WNBA Finals schedule, format, predictions: Everything you need to know
The 2024 WNBA Finals are officially set. For the 27th time in league history, we will watch two teams battle for a WNBA Championship. In this year's Finals, we get the top two teams in the league -- the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty.
This will be the second consecutive year the Liberty reach the Finals, meanwhile the Lynx reach the Finals for the first time since 2017.
2024 WNBA Finals Schedule
Date | Game | Teams | Time | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, Oct. 10 | Game 1 | Lynx @ Liberty | 8 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
Sunday, Oct. 13 | Game 2 | Lynx @ Liberty | 3 p.m. EDT | ABC |
Wednesday, Oct. 16 | Game 3 | Liberty @ Lynx | 8 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
Friday, Oct. 18 | Game 4* | Liberty @ Lynx | 8 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
Sunday, October 20 | Game 5* | Lynx @ Liberty | 8 p.m. EDT | ESPN |
2024 WNBA Finals format
The Liberty finished the regular season with a 32-8 record, which was the best record in the WNBA. Minnesota finished with a 30-10 record, which was the second-best record in the league. Since the Liberty had the better record among the two teams, they'll have homecourt advantage in the series. New York gets the first two games at home, and if there's a fifth game in the series it'll also be at the Barclays Center.
2024 WNBA Finals predictions
Although the Liberty finished with a better regular season record, the Lynx won the head-to-head match-up this season. The two teams faced each other four times with the Lynx winning the regular season series 3-1, including the most recent 88-79 Lynx victory over the Liberty on Sept. 15.
The 2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier just made history in Game 5 against the Connecticut Sun becoming the first player in WNBA Playoff history with 25 points and 10 rebounds in three straight games. Against the Liberty though Collier didn't score 20 points in any of the games.
After the Game 5 victory against the Sun, Collier was asked if she liked her team's odds against the Liberty. She instantly made it known that the playoffs were completely different than the regular season. All season long the Lynx have been the best defensive team in the league and will have to continue that momentum into this series against the Liberty with the way Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu have been playing. Not to mention, the Liberty have all of the confidence in the world after dethroning the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces and denying their three-peat.
It'll be a great series that features two very physical teams. With the confidence of beating the Aces, more rest than Minnesota, and the memory of getting beaten three times by the Lynx this season, the Liberty will come out with their home crowd rocking in the first two games and try to take control of the series.
Courtney Williams stepped up big for the Lynx in Game 5 against the Sun with a 24-point performance. Both Williams and Kayla McBride will have to step up big as Collier will get all of the attention from the Liberty defense. Getting one of the first two games on the road will be crucial for Minnesota. Luckily, the Lynx are one of the best road teams in the league and showed earlier this year that they can overcome the Barclay's atmosphere.
Prediction: Liberty win series 3-2.
feed