Category: Basketball

The 2025 WNBA Playoffs tips off on Sunday, September 14 with an all-day quadruple-header beginning at 1 p.m. ET and running through the afternoon until the final game starts at 10 p.m. ET.

The top eight teams make for the WNBA playoffs based on overall standings rather than by conference. Prior to 2022, the postseason featured a format in which the top two seeds received first-round byes and the opening rounds included single-elimination games.

Beginning in 2022, the league adopted a new format which eliminated byes and single-elimination rounds. The playoffs now consist of three rounds, with each round played as a series.

Teams advancing from the first round play in the semifinals, and those who win their semifinal series move on to the WNBA Finals, which for the first time in league history will be a best-of-seven series.

Below is your official guide for following the 2025 WNBA postseason, which will feature the most postseason games in the league’s 29-year history.

How long do the 2025 WNBA playoffs run?

The WNBA playoffs begin with the first round on Sunday, September 14 and runs through Friday, September 19 when the third games, if necessary, will be played.

The semifinals begin on Sunday, September 21 and that best-of-five series runs until Tuesday, September 30 with both game-fives scheduled on that Tuesday.

The WNBA Finals begin on Friday, October 3 and run through Friday, October 17, which provides the final two teams standing two weeks exactly to battle through the final series if the first seven-game series in league history does indeed go the distance.

Which teams are in the 2025 WNBA playoffs?

Minnesota Lynx (34-10)

Las Vegas Aces (30-14)

Atlanta Dream (30-14)

Phoenix Mercury (27-17)

New York Liberty (27-17)

Indiana Fever (24-20)

Seattle Storm (23-21)

Golden State Valkyries (23-21)

Has WNBA playoff seeding been determined?

Yes, at last! Although the seeding came down to the wire with only the Lynx (No.1 seed), Mercury (No. 4 seed) and Liberty (No.5 seed) with their seeding locked in before the final evening of the regular season on Thursday.

Following the Aces’ 103-75 win over the Sparks, A’ja Wilson and company earned the No.2 seed and the Dream slid down to the No. 3 seed. While the two teams have the same record to end the season, the Aces had the tiebreaker by winning the season series against the Dream 3-0.

The Lynx will avoid playing the Storm, a team that had their number twice during the regular season. By defeating the Valkyries 72-53 on Thursday night, the Lynx instead will play the Valkyries in the first round. As a result, the Fever earned the No.6 seed and will face the Dream while the Storm slot into the No. 7 seed to play the Aces.

Although the Storm and Valkyries have the same exact records to end the season, the Storm have the 3-1 tiebreaker over the Valkyries thanks to Tuesday night’s nail-biting 74-73 win, which clinched their playoff berth.

What does the WNBA playoff bracket look like?

First Round

• No. 1 seed Lynx vs. No. 8 seed Valkyries 
• No. 2 seed Aces vs. No. 7 seed Storm 
• No. 3 seed Dream vs. No. 6 seed Fever
• No. 4 seed Mercury vs. No. 5 seed Liberty 

Semifinal Round

• The winner of Lynx vs. Valkyries plays the winner of Mercury vs. Liberty
• The winner of Aces vs. Storm plays the winner of Dream vs. Fever
  

WNBA Finals

The winners of the two semifinals series face each other in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals, the first seven-game series in league history. In a seven-game series, the first team to four wins will be crowned as the 2025 WNBA Champions.

How does home-court advantage work throughout each round?

Homecourt advantage goes to the team who had the best regular season record. In the first round the top four seeds have home court advantage which means Game 1 and Game 3 (if necessary) of the first round are played in the arena of the team with home court.

The semifinals begin with the first two games played at the arena of the team with the better regular season record and higher seeding. Games 3 and 4 if necessary are played at the team’s arena without homecourt advantage and then Game 5 if necessary returns to the same place where Games 1 and 2 were played.

The WNBA Finals will begin with the first two games being played at the team with the homecourt advantage followed by game 3 and 4 being played in the other team’s arena. But then games 5, 6 and 7 all if necessary will be played in a 1-1-1 format where the higher seed will host games 5 and 7 in addition to games 1 and 2.

What is the WNBA Postseason schedule?

