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2025 WNBA playoff picture: How five teams can clinch spots
Esports

2025 WNBA playoff picture: How five teams can clinch spots

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  • Alexa PhilippouAug 26, 2025, 09:00 AM ET

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    • Covers women’s college basketball and the WNBA
    • Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant
    • Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer

Sixteen days left in the WNBA regular season. Two playoff berths secured. Three teams eliminated. The 2025 WNBA playoff picture is taking shape.

The top teams in the league — the Minnesota Lynx, Atlanta Dream, Las Vegas Aces, Phoenix Mercury and New York Liberty — are fighting for playoff seeding and home-court advantage. But elsewhere in the WNBA standings, five teams, all within four games of each other, are realistically vying for the final three spots.

If the playoffs started Tuesday, the Seattle Storm (10.5 games behind the league-leading Lynx), Golden State Valkyries (11) and Indiana Fever (11) would be the sixth through eighth seeds in the playoffs, with the Los Angeles Sparks (12) and Washington Mystics (14.5) narrowly missing the cut.

ESPN breaks down what you need to know about each of these playoff hopefuls and their remaining path to clinching a spot in the postseason.

Chance to make the playoffs: 95.1% (per ESPN’s WNBA BPI)

Playoff outlook: Seattle has largely been defined by its inconsistencies this season, and a six-game losing streak to start August — a stretch in which each game was decided by 10 points or fewer and the team fell below .500 — put the Storm in danger of falling out of the playoff picture. But the team has recovered with four wins in its past five games, including its victory over Washington punctuated by Nneka Ogwumike’s buzzer beater.

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At No. 6 in the standings, the Storm might look safe for now. But they will want to avoid dropping further and landing a matchup against the likes of the Lynx or red-hot Aces to have a better chance to win their first playoff series since 2022. The Storm have notably been better on the road (12-8) than at home (8-10), a trend they’ll look to buck when they close the season with four consecutive contests at Climate Pledge Arena.

Pivotal player: Dominique Malonga has been a bright spot in Seattle’s up-and-down season. The 19-year-old has emerged as an indispensable part of the Storm’s rotation in recent weeks, with three 20-point performances and three double-doubles in August. Malonga might have one of the highest ceilings of anyone in the league.

Remaining games (6): @ IND (Aug. 26), @ MIN (Aug. 28), vs. CHI (Aug. 30), vs. LA (Sept. 1), vs. NY (Sept. 5), vs. GS (Sept. 9)

Series records: 1-2 vs. GS; 0-2 vs. IND; 1-2 vs. LA; 1-2 vs. WAS

Chance to make the playoffs: 88.2%

Playoff outlook: With Caitlin Clark limited to 13 games and three other guards now out for the season, injuries have lowered the Fever’s ceiling as they seek consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 2015-16. The team has prided itself on its resolve in the face of adversity but has won only two games (vs. Chicago and Connecticut in overtime) since Aug. 5 — begging the question of whether the Fever might be reaching a breaking point.

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New additions Odyssey Sims, Shey Peddy and Aerial Powers can’t entirely make up for the losses of Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham (and continued absence of Clark), but they bring veteran experience that could be valuable in these sorts of high-stakes situations.

Not helping matters: Indiana’s upcoming schedule isn’t very forgiving, with nearly all of the Fever’s remaining games against teams that are fighting for either a postseason berth or seeding.

Pivotal player: Clark hasn’t played since July 15 but participated in shootaround Sunday morning, her first time working out with the team in some capacity during her extended absence. How quickly will Indiana be able to get her back into the mix, and how will she look once she’s back on the floor? And might a continued slide in the standings mean her return ends up being too little, too late?

Remaining games (7): vs. SEA (Aug. 26), @ LA (Aug. 29), @ GS (Aug. 31), @ PHX (Sept. 2), vs. CHI (Sept. 5), @ WAS (Sept. 7), vs. MIN (Sept. 9)

Series records: 2-0 vs. SEA; 0-2 vs. GS; 0-3 vs. LA; 1-2 vs. WAS

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1:08

What does road ahead for Fever look like without Caitlin Clark?

Ari Chamber joins “SportsCenter” to discuss the Indiana Fever’s path to the playoffs while Caitlin Clark remains out with injury.

Chance to make the playoffs: 76.8%

Playoff outlook: The Valkyries have far surpassed preseason expectations, already setting a WNBA record for the most wins by an expansion team in their inaugural season when they notched No. 18 earlier this month. Now they’re within reach of becoming the first WNBA expansion franchise to make the playoffs in its debut season. All the more remarkable is that the Valkyries have managed to stay afloat while dealing with a host of injuries, particularly after losing All-Star Kayla Thornton (knee) for the rest of the year.

Golden State has led the league in attendance this summer and will look to capitalize on its home-court advantage when it hosts five straight contests over the next two weeks before ending the regular season on the road.

Pivotal player: Veronica Burton has been a revelation for the Valkyries, emerging as a leading candidate for WNBA Most Improved Player after more limited roles in previous stops in Dallas and Connecticut. She leads active Golden State players in scoring, assists and steals, tasked with even more after Thornton went down with her injury. But she has shined with at least 24 points in three of the past six games and a 24-point, 14-assist, zero-turnover performance last week. She’ll have to continue her stellar two-way play, especially her productivity on the offensive end, for the Valkyries to make more history in the coming weeks.

