Here’s what you need to know before the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs begins

The WNBA playoffs are set! Here’s what you need to know before the fun begins.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

After an exciting 2025 WNBA regular season, we have now entered the postseason section of the year. We have eight teams vying for the title and which one will come out on top is anyone’s guess.

We have the defending champions, the New York Liberty, sitting at the No. 5 spot, the Minnesota Lynx as the juggernaut that’s been No. 1 all season and teams like the No. 3-seed Atlanta Dream and No. 2-seed Las Vegas Aces ready to show that they are the ones to look out for.

We’ll begin the WNBA playoffs with

some exciting first-round matchups, which are set to start on Sunday.

Upsets in the early parts of the WNBA playoffs are rare, but with so many teams finishing close to each other in the standings, perhaps this year will be different. Here’s a rundown on each opening round matchup and who will likely be the victor:

No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 8 Golden State Valkyries

The Lynx are on a mission to avenge their 2024 WNBA Finals loss by winning it all this year. The task truly begins now with their series against the Golden State Valkyries.

Golden State had a great season, but beating the Lynx in this best-of-three series will be a tall order. The Lynx have been far and away the best team all season long led by Napheesa Collier, who is in the running for nearly every award imaginable.

The Valkyries have some firepower of their own with Most Improved Player candidate Veronica Burton, but it’s hard to imagine them beating the Lynx overall. In fact, a Golden State victory over Minnesota only exists in the imagination. This is an expansion team that has lost all three games it has played against the Lynx in its inaugural season.

Schedule

Game 1: Sunday, Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3 ( if necessary): Friday, Sept. 19 at TBD (ESPN2)
Prediction: Lynx in 2

No. 2 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 7 Seattle Storm

The Aces have been terrorizing the league, ending the year on a 16-game winning streak. No one is playing better collectively, and A’ja Wilson is the best individual player in the WNBA. That combination makes them a dominant force and a heavy favorite against the Seattle Storm in this opening round.

Still, Seattle has veterans like Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins they can lean on to try and pull off an upset. The season series ended even at two wins apiece, so we’ll see if Seattle can give Las Vegas some trouble now that they are playing their best basketball of the season entering the playoffs.

Schedule

Game 1: Sunday, Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 2: Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3 ( if necessary): Thursday, Sept. 18 at TBD (ESPN2)
Prediction: Aces in 2

No. 3 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever

Credit to the Fever for somehow reaching the playoffs despite Caitlin Clark, Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham having season-ending injuries. Thanks to players like Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, they found a way to keep on winning and earn the No. 6 seed.

However, the story ends here. Head coach Karl Smesko has transformed the Dream into a well-oiled machine, and they are ready to dominate this series. Allisha Gray is playing her best basketball ever and Rhyne Howard remains a force. With homecourt advantage, Atlanta should take care of business here.

In their season series, these teams tied 2-2, but given all the injuries the Fever have had, that data might as well get thrown out. The Dream have gotten better, and the Fever are lucky to be here, all things considered.

Schedule

Game 1: Sunday, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 2: Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3 ( if necessary): Thursday, Sept. 18 at TBD (ESPN2)
Prediction: Dream in 2

No. 4 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 5 New York Liberty

The No. 4-vs.-No. 5 matchup might be the best series. Both the Phoenix Mercury and Liberty ended the regular season with the same record. But with New York being the defending champions, it’ll be interesting to see if they can turn things up here and find a higher level of intensity in the playoffs.

With the Liberty being the lower seed, they’ll have to win at least one road game during this series to extend their title defense. Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart have the pedigree to get that done, but will Alyssa Thomas and the Mercury shut the door on their attempt to go back-to-back?

New York has a tough task ahead of them and Phoenix has something to prove, so if there is only one first round series you can watch, this would be the one to make time for.