Entering the final leg of the WNBA's regular season, Sabrina Ionescu, Paige Bueckers, Napheesa Collier, and other stars are looking to lead their respective teams to the WNBA championship.
Here are key facts about the 2025 WNBA postseason.
When do the WNBA playoffs begin?
The WNBA playoffs begin Sept. 14. The last possible date for the WNBA Finals is Oct. 19. The final regular-season games will be played Sept. 11.
What is the format of the WNBA playoffs?
Per the WNBA website, the top eight of the WNBA's 13 teams make the playoffs. Teams are seeded based on their records in the regular season. The 2025 WNBA Finals will have a 2-2-1-1-1 structure in which the higher seed will host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, and its opponent will host Games 3, 4 and 6. The bracket-style postseason will have three rounds of series play and maintain the format of best-of-three in the First Round and best-of-five in the Semifinals, followed by a new best-of-seven Finals.
Which team won the 2024 WNBA championship?
Ionescu and the New York Liberty defeated Collier and the Minnesota Lynx 3-2 in the 2024 WNBA Finals to win their first franchise title. Jonquel Jones was named Finals MVP.
Has a team ever won three straight WNBA championships?
The Houston Comets are the only franchise to win the WNBA title three seasons in a row. The Comets, who folded in 2008, won the WNBA championship in 1997, 1998, 1999 and again in 2000, the league's first four years in existence.
Has a No. 1 pick ever won the WNBA championship in their first season?
As a rookie, Caitlin Clark led the Indiana Fever to a playoff berth in 2024. Only two No. 1 picks have won the WNBA championship in their first season -- Tina Thompson, the WNBA's inaugural top pick in 1997, started for the Comets in their first of four straight titles, while Maya Moore helped lead the Minnesota Lynx to the championship in 2011, the same year she was drafted first overall.
Check out the ESPN WNBA hub page for scores, stats, schedules and more.