The 2026 WNBA Playoffs are here!
The quartet of Game 1s tip off with the No. 1-seed Minnesota Lynx hosting the No. 8-seed New York Liberty at 2 p.m. ET on ABC. The No. 3-seed Las Vegas Aces and No. 6-seed Indiana Fever then follow at 4 p.m. ET on ABC.
The action shifts to Prime at 7 p.m. ET, with the No. 4-seed Atlanta Dream taking on the No. 5-seed Washington Mystics. Finally, the No. 2-seed Golden State Valkyries and No. 7-seed Dallas Wings close things out at 9 p.m. ET on USA Network.
For each Game 1, here’s the head-to-head matchups that I believe could be crucial to determining the outcome, as well as setting the tone for the rest of these three-game series. In the comments, let us know what matchups you think will be pivotal.
Lynx-Liberty: Olivia Miles vs. Pauline Astier
The biggest question for the Lynx entering the playoffs, from how they perform in this series to how far they can advance, is: Can they handle physicality?
If the Liberty are to really put that question to the test, might that physicality come from their 5-foot-11 and 24-year-old French point guard?
Pauline Astier doesn’t scan as a physical enforcer. However, in the third and final regular-season game between Minnesota and New York, Astier successfully pressured and pestered her rookie point guard counterpart, the much more-heralded Olivia Miles.
For the season, Miles registered her lowest field percentage against the Liberty; she also racked up her second-fewest assists per game against New York. That’s not all Astier, but New York’s formula—most proven by their two wins—has borne fruit.
If New York induces more mistakes than expected from Miles, will Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve stick with her? In the regular season, there’s merit to allowing a young player to play through growing pains. But, in a three-game playoff series? How quickly might Reeve hand the controls to Courtney Williams?
Astier also has the potential to expose Miles and the Lynx on the other side of the ball. Down the stretch of the season, Minnesota struggled to maintain 40 minutes of defensive intensity. Could the crafty Asiter, one of the most efficient drivers and 2-point finishers in the league, find cracks in the Minnesota defense that she sneaks through for easy 2s?
For New York, the play of their precocious young point guard could also raise some uncomfortable questions, except from a positive perspective. Is head coach Chris DeMarco willing to sit Sabrina Ionescu in favor of Asiter?
Aces-Fever: A’ja Wilson vs. Aliyah Boston
I teased this one in my instant reactionsto the first-round matchups, and I don’t think there’s a more consequential head-to-head battle in the redux of last season’s semifinal series than this South Carolina showdown.
Game 1 and the entire series comes down to whether Aliyah Boston can neutralize A’ja Wilson.
Over the last two seasons, inclusive of the regular season and postseason, Wilson is 5-5 in her 10 games played against the Fever, with a field goal percentage of under 43 percent and a scoring average of under 24 points. During that stretch, she also has averaged her fewest offensive rebounds per game against Indiana.
Those aren’t five-time MVP numbers.
Defensively, Boston has a rare combination of strength, length and quickness. She can prevent A’ja from overpowering her or blowing by her, while also having the ability to hinder A’ja’s best intentions.
But if Boston is not fully healthy, and she’s listed as questionable with the leg injury that she’s managed throughout the season, it’s hard to see her having the same level of success. And even if she is healthy, A’ja is A’ja. She’s going to be the five-time MVP for a reason.
Wilson still was able to will the Aces over the Fever in last year’s semifinal, and with more time to find ways to exploit Boston, whether through strategy, motivation or a combination of the two, it would be a bit surprising if A’ja doesn’t end up outpacing her prior performances against Indiana.
Dream-Mystics: Jordin Canada vs. Georgia Amoore
While the high-profile Big 3s headline this matchup, with the Dream’s trio of Angel Reese, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray facing off against the Mystics’ triplet of Shakira Austin, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, the point guard matchup between Jordin Canada and Georgia Amoore could be most pivotal.
Both teams have built winning momentum over the course of the season due to the steadily improving play of their primary ball handlers.
In early August, Canada turned in a couple of rough games with some erratic offensive decision making, including in a loss agains these very Mystics. She then missed a game, the Dream’s overtime loss to the Fever on Aug. 16, with an illness. That absence appeared to have been a turning point. Since then, she’s demonstrated elite offensive command, successfully calibrating her distributing and scoring responsibilities. In particular, she seems to unleash her speedy drives whenever Atlanta needs a bucket, helping the Dream close the season on a 9-1 kick.
Early in the season, Washington often undone by offensive issues, with a torrent of turnovers and a near-absence of outside shooting turning could-be wins into losses. The unreliable point guard play that was a contributing culprit to these woes has been alleviated by Amoore’s steady emergence. As Amoore stabilized, the Mystics began to soar. Over the course of the season, DC’s shooting, especially from 3, and ball security have improved—offensive areas where Amoore has made an impact. As the Mystics finished the season 4-0, Amoore shot 50 percent or better from 3 in every game.
Can Canada and/or Amoore continue to peak into the postseason?
As the superior defender, can Canada irritate Amoore on one end and exploit her on the other? Or, will Amoore be able to get to her 3-pointer, providing valuable extra points that Canada, with her drive game deterred by Washington’s interior size, can’t match?
Valkyries-Wings: Kiah Stokes vs. Jessica Shepard
It’s a battle of opposites, with the offensively-limited center in Kiah Stokes going up against the defensively-limited one in Jessica Shepard.
Despite her defensive shortcomings, Shepard has enjoyed a celebrated season, earning All-Star honors and emerging as a Most Improved Player frontrunner as she has supplanted Alyssa Thomas as the WNBA’s triple-double queen, serving as a playmaking fulcrum for a Dallas team that wins with offense.
Stokes has demonstrated a quieter, but possibly more significant improvement, especially in a playoff context.
Always a strong defensive presence, Stokes is even more solidified as the anchor of the top-ranked Golden State defense. Playing her most minutes per game since 2020 with the Liberty, Stokes is averaging a career-best 1.7 blocks per game. Those tangibles are enhanced by the intangible championship knowledge she provides for the second-year franchise.
And during the Valkyries’ 3-0 regular-season sweep of the Wings, Stokes shutdown Shepard. Shepard scored just eight points per game against the Valkyries, shooting under 42 percent from the field. She also averaged 2.3 assists per game, her fewest against any team this season.
With the corps of perimeter defenders that the Valkyries can deploy on Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale, the Wings need Shepard to be productive offensively to have a chance at the upset. Can head coach Jose Fernandez scheme up something to put her in more favorable positions?
Or, might the better option be forcing Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase take Stokes off the floor due to her offensive irrelevance? That, however, would require Shepard and the Wings to conjure up a defensive effort that clogs the Golden State offense.
