they do drop a game to an inferior opponent at home, they are forced to play in an away arena with the season on the line.

It also makes sense logistically.

If the format was No. 8 at No. 1, then No. 1 at No. 8, and then No. 8 a No. 1 again, then teams would have to travel far more often. Sure, it would give the higher seed an advantage if the series did go to three games.

However, giving higher seeds an advantage up front and making the schedule and traveling logistics easier are ultimately why the WNBA settled on this format for home court advantage in their first round, three-game series.