First Round

Sunday, Sept. 14

• Game 1: Lynx vs. Valkyries at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Game 1: Fever vs. Dream at 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
• Game 1: Liberty vs. Mercury at 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Game 1: Storm vs. Aces at 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Tuesday, Sept. 16

• Game 2: Dream vs. Fever at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Game 2: Aces vs. Storm at 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Wednesday, Sept. 17

• Game 2: Mercury vs. Liberty 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Game 2: Valkyries vs. Lynx at 10:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Thursday, Sept. 18

• Game 3^: Fever vs. Dream 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
• Game 3^: Storm vs. Aces 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Friday, Sept. 19

• Game 3^: Lynx vs. Valkyries 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
• Game 3^: Mercury vs. Liberty 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

^ If necessary

Semifinals

Sunday, Sept. 21

• Game 1: 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
• Game 1: 5 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Tuesday, Sept. 23

• Game 2: 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Game 2: 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Friday, Sept. 26

• Game 3: 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
• Game 3: 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Sunday, Sept. 28

• Game 4^: 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
• Game 4^: 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Tuesday, Sept. 30

• Game 5^: 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
• Game 5^: 10: 00 p.m. ET  (ESPNU)
  

^ If necessary

WNBA Finals

Friday, Oct. 3

• Game 1: 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Sunday, Oct. 5

• Game 2: 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

Wednesday, Oct. 8

• Game 3: 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Friday, Oct. 10

• Game 4: 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Sunday, Oct. 12

• Game 5^: 3 p.m. ET (ABC)

Wednesday, Oct. 15

• Game 6^: 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Friday, Oct. 17

• Game 7^: 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

^ If necessary

How do coaches’ challenges work during the WNBA playoffs?

They will work the same way they do during the regular season. A coach’s challenge is when a coach calls a timeout and then signals for it by twirling an index finger.

A coach can use as many as two challenges during a game. If a coach uses a challenge and then wins their challenge, they receive another timeout in addition to another challenge. If the call isn’t overturned and the coach’s challenge is unsuccessful, the team who called the challenge loses a timeout and doesn’t get a second opportunity to challenge at any other point throughout the game.

What does overtime look like during the WNBA playoffs?

For all WNBA games, overtime periods are five extra minutes, and each team receives two timeouts during the five minute periods in addition to a reset timeout.

Just like in regulation and in particular in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, teams can call a reset timeout which is when a team advances the ball to mid-court to make substitutions. No huddles are allowed. These reset timeouts can be taken during the final two minutes of any overtime period.

While no longer the target of it, Malik Beasley remains a subject in a wide-ranging gambling investigation being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York (the one that led to a lifetime ban of Raptors guard Jontay Porter). Part of the focus of that investigation is on some games Beasley played while with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024, and prop bets around his play in those games.

The NBA is also investigating the matter, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday.

"I'll only say there that the investigation is ongoing," Silver said following the league's Board of Governors meeting in New York. "As I understand it, there's still a federal investigation that's ongoing of Malik Beasley as well. We will address whatever is presented to us in his case."

Beasley has not been charged in relation to the federal investigation and is no longer its central focus, a fact his agent has repeatedly emphasized. Beasley is fully cooperating with the investigation as well, according to his attorney.

While true, because Beasley remains a subject in that investigation — which could still lead to charges — and could face discipline from the league, no team has gone near him in free agency. Back before the start of free agency (and before news of the investigation broke), Beasley was reportedly in discussions about re-signing in Detroit for around three years, $42 million. Now, even if he were cleared of all charges tomorrow, no team has that kind of cap space left to spend. Detroit moved on and added Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson to fill Beasley's role.

Beasley had a large role in Detroit. He averaged 16.3 points a game while shooting 41.6% on 3-pointers for the Pistons last season, and he finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He'd be the best free agent on the market, but until these investigations are wrapped up, teams may express interest but will stay at arm's length.

The Knicks considered other options, including Ben Simmons. Landry Shamet had other offers from teams looking for bench depth.

In the end, they decided to get back together, with Shamet agreeing to a one-year veteran minimum contract to return to New York, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. Ian Begley of SNY.TV confirmed this, and he added details.

Shamet averaged 5.7 points across 50 games for the Knicks last season, while shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc.

