The WNBA playoffs are set to commence on Sunday, September 27. After each of the 15 WNBA franchises has played 44 regular-season games, it’s all boiled down to eight teams fighting for arguably the biggest prize in Women’s pro basketball.

We already have some interesting matchups with the Defending Champions facing Caitlin Clark and company in the very first round. Meanwhile, stars like Angel Reese and Olivia Miles are getting ready to play their first WNBA playoffs.

So let us first take a look at who’s taking on who in the WNBA’s 30th postseason.

WNBA Playoffs format, schedule, and first-round matchups

With the top eight teams of the regular season competing for the championship, the playoffs begin with the first round, which comprises a best-of-three game setup. Obviously, the team with the higher seed will receive home-court advantage, and two victories will take you to the semifinals of the playoffs.

The first round begins on Sunday when the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx take on the eighth-seeded New York Liberty at 2 p.m. ET on ABC. This will be a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals, as Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve will look to get the upper hand against the New York Liberty led by World Cup MVP Breanna Stewart.

The afternoon will continue on ABC at 4 p.m. ET, with none other than defending champions Las Vegas Aces taking on the Indiana Fever. This is one of the more anticipated games of the playoffs, as four-time MVP A’ja Wilson will meet Caitlin Clark for the first time in a postseason setting after the Fever star was ruled out of last year’s playoffs due to injury, when the Aces beat the Fever in the semifinals.

The evening takes us to Atlanta, as the fourth-seeded Dream will tip things off against the fifth-seeded Washington Mystics at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video. This will be an even more special occasion for Angel Reese, who will participate in the playoffs for the first time in her WNBA career.

Last but not least, the second-seeded Golden State Valkyries will take on the seventh-seeded Dallas Wings at 9 p.m. ET on USA Network. The Valkyries, one of the newer teams in the WNBA, have made significant strides in limited time and will hope to continue their push forward. But in their way is Paige Bueckers, who is having her career-best season for the Wings and will look to perform similarly in her first playoff appearance.

Following the end of the first round, the semifinals will rapidly commence on October 4. The format changes, as it will be a best-of-five series. And just like in the first round, the higher-seeded team in the regular season will receive home-court advantage in the semis as well.

The WNBA season will reach its business end on October 17, when the Finals commence as a best-of-seven series. And looking at the talent of the teams competing, it is safe to say all of them have the potential to reach here and have a chance of achieving glory.

While the WNBA Finals is still a few weeks away, let us first glance at the first-round matchups fans are most excited for in the coming week.

Can the Fever continue their form against the Aces?

At first glance, facing the Las Vegas Aces in the playoffs, that too in the first round itself, may not look good. After all, the Aces eliminated the Fever in 2025. However, with two regular-season wins against the Aces, the matchup may be a close one.

In the three regular-season games the Aces have played against the Fever, they have lost 84-68 and 109-75, despite securing the higher seed. And the only game head coach Becky Hammon’s side won went to overtime, with the Aces barely getting past the Fever, 86-84.

Recently, even WNBA expert Robin Lundberg has pointed out that the Aces do not have what it takes to overpower the Fever this time around, pointing out two key reasons why.

“But look at this year, they played three times, the Fever won two out of those three, and they were up by 20 in the game that they didn’t win. That went to overtime, it required an extraordinary set of circumstances for them to lose.” Lundberg said in a clip shared via his X handle.

“Then you’ve got Aliyah Boston, who guards A’ja Wilson better than any player in the league. When you factor in they’ve got a player to guard A’ja Wilson, the Aces aren’t really equipped to go after the Fever’s biggest weaknesses on the boards or perimeter defence. It doesn’t mean they’re gonna win, but they are certainly capable of beating the Las Vegas Aces.”

Lundberg is not the only analyst who mentioned Aliyah Boston giving A’ja Wilson a rough time in their face-offs, as WNBA analyst Rachel DeMita was also of the same opinion.

“I actually think the Aces would be a fine matchup for them because Aliyah Boston gives A’ja Wilson trouble… I feel like the Fever could get it done against them.” DeMita said on her recent Courtside Club episode.

Boston has certainly been the Fever’s lucky charm against the four-time MVP. Whenever the two South Carolina Gamecock products have faced off against each other at the post, Boston has often found success.

In 12 career games, Boston has averaged 16.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists against Wilson, according to StatMuse. The Aces are also without the services of NaLyssa Smith, who was an elite pairing with Wilson at the post this season.

Still, this is the Las Vegas Aces we are talking about, the team that has won three championships in the last four seasons. Wilson has also clicked into another gear in the finals stretch of the regular season. She averaged a league-high 26.2 points, along with 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists, while helping the Aces end the season on a seven-game win streak.

Wilson is also the favorite to win her fifth MVP award, breaking her own record if that ends up happening.

Moreover, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray complete the Aces’ Big 3, who have time and again proven to be a problem for the opposition in the playoffs.

But the Fever Big 3 of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aaliyah Boston are far from pushovers. Clark and Mitchell, both MVP candidates, have formed one of the most efficient backcourts in the WNBA this season and will prove to be a handful for the Aces once the game tips off.

Sunday cannot come any sooner, as it will be interesting to see which team takes the lead at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

Do not sleep on the Liberty’s chances against the Lynx

Facing the No. 8 seed is usually regarded as a “reward” for the team finishing first in the regular season. However, the Minnesota Lynx will have to do more than keep their guard up in the first round, as they take on Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty.

As Sabrina Ionescu said, the Liberty are not your usual eighth-seed team. They won the WNBA championship just two years ago with the same core of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Leonie Fiebich, beating the Lynx only in the final. While the change in head coach and some new faces have changed their standings, that does not mean the Liberty can not pose a threat to the Lynx.

In fact, the Liberty won two games to one against the Minnesota Lynx in the regular season, which goes to show even the top-seeded side is not invincible.

The Lynx are also not in their best form currently. In their last six games, head coach Cheryl Reeve’s side has lost games against the Fever, Dream, Valkyries, and Liberty.

World Cup MVP Stewart is also in the form of her life this season, averaging 20.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, shooting on a near-career-high 47.4%. She is the main reason the 26-18 Liberty have even qualified for the playoffs in the first place.

Now fresh off her iconic gold-medal-winning campaign, Stewart is locked in to go for another championship this season after the Commissioner’s Cup and the World Cup.

“It’s a perfect lead-up for me being with Team USA because it’s doing whatever it takes and making sure my motor is hot. There’s not going to be many second chances, you know, you’ve got to get it right on the first one, and I’m going to do that. That’s my intention.” Stewart said.

“We have to be road warriors. We have a team that has enough experience and enough vets to really get the job done. I think the main thing is like focusing on ourselves, using that to go forward.” 

In the last four years, no No. 1 seed has lost a first-round series. In fact, all of them swept their first-round opponents in two games. It started with the Aces beating the Phoenix Mercury in two games and again sweeping the Chicago Sky a year later. The Liberty themselves swept the Dream in 2024, while the Lynx overpowered the Valkyries last year.

It will be interesting to see whether Stewart and co. could change this trend, or the Lynx’s Olivia Miles and Napheesa Collier will be more than enough to take down the Liberty with two home games in hand.