With one day left to play in the WNBA 2026 regular season, four playoff teams are still looking to lock in their bracket spots.
The Minnesota Lynx secured the No. 1 seed. The Dream secured No. 4 seed, Liberty settled at No. 8 and the Dallas Wings in No. 7. The Valkyries, Aces, Fever and Mystics are looking to solidify their playoff seeding.
The regular season ends on Thursday, Sept. 24, with the first round of playoffs starting on Sunday Sept. 27.
What teams are in the 2026 WNBA Playoffs?
- Minnesota Lynx (32-11) — No. 1 Seed
- Golden State Valkyries (31-12)
- Las Vegas Aces (30-13)
- Atlanta Dream (30-14) - No. 4 Seed
- Indiana Fever (28-16)
- Washington Mystics (27-16)
- Dallas Wings (27-17) - No. 7
- New York Liberty (26-18) - No. 8 Seed
What are the 2026 WNBA Playoffs scenarios?
The Minnesota Lynx locked in the No. 1 seed after Tuesday night, after the Golden State Valkyries lost in OT to the Portland Fire.
Three teams locked in their seeds after Wednesday night, with the Atlanta Dream’s 83-65 win over the New York Liberty.
The Dream secured No. 4 seed, Liberty settled at No. 8 and the Dallas Wings in No. 7.
The Valkyries, Aces, Fever and Mystics are looking to solidify their playoff seeding on Thursday night.
The Valkyries and the Aces have the No. 2 and the No. 3 seeds on the line.
The Valkyries will lock in No. 2 seed with a win over the Los Angeles Sparks or if the Aces lose to Mercury. If the Valkyries lose and the Aces win, the Aces will become the No. 2 seed — thanks to their regular season record (3-0) over Golden State.
The No. 5 and No. 6 seeds will be a battle between the Fever and Mystics.
Indiana faces off against the Lynx again on Thursday night and if they can pull two wins in a row off against Minnesota, they’ll lock into the No. 5 seed.
If the Fever lose and the Mystics defeat the Chicago Sky, Washington would claim the No. 5 seed, with the tiebreaker being its 2-1 season record over the Fever.
The top four teams in the playoffs receive home-court advantage in first round. The Lynx, Valkyries, Dream and Las Vegas Aces have clinched home-court advantage in the first round.
How does WNBA Playoffs seeding and tiebreakers work?
- Better head-to-head record
- Better winning percentage against teams that finish the season at .500 or better
- Better head-to-head point differential — total points scored minus total points allowed in games between the tied teams
- Better overall point differential — total points scored minus total points allowed against all opponents
- For a three-team or larger tie, the WNBA says it eliminates as many teams as possible at each step. As soon as one or more teams are eliminated/separated, the process starts over at Step 1 for the remaining tied teams.
What are the current WNBA bracket and standings?
As of Thursday morning, the only confirmed first round matchup will be between the Lynx (No.1) and the Liberty (No.8). After Thursday night, the rest of the bracket will be locked into place.
Click here to view the full league standings.
What WNBA Playoffs games can I watch on NBC and Peacock?
NBC and Peacock will stream multiple games during the Semifinals and Finals series.
Additionally, for Games 2-3 and 5-7 of the Finals, Peacock will simulstream USA’s network coverage produced by Versant’s USA Sports.
| Game | Date | Time | Network |
| Semifinals Game 1 | 10/4/26 | TBD | NBC, Peacock |
| Semifinals Game 2 | 10/7/26 | TBD | Peacock, NBCSN |
| Semifinals Game 3 | 10/9/26 | TBD | Peacock, NBCSN |
| Semifinals Game 4 | 10/11/26 | TBD | NBC, Peacock |
| Semifinals Game 5 | 10/14/26 | TBD | Peacock, NBCSN |
| Finals Game 1 | 10/17/26 | 3:30pm ET | NBC, Peacock |
| Finals Game 4 | 10/24/26 | 3:30pm ET | NBC, Peacock |
For Games 2-3 and 5-7 of the Finals, Peacock will simulstream USA’s network coverage produced by Versant’s USA Sports.
How to watch the WNBA on Peacock:
Peacock will stream nationally televised WNBA regular‑season games that air across NBC, as well as Peacock exclusives. These include 22 national WNBA games per season shared across Peacock and NBC. Peacock will also stream select WNBA Playoff games. See below for the full schedule.
Click here for additional information
Who are the on-air talent for WNBA coverage?
Sue Bird and Cheryl Miller will serve as studio analysts; Maria Taylor and LaChina Robinson as studio hosts; LaChina Robinson and Sarah Kustok as game analysts; and Zora Stephenson, Noah Eagle, and Michael Grady as play-by-play voices. Ashley ShahAhmadi, Jordan Cornette, and Caroline Pineda as courtside reporters.
How to sign up for Peacock:
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