Remaining games (7): vs. WAS (Aug. 30), vs. IND (Aug. 31), vs. NY (Sept. 2), vs. DAL (Sept. 4), vs. MIN (Sept. 6), @ SEA (Sept. 9), @ MIN (Sept. 11)

Series records: 2-1 vs. SEA; 2-0 vs. IND; 3-1 vs. LA; 3-0 vs. WAS

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1:08

Valkyries defeat Wings to snap 3-game skid

Veronica Burton scores 25 points to lead the Valkyries past Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings 90-81.

Chance to make the playoffs: 39.3%

Playoff outlook: The new-look Sparks have been clear about their goal all year: make the playoffs. Not only has Los Angeles missed the postseason each year since 2020, but after trading away its No. 2 pick for Kelsey Plum, returning to the playoffs in 2025 became even more paramount. L.A. picked up steam around the All-Star break, winning eight of nine games in one stretch. But since then, the Sparks have alternated wins and losses, preventing them from achieving a better position in the standings.

Of all the teams left jockeying for the final few playoff berths, the Sparks have the most games remaining (nine), including six in the final 11 days of the regular season. And to stay in the hunt, they’ll have to do what Kelsey Plum commanded of them in the moments following their thrilling win over Dallas last week: “Play some f—ing defense.”

Pivotal player: Five or six players can reach double figures in the Sparks’ high-octane offense, but Rickea Jackson has been particularly crucial in this recent surge for Los Angeles. Leading up to the Sparks’ hot streak in mid-July, she averaged 12.1 points per game. That’s up to 17.3 PPG in the 15 games since. The Sparks’ best bet of going on a run hinges on them piling on the scoring against their opponents, and Jackson plays a huge role there.

Remaining games (9): vs. PHX (Aug. 26), vs. IND (Aug. 29), vs. WAS (Aug. 31), @ SEA (Sept. 1), @ ATL (Sept. 3), @ ATL (Sept. 5), vs. DAL (Sept. 7), @ PHX (Sept. 9), vs. LV (Sept. 11)

Series records: 2-1 vs. SEA; 1-3 vs. GS; 3-0 vs. IND; 2-1 vs. WAS

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1:07

Paige Bueckers’ historic game spoiled by Kelsey Plum’s winning bucket

Paige Bueckers drops 44 points, but the Sparks prevail over the Wings thanks to Kelsey Plum’s game-winning bucket.

Chance to make the playoffs: 0.6%

Playoff outlook: The Mystics are one of the pleasant surprises of the WNBA season behind the rookie All-Star tandem of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. But after sending Brittney Sykes to Seattle before the trade deadline, it appears they’ll miss the playoffs. They’ve dropped in the standings after losing nine of their past 12 (including four straight) and are sitting 3.5 games out of eighth place with just six games remaining. But in Year 2 of its rebuild, Washington might be content with missing the postseason and landing back in the lottery.

Pivotal players: Citron and Iriafen are the go-to players in D.C., but Shakira Austin is another increasingly important top option, shining recently with a 30-point (on 67% shooting), 5-rebound, 4-block game. The Mystics will need those three firing on all cylinders if they want to make a late playoff push and pass the likes of Indiana and L.A. in the standings.

Remaining games (6): @ NY (Aug. 28), @ GS (Aug. 30), @ LA (Aug. 31), vs. PHX (Sept. 4), vs. IND (Sept. 7), @ NY (Sept. 9)

Series records: 2-1 vs. SEA; 0-3 vs. GS; 2-1 vs. IND; 1-2 vs. LA



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How the Aces saved their season, got back in WNBA playoff hunt
Esports

How the Aces saved their season, got back in WNBA playoff hunt

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The Las Vegas Aces walked onto their home court with something to prove.

Just 24 hours earlier, they suffered a historic 53-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx at home. The Aces were mad and embarrassed. And now, the closest team to a dynasty the WNBA has seen in the past 10 years was fighting for its pride against the expansion Golden State Valkyries.

“We funneled every inch of our energy into that,” Aces point guard Chelsea Gray told ESPN.

The Aces tied a franchise record with 18 3-pointers and beat the Valkyries by 24 points, the largest turnaround in back-to-back games in WNBA history, according to ESPN Research.

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“When things aren’t going well, it can make you question some things that maybe you thought you were super strong in,” Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon told ESPN. “When things aren’t going well, it has to go back to the foundations. What is the base problem here?”

For the first two months of the season, the Aces were in and out of the playoff picture, suffered a three-game losing streak and were .500 at the All-Star break. The only team to win consecutive titles in the past 20 years, the Aces performed far below preseason expectations.

But Las Vegas turned it around after its Aug. 2 loss to Minnesota. The Aces have won seven consecutive games and pulled even with the Phoenix Mercury for fourth place in the WNBA standings. A’ja Wilson added to her dominance. The league’s reigning MVP is averaging 26.1 points and 13.3 rebounds during the win streak and has scored at least 30 points in three of the past four games.

