WNBA playoffs

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The WNBA playoffs is an elimination tournament among eight teams in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals.

Format

In the current format of the WNBA playoffs, the top eight teams in the regular season – regardless of conference – participate in a single-elimination tournament system. The eight teams are seeded by their regular season records, with the higher seeded team (or the team with the better record) in each series given homecourt advantage.

Round One is a best-of-three series, played with a homecourt pattern of 2–1 (the higher seed hosts games 1 and 2, while the lower seed hosts game 3, if necessary). The Semifinals and Finals are both best-of-five, played with a homecourt pattern of 2–2–1 (the higher seed hosts games 1, 2, and 5, while the lower seed hosts games 3 and 4).^[1]

Beginning in 2025 the WNBA finals will expand to Best of 7 and the first round will change to a 1-1-1 format (with games 1 and 3 being hosted by the higher seed and game 2 by the lower seed)^[2]

Tiebreaker procedures

In case of ties, the following procedures are followed:

Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams.
Better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record at the end of the season.
Better point differential in games involving tied teams.
Better point differential in all games.
Coin toss (or draw of lots, if at least 3 teams are still tied after the first 4 tiebreakers fail).

History

File:WNBA Playoffs logo.png

WNBA playoffs logo until 2018.

The playoff format has changed throughout the years ever since the league's establishment.

In the league's first two seasons, 1997 and 1998, only the top four teams overall advanced to the playoffs, which comprised only two rounds. In 1997, only a single game was played in all matches. In 1998, each match became a best-of-three series. The homecourt pattern for best-of-three was 1–1–1.

As expansion began, the playoff format accommodated more teams. 1999 featured six teams, with the top three teams from each conference advancing to the playoffs, and the top seed of each conference getting a bye into the Conference Finals. The following season, it was expanded to eight teams with the top four teams from each conference advancing to the playoffs. In 2005, the WNBA Finals became a best-of-five series. Despite the departure of some teams later on, this format continued until 2015.

From 2016-2021, a new format was introduced, featuring a stepladder-like system. In this format, the first- and second-seeded teams entered the tournament at the Semifinals, third and fourth places started at the Second Round, and the remaining four began at the First Round. The format also eliminated conference seeding, instead having the top eight teams overall advance. The First and Second Rounds were only a single game, with the winning team immediately advancing to the next round. The Semifinals and Finals were both best-of-five series. After each round, the lower surviving seed faced the higher seed in the next round, while the higher surviving seed faced the lower seed.^[1]

The current format was adopted in 2022 and features the top 8 teams in the league (regardless of conference) playing a three-round series for the championship. The first round is a best-of-three series with the higher seed hosting both of the first two games, while the Semifinals and Finals remain a best-of-five series. The higher seed hosts the first, second, and (if necessary) fifth games. Beginning in 2025, Round One will switch back to a 1–1–1 pattern, and the Finals will become a best-of-seven series, utilizing a 2–2–1–1–1 pattern similar to the NBA, with the higher seed hosting the first and second games, as well as the fifth and seventh games if necessary.^[3]

Playoff series history

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2024 season

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2023 season

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2022 season

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2021 season

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2020 season

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2019 season

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2018 season

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2017 season

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