WNBA Playoff Format: Dates, Rules and everything else you need to know

The 2024 WNBA season has been full of fascinating storylines — the dominance of A'ja Wilson, the debut of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the unexpected emergence of the Minnesota Lynx as a championship contender and more. Even a few weeks out, seeding for every playoff spot is still up for grabs and we have a slew of viable contenders.

The WNBA Playoffs will help us sort it all out and put a capper on the season but there is still plenty to work out before a champion is crowned. Here's everything you need to know about which teams qualify for the playoffs and how, along with what their paths might look like once the field is set and how you can watch every game.

WNBA Playoff Format

Overview of the current format

The current format for the WNBA Playoffs was adopted for the 2022 season and removed the single-game first- and second-round structure and removed byes for the top four seeded teams. It created three rounds — a best-of-three first round followed by two best-of-five rounds — to determine a champion.

The WNBA Playoffs include the top eight teams in the league by regular season record but they are seeded without regard for conference.

At the time the current structure was announced, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert highlighted a focus on lengthening the series and creating more rivalries and ongoing competition during the playoffs.

“We have been evaluating different playoff formats over the past 12 months, and the new playoff format being announced today will enable fans to engage with all of the league’s best teams and top stars right from the start of the postseason with all eight championship contenders immediately involved in exciting, first-round action. Following significant discussions with our Competition Committee and a Playoff subcommittee, we formed last year, it was clear that while the prior format’s single-elimination games created a win-and-advance level of excitement to the start of the postseason, the new best-of-three series format will provide added opportunities to create and showcase rivalries with all playoff-eligible teams participating.”

WNBA Playoffs: First round

• Features the eight teams with the best records, seeded by record regardless of conference
• Each series is best-of-three
• The higher seed hosts Games 1 and 2, the lower seed hosts Game 3 (if necessary)
• Matchups are No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5

WNBA Playoffs: Semifinals

• Each series is best-of-five
• The higher seed hosts Games 1, 2 and 5 (if necessary). The lower seed hosts Games 3 and 4 (if necessary).
• Matchups are the winner of No. 1 vs. No. 8 against the winner of No. 4 vs. No 5, and the winner of No. 2 vs. No. 7 against the winner of No. 3 vs. No. 6.

WNBA Playoffs: Finals

• Matchup is the winner of each of the two semifinal series, regardless of conference
• Series is best-of-five
• The higher seed hosts Games 1, 2 and 5 (if necessary). The lower seed hosts Games 3 and 4 (if necessary).

Key dates for the WNBA Playoffs

Timeline of the WNBA Playoffs

The WNBA Playoffs will begin on Sunday, Sept. 22. The schedule for the following rounds has not been released yet but the league has announced that Sunday, Oct. 20 is the latest possible date for a Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

The first round of the WNBA Playoffs is a best-of-three and last year featured as many as three days off between each game in each series. The semifinals and finals are best-of-five and feature two or three days off between each game.

Important deadlines and events

• Aug. 20: WNBA Trade Deadline
• Sep. 19: End of the regular season
• Sep. 22: Playoffs begin
• Oct. 20: Latest possible WNBA Finals Game 5 date

Broadcast Schedule

The broadcast schedule for the WNBA Playoffs has not yet been released but all games will be broadcast on either ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. If you don't have a cable package that includes ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, you can use a subscription service like Fubo.tv (free seven-day trial) or ESPN+ to get access to all three channels.

How playoff rosters work

During the playoffs, WNBA teams carry the same standard 12-player rosters as they do during the regular season. Teams cannot trade players after the trade deadline on Aug. 20 but can sign players to seven-day contracts, rest-of-season contracts or hardship contracts up to the beginning of the playoffs. Players signed to seven-day contracts are not eligible for the playoffs, otherwise, a team's roster on the final day of the regular season will serve as their playoff roster.

Tiebreaker rules and scenarios

If there are any ties in the final WNBA regular season standings, they are broken using the following variables, in order (if the teams are still tied in a given tiebreaker scenario, things move to the next one).

• Win percentage in head-to-head matchups between the tied teams
• Win percentage against all teams who finished the season over 0.500
• Total scoring margin in head-to-head matchups between the tied teams
• Total scoring margin in all games
• Coin flip

With just eight teams and 40 games in the regular season, these tiebreakers regularly come into play. At least two teams have finished with identical records, necessitating tiebreakers for playoff seeding, in every WNBA season since 2019.

For example, in the 2023 season the Atlanta Dream, Minnesota Lynx and Washington Mystics all finished with identical 19-21 records. The Dream ended up with the No. 5 seed because they had gone 5-2 against the Lynx and Mystics during the regular season. The Lynx had gone 3-3 against those two teams during the regular season and landed the No. 6 seed. The Mystics and their 2-5 head-to-head record got the No. 7 seed.

It's very likely that tiebreakers will come into play this season again. Coming out of the Olympic Break, the No. 3 seed (Minnesota Lynx) was separated from the No. 7 seed Indiana Fever in the standings by just 6.5 games.