Shamet joins a fairly deep guard rotation, one that new coach Mike Brown is going to trust and use more than Tom Thibodeau did. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges are expected to start at the guard spots, with Miles "Duece" McBride and newcomer Jordan Clarkson behind them. Shamet will be fighting for minutes behind that foursome, along with Tyler Kolek.

Luka Doncic was the best player at EuroBasket: 34.7 points a game (first in the tournament), 8.6 rebounds (eighth) and 7.1 assists (tied for second). He may not win MVP because Slovenia was eliminated in the round of eight, but that was as far as he could carry this roster. Coming off a summer focused on conditioning — which went viral — Doncic looked dominant.

Doncic's play and the fact that he signed a contract extension with them have the Lakers — who previously had focused on having cap space and flexibility next summer — considering a more aggressive approach, reports Dan Woike at The Athletic. He specifically named Miami's Andrew Wiggins.

According to team and league sources, the Lakers' stance on roster improvements heading into this season has shifted because of the start of this new chapter together...

One area the team is focused on is upgrading the wing, where it needs more two-way talent. A player like Miami's Andrew Wiggins, whom the Lakers weren't interested in earlier this summer, is now a more desirable player, provided the price is right.

Wiggins, who played 60 games last season between Golden State and Miami, averaged 18 points and 4.5 rebounds a game while shooting 37.4% from 3. He's a solid wing player who still can show flashes of why he was drafted No. 1 overall (like his play during the Warriors' 2022 championship run, the season he was named an All-Star). Even with his play last season, Wiggins would be an upgrade over someone like Rui Hachimura for Los Angeles. Wiggins will make $28.2 million this season and has a player option for $30.2 million next season.

The buzz out of Miami has been that the Heat want to see how the team looks to start the season before making any moves. If the Heat struggle out of the gate, they would have a financial incentive to shed salary (they are currently are flirting with the tax line). Both the Heat and Lakers are hard-capped at the first apron, and the Lakers are just $1.1 million below that line, so any trade that sees the Heat shed salary and the Lakers take on Wiggins will have to involve a third team, likely Brooklyn (it has cap space). That's a lot that has to come together.

This illustrates the challenge of the Lakers getting more aggressive during the season — they have very limited financial flexibility. Making in-season deals will be challenging, the Lakers can't even take on a veteran minimum contract until mid-January. The Lakers will also want to assess their current roster with a motivated Doncic plus LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and newcomers such as Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and Marcus Smart.

It's more likely the Lakers can make bold moves next summer, when LeBron becomes a free agent and his $52 million comes off the books (even if the plan is to re-sign James, they will have flexibility). Still, it sounds like the Lakers aren't going to treat this coming season as a gap year, especially if they can find the right trade.

Jason Collins, the 13-year NBA veteran player who became a league ambassador after his playing days — famously the first pro athlete to come out as gay while still playing in the NBA or any major American sports league — is battling a brain tumor, his family has announced.

His family released this statement through the league:

"NBA Ambassador and 13-year NBA veteran Jason Collins is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason's health and well-being."

While Collins had an impressive NBA career, he is best known for being the first person to come out as gay while playing in a major professional American sports league. Here is what he wrote at the time:

"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."

Collins, 46, and his twin brother Jarron Collins dominated Southern California high-school basketball together at Harvard-Westlake — having twin athletic 7-footers on a high school team wins a lot of games — before choosing to attend Stanford together. There, Collins helped lead the Cardinal to the Elite Eight one season and the Final Four the next. Collins was the No. 18 overall pick of the Houston Rockets in the 2001 NBA Draft, then was traded on draft night with Richard Jefferson to the New Jersey Nets. Collins had a growing role with the Nets and was the starting center on the 2003 team that reached the NBA Finals with Jason Kidd at point guard (Collins was matched up with Hall of Famer David Robinson in those Finals, which the Tim Duncan Spurs won).

Collins earned his reputation as a physical, rock-solid defensive center who went on to play 13 NBA seasons for the Nets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics and Wizards (finishing his career with the Nets, who had moved to Brooklyn at that point).

After retiring from playing, Collins became an ambassador for the league, serving in that role at a number of events. Collins has long had a relationship with film producer Brunson Green, and the couple was married earlier this year.

Our thoughts are with Collins and his family.

