The WNBA postseason has arrived. The 2022 WNBA playoff race came down to the final day of the regular season, with the Las Vegas Aces (26-10) clinching the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage, and the New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury earning the final two postseason berths.
The defending champion Chicago Sky (26-10), who won a franchise-record 26 regular-season games, are the No. 2 seed. The Sky host the Liberty to open the playoffs on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
Eight teams advanced to the first round, which for the first time since 2015 comprises four best-of-three series to determine the semifinalists. For the past six seasons, the top two seeds automatically received byes into the semifinals and single-elimination games determined the first two rounds. In the new 2-1 format, the higher seed hosts the first two games of the opening round.
The semifinals, scheduled to open Aug. 28, and WNBA Finals both remain best-of-five series. Both rounds follow a 2-2-1 format, wherein the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2 and 5 and the lower-seeded team will host Games 3 and 4.
Las Vegas, under first-year head coach Becky Hammon, hosts Phoenix on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Aces’ A’ja Wilson, along with Breanna Stewart — whose Seattle Storm are the No. 4 seed — are considered the MVP front-runners this season.
Here’s all the info you need for each first-round matchup, including news and series-by-series analysis.
Game 1: Phoenix at Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 17 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 2: Phoenix at Las Vegas, Saturday, Aug. 20 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Game 3*: Las Vegas at Phoenix, Tuesday, Aug. 23 (TBD)
Game 1: New York at Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 17 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Game 2: New York at Chicago, Saturday, Aug. 20 (Noon ET, ESPN)
Game 3*: Chicago at New York, Tuesday, Aug. 23 (TBD)
Game 1: Dallas at Connecticut, Thursday, Aug. 18 (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU/NBA TV)
Game 2: Dallas at Connecticut, Sunday, Aug. 21 (noon ET, ABC)
Game 3*: Connecticut at Dallas, Wednesday, Aug. 24 (TBD)
Game 1: Washington at Seattle, Thursday, Aug. 18 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Game 2: Washington at Seattle, Sunday, Aug. 21 (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 3*: Seattle at Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 24 (TBD)
Source:ESPN
