WNBA playoff matchups set as Atlanta Dream claim final spot: How does postseason format work?

NEW YORK — It took until the final day of the 2024 WNBA season for the playoff bracket to be settled, but the Atlanta Dream claimed the eighth and final postseason spot on Thursday night with a 78-67 over the New York Liberty.

Atlanta entered the evening needing a win to clinch its second consecutive playoff berth. While New York had clinched the No. 1 overall seed on Tuesday night, the Liberty still played a regular rotation throughout the first half and began the third quarter with four of their usual starters still in action.

Dream center Tina Charles finished the victory with 10 points and 10 rebounds, setting new WNBA career records for rebounds and double-doubles in the game. She passed Sylvia Fowles’ 4,006 rebound mark just over three minutes in the first quarter and Fowles’ 193 double-double mark midway through the third quarter. Charles, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun, is the lone player in WNBA history ever to record more than 4,000 rebounds and 7,000 career points.

Dream wing Rhyne Howard and forward Naz Hillmon led Atlanta with 13 points apiece.

Having won and made consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 2013-14, the Dream won’t have to go far. They packed for a week-long trip to New York and will face the Liberty again Sunday to open the postseason.

“This year is special. This has definitely been the toughest year for us with everything that has gone on,” coach Tanisha Wright said. “I’m really proud of our athletes for continuing to fight and never giving in because I think it’s easy to give in after the season that we’ve had… They fought all year no matter our circumstances, no matter who was available to us and so that, that’s a special group over there.”

Thursday night had the potential for some madness. The Washington Mystics could have clinched a playoff spot with a win, a loss by the Dream and a win by the Chicago Sky. The Sky, meanwhile, would have claimed the final playoff spot had they won and both Atlanta and Washington lost. Atlanta would have clinched a berth even with a loss, because of Chicago’s defeat.

The Mystics, playing front of a new all-time WNBA record 20,711 fans, defeated the Indiana Fever on Thursday, 92-91. Indiana had already clinched the No. 6 seed and played each of its five starters 20 minutes or fewer. The Connecticut Sun defeated the Chicago Sky, 87-54, to both eliminate Chicago from postseason contention and clinch the No. 3 seed. As a result of Connecticut’s victory, the Las Vegas Aces became locked into the No. 4 seed.

Playoff matchups

Here are the postseason matchups and the start times for Sunday.

Liberty (1) vs. Dream (8) — 1 p.m. ET
Lynx (2) vs. Mercury (7) — 5 p.m. ET
Sun (3) vs. Fever (6) – 3 p.m. ET
Aces (4) vs. Storm (5) 10 p.m. ET

What is the WNBA’s playoff format?

Following the 2021 season, the WNBA altered its playoff format to get rid of single-elimination games and byes to the semifinals for the top two seeds. In the new format, the top eight teams from the regular season, regardless of conference, qualify for the postseason with all eight taking part in a best-of-three series for the first round. The first two games of the series will be held on the homecourt of the higher seed, with the lower seed then hosting a Game 3, if necessary. No lower seed has ever upset the higher seed in the new series format.

The winners of the respective first-round series will advance in the bracket to the semifinals, where the remaining four teams will participate in a best-of-five series. The semifinals will begin on Sept. 29.

The respective winners of those series will then advance to the WNBA Finals, which will also be a best-of-five series. The WNBA Finals will begin on Oct. 10, with a potential Game 5 set for Oct. 20.

What history could be made in the postseason?

Here is some of what is at stake in the playoffs:

• The Aces are looking to become the first franchise to win three consecutive championships since the Houston Comets, who won four consecutive titles from 1997-2000.
• The Liberty are eyeing their first championship in franchise history, having lost in the WNBA Finals five times, including last season.
• The Sun enter the playoffs with the longest active streak, dating back to 2017. Forward DeWanna Bonner has played 80 postseason games, and needs just three appearances to set a new record for career postseason appearances. She is set to pass both Rebekkah Brunson (81) and Lindsay Whalen (82).
• Mercury guard Diana Taurasi is already the WNBA’s leading scorer in the postseason (1,455 points), but she can add to her resume in what could be her final postseason.
• Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot will set a new record for career assists in the postseason with three more assists. Sue Bird currently holds the record (362).
• Fever guard Caitlin Clark will be making her postseason debut after leading Indiana back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
• The Lynx and Storm head into the playoffs tied for the most championships among active WNBA franchises with four each.

Required reading

(Photo: Erica Denhoff / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)