WNBA Playoff Format: Championships, Qualification Rules, and More

When the basketball leagues like WNBA gain traction, the postseason is much more exciting for the fans. It creates a sense of anxiety among basketball enthusiasts for the victory of their favorite team. Even the WNBA Finals series will have the same game count as the NBA Finals series. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the change before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals 2024, saying that it’s important for the WNBA to follow all the other major pro leagues that do best-of-seven series in their championships, too.

The WNBA Playoffs are the pavements that filter the best of the teams from the Eastern and the Western Conference and make them duel in the WNBA finals on the court. However, the league has changed the format of these intense postseason showdowns completely. So today, we will be going to unravel the details about the WNBA Playoffs format.

What is the WNBA Playoff Format?

The WNBA Playoff format follows an elimination tournament with the eight teams qualifying. As per the current format, the playoffs occur between the top eight teams in the regular season, regardless of their conferences. These teams participate in a single elimination tournament thereafter. The eight teams are seeded by their regular season records, with higher seeded teams getting home court advantages.

A team can play 7 games minimum (assuming the team wins each series in the minimum number of games) or 13 games maximum (assuming the team wins by playing the maximum number of games) throughout the whole playoffs. But this applies to the previous seasons. From the 2025 season onwards, the minimum game count will be 8 games, while the maximum game count for teams in playoffs will be 15 games in WNBA.

In comparison to the WNBA’s best-of-five format in only the second round and the Finals series, the NBA series is a little different. The postseason is completely played in the best of the seven series, where teams face each other from the same conference first. After Conference Finals, the teams advance to the NBA Finals, where the game is played between the top teams from the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. Unlike the WNBA, the first-round series does not consist of three games in the NBA postseason. Also, there are two rounds. Two rounds of playoffs take place, after which the Conference Finals is the third step, leading the winner to the NBA Finals. Let's understand the WNBA format better in this step-by-step breakdown below.

How Do the WNBA Playoffs Work? Step-by-Step Breakdown

The WNBA playoffs format simply is that the playoffs can be divided into three rounds for better understanding: the First Round, the Semifinals(Second Round), and the Finals. So, let’s look at the format and details of the Women’s National Basketball League’s postseason:

First Round - Best-of-Three Series

This round comprises of best-of-three series with a 1-1-1 format. Earlier in this matchup, the higher-seeded team played the first two games on home court. On the other hand, the lower-seeded team hosted the third game if, in two games, the series is tied. Such a showdown in the first round of playoffs used to be major disadvantage to the team that is lower-seeded. Since they already have to face the team at the top, the home-court advantage crumbles, and the hope for an advance crumbles. With the new format, each team gets at least one home game, preventing a winner take-it-all situation in Game 3 of the series.

Semifinals - Best of Five

The Semifinals in the WNBA are organized as best-of-five series in the WNBA, and they follow the 2-2-1 format. This means that the higher-seeded team will host the first two games and the fifth game. The fifth game does not occur if the franchise wins the first three games. The lower-seeded team then plays the third and fourth games on home court. The deep postseason is much fairer than the first round of playoffs, which is more inclined to the team with a higher ranking.

WNBA Finals - Best of Seven Series

Notably, the WNBA has announced the expansion of the Finals to a best-of-seven series and changed the Finals to the 2-2-1-1-1 format from 2025 onwards. So, the higher-seeded team will lead Games 1, 2, 5, and 7 on the home court, while the lower-seeded team will lead Games 3, 4, and 6 on the home court. The induction of the standard format from the NBA will not only allow the teams to provide entertainment to the fans but also give another two chances to clinch the victory over the opponent.

Also, to reduce the partiality of the first round in the postseason, the league has decided to conduct the first round of playoffs in 1-1-1 format from 2025. It will be a boon for the lower-seeded teams as they’ll get the home-court advantage in the early part of the series.

How Many Teams Make the WNBA Playoffs?

According to the rules of the 2024 season, the WNBA playoff structure includes the top eight teams of the total 12 teams with the best regular-season records, regardless of their conference affiliations. This means that the traditional Eastern and Western Conference rankings do not impact the playoff seats through play-in tournaments. Rather, the teams with the highest overall win-loss records advance into the postseason directly. So, the Conferences don’t have any role to play in the WNBA when it comes to the postseason.
Like in the 2024 season, the WNBA had implemented a different playoff format. It included single-elimination games in the initial rounds and byes for the top-seeded teams. However, the league transitioned to a more standardized format after 2022. Ultimately, the WNBA and the franchises got rid of the single-elimination rounds. This led to the introduction or debut of best-of-series in all playoff rounds. Such an approach will make sure the teams get a fair chance to prove their worth without judging the teams with just a single game.

Who Won the 2024 WNBA Championship?

The New York Liberty won their first WNBA championship in 2024 after shattering the Minnesota Lynx’s ambition in a five-game series. The Liberty outdid the Lynx roster by 3-2 in the WNBA Finals series last season. Jonquel Jones was named 2024 WNBA Finals MVP because she contributed to the series, tallying 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Jones also closed out the Finals, shooting 56% overall, 43% from the three-point line, and 100% from the free-throw line. So the 2024 WNBA Finals ended on October 21, 2024, when the New York Liberty won the fifth game, putting 62-67 on the scoreboard.

The 2024 WNBA Finals was led by the Minnesota Lynx at first when they took the first game. However, the New York Liberty made a comeback, winning the second and third games of the series. Even the Lynx had put up a fight by clinching the fourth game. However, the Liberty squad’s winning streak took advantage of their momentum and beat the Lynx in the fifth game of the WNBA Finals.

Key Dates and Schedule for 2025 Playoffs

The 2024 WNBA playoffs kicked off on September 22, 2024. Typically, according to the WNBA playoffs format, it begins in late or mid-September and extends up to approximately four to five weeks. Ultimately, they end with the WNBA Finals by the end of October. The exact dates can differ each year, considering factors like the regular season schedule and other contributors.

For the 2025 season, the WNBA playoffs are expected to begin on September 14 after the regular season concludes on September 11. The last possible date for the WNBA Finals 2025 is expected to be October 17, 2015.

Why the 2025 Format Changes Matter?

On October 2024, it was announced that the WNBA playoff format would witness some significant changes, starting from the 2025 season. The first round will be a best-of-three series with higher seeded teams hosting the first two games. This was a much required change, as the first round format has now changed from the controversial 2-1 format to a 1-1-1 format, ensuring each team making it to the playoffs host at least one game, thus preventing a scenario in which the lower seed team gets a winner-take all Game 3 at home.

On the other hand, the Finals will be a best of seven series and will be a best of seven series with a 2-2-1-1-1 structure. As per WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, this format will allow fans to enjoy the championship series in a format that they are accustomed to in other sports.