The Aces look like they can contend. They might host a first-round playoff series. But the challenge is sustaining the momentum.

“You get excited because you see the potential. You see what they are capable of,” Hammon said. “Now, it’s that consistency. In basketball, anyone can be good for a night. But the great ones, they are good every night.”

A’ja Wilson is averaging 26.1 points and 13.3 rebounds and shooting 48.8% in the Aces’ current seven-game win streak, scoring over 30 points in three of the past four games. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

AS THE ACES tried to recover from their embarrassing loss to the Lynx — Minnesota set a WNBA record for largest road win — Hammon had a new assignment for the team: The players had to create their own scouting reports.

Before the start of each practice session, the Aces, led by Wilson, shared their preferred matchups, schemes and flow of the game. Hammon poked holes in the presentations and encouraged the Aces to challenge her prep, too.

Hammon hoped the collaboration would ignite a new level of engagement and attention to detail. It led to immediate success.

“This has helped us jell together to where we can all hold each other accountable,” Wilson said.

In the loss to the Lynx, Hammon called the Las Vegas defense “atrocious.” Since that defeat, the Aces have had a top-five defense and been the league’s second-best rebounding team. And it helped unlock the Las Vegas offense, which has led the league in offensive rating for the past two weeks.

Hammon’s new assignment has also helped create familiarity and chemistry, something the Aces needed to evolve after Kelsey Plum left for Los Angeles in free agency and Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh — the Aces’ top two assistant coaches — took head coaching jobs at Golden State and Chicago, respectively. That trio had helped Las Vegas win WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023.

“It’s absolutely a block party. [A’ja Wilson] isn’t new to this, she’s true to this.”

–@chiney Ogwumike on A’ja Wilson’s dominance on the court 🔥

📺 Wings-Aces on ABC/ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/9ClfyZKRr3

— ESPN (@espn) August 17, 2025

With six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd and four other new players added to the roster, this year’s team looked and operated differently. But the Aces didn’t anticipate how long it would take to come together.

“Our offense and defense are so fluid that we had to take time to learn and understand new habits,” Gray said. “It’s only when you learn those habits, you can start to form as a team.”

Loyd set a single-season mark for scoring two seasons ago with Seattle, but struggled to find a rhythm with the Aces. She was limited to single digits in six of 11 games in July while shooting 33.6%. Hammon tinkered with different combinations in the starting lineup, but nothing helped. Loyd suggested she come off the bench, but Hammon was reluctant to make the switch.

After Loyd went scoreless in a loss July 25, the guard was adamant that she be removed from the starting unit.

“I didn’t want her to feel like I was giving up on her or losing confidence in her because that was not the case,” Hammon said. “I made that very clear with her. …. As a coach, when a player says they need change, you’ve got to find a change.”

Although Loyd is playing five fewer minutes, she’s scoring five more points per game coming off the bench, averaging 14.6 points in 25 minutes during her 10 games as a reserve.

“We know how to weather storms right now. In the beginning, we couldn’t get that. We didn’t understand that we have a whole new group, top to bottom,” Wilson said. “That takes time and it takes giving each other a lot of grace and a lot of communication.”

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1:40

A’ja Wilson continues her tear with 34 points in Aces’ win

A’ja Wilson leads the Aces to their seventh straight win with 34 points.

WILSON SENT A group text to her teammates after the Aug. 2 loss to Minnesota. The message was simple: flush this game and move on, but don’t forget the way it made everyone feel.

It wasn’t her first pep talk of the season. The Aces’ early-season struggles led to Wilson becoming a more vocal leader, which has been one of the most important developments of Las Vegas’ season.

“It’s easy to lead when you are winning. Winning disguises a lot of different things” Wilson told ESPN. “But when you are in the trenches and things aren’t going well — when it feels like everyone has something to say about this Aces team — how do you lead that? How do you get all of these minds in one accord to stay poised through the noise?”

For most of her career, she built her leadership style on her playing abilities. The three-time WNBA MVP can take over games. Last week, she became the first player in WNBA history to record a 30-point, 20-rebound game. She’s averaging 22.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.6 steals this season, and has scored at least 27 points in five of the past six games. But Wilson is making a point not to force the action.

“I told myself out of All-Star break to just let the game come to me,” Wilson said after a win over Phoenix on Friday. “It’s going to be what it’s going to be. If I try to harp on it or force it because I want this win so bad for my team, it’s like forcing a fart. All you get is s—.”

According to Hammon, Wilson’s growth in her game and leadership has kept the Aces’ locker room intact.

“A lot of times it can fall apart when there is hard time after hard time or you are so close and you lost another one. It’s easy to lose the locker room, not only with myself but them with each other,” Hammon said. “They haven’t done that. They have dug in. My leaders have led when it’s hard and difficult.”

Maintaining trust allowed the Aces to stay confident as they worked out their issues. With nine games left in the regular season, they’re riding the longest active winning streak in the league and vying to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, which begin Sept. 14.

“This is what it takes to win championships. You have to do it right nine out of 10 times, 10 out of 10 times,” Hammon said. “Just keep demanding that greatness.”





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