On Wednesday, after a meeting with all the NBA owners, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sounded cautious, patient and a little bit zen about the investigation into the Clippers trying to circumvent the salary cap with team sponsor Aspiration. "I'm a big believer in due process and fairness, and we need to now let the investigation run its course," Silver said. He said he wanted to see "substantial proof" of the Clippers' wrongdoing.

On Thursday, new reporting from Pablo Torre and the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast (which initially broke the story) makes it harder to believe that the Clippers organization knew nothing. Here's how the new reporting breaks down, with some background context added.

• In 2021, Kawhi Leonard signed a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Aspiration, a "green bank" company dealing in carbon credits (the company has since gone bankrupt, and its CEO pled guilty to bilking $248 million from investors). The way this endorsement paid out was $7 million a year, or quarterly payments of $1.75 million. At the crux of this controversy is the fact that Leonard did nothing for Aspiration to earn this money — no appearances, no marketing, not even a social media post. This was a "no-show" job. Employees with Aspiration said they were told not to question the Leonard contract, this was to help the Clippers circumvent the salary cap.

• Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had invested $50 million personally in Aspiration back in 2021 (prior to the Leonard endorsement contract), and it had become a $300 million sponsor of the Clippers. Ballmer and the Clippers have said that while they introduced Leonard and Aspiration — as is permitted under league rules — they had no details about his endorsement deal, and that the Clippers ended their relationship in 2023 with Aspiration after it defaulted on their obligations. Ballmer told ESPN, “I was duped” by Aspiration (as were many other investors).

• The latest PTFO reporting focuses on the final months of 2022: In September of that year, Aspiration missed a quarterly $1.75 million payment to Leonard as the failing company was coming apart at the seams. This had Dennis Robertson — "Uncle Dennis," Leonard business manager and uncle who had asked the Raptors for no-show endorsements during free agency in 2019, and asked the Lakers and Clippers for much more like a piece of the organization, a home, and use of a plane — hounding Aspiration for the money Leonard was owed (which flowed into a specially formed LLC for this endorsement money).

• Enter Dennis J. Wong — the vice chairman of the Clippers, a man who owns 1% of the team (Ballmer owns the other 99%). According to Aspiration bank records, on Dec. 6, 2002, Aspiration received a $1.99 million wire from Wong's investment LLP. That came at a time when the company was hemorrhaging money, was in default and was not a good investment, company employees told Torre. All of that was public and disclosed, and Wong should have known about it.

• On Dec. 15, Leonard got his $1.75 million fall quarterly payment from Aspiration. That same day, Aspiration laid off 10% of its remaining workforce.

• A finance executive with Aspiration said this to Torre about Wong's investment: "It is not a rational investment that someone would make. So it is very shocking to me that $2 million was made as an investment by Dennis Wong, who in my texts is identified as the 'Clippers' and Steve 'Ballmer's partner,' a week before $1.75 million was paid to Kawhi."

The NBA has hired an outside law firm to handle its investigation into Aspiration, the Clippers and the endorsement deal with Leonard. While the court of public opinion is in overdrive, Silver wants the league's investigation to be completed before he and the other owners discuss any punishment for the Clippers — and Silver wanted evidence beyond the circumstantial.

"We and our investigators look at the totality of the evidence... I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety," Silver said. "I think that the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety."

Ballmer and the Clippers can again claim plausible deniability here: Wong made a small investment in a company where his daughter worked to help prop them up, neither he nor the team knew anything about late payments to Leonard or anything to do with the endorsement deal. If Silver is holding out for a paper trail — an email where Ballmer or Wong make sure money gets to Lonard and Uncle Dennis — that is not going to exist, Ballmer is too smart to have done so (there was this kind of paper trail in 2000 when the league came down hard on the Timberwolves for circumventing the salary cap with Joe Smith). The Clippers can argue that this is something Aspiration and Uncle Dennis cooked up and they knew nothing.

However, the tsunami of circumstantial evidence and the timing of all of it — including Wong's investment — is hard to ignore and brush aside as nothing. It's going to be difficult for the other owners — who are unhappy with the thought that the richest of them circumvented the cap, giving the league a black eye — to say nothing happened here.

This has become a story that is not going away and will carry into the start of the NBA season, a dark cloud the league will not be happy about.