The 2025 WNBA playoff field is set.
The Seattle Storm clinched the eighth and final spot in the 2025 postseason with a win Tuesday over the Golden State Valkyries. Erica Wheeler hit a go-ahead jumper with 19.2 seconds to play, and the Storm denied the Valkyries twice on the final possession to secure the victory.
The playoffs begin Sunday with three-game series in the first round. It is the first time since 2021 that every WNBA playoff team has a winning record.
THE POSTSEASON CLINCHING BUCKET 😤 pic.twitter.com/RcNYUoSZNK
— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) September 10, 2025
Despite boasting three All-Stars (Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams) and acquiring another (Brittney Sykes) at the trade deadline, Seattle limped to the finish, losing six games in a row to start August. The Storm needed either a win in their final game or a loss by the Los Angeles Sparks to earn their bid. The Sparks edged out Phoenix in a simultaneous finish, so Seattle had to secure the victory and did so thanks to an eight-point comeback in the fourth quarter.
The Storm can still move up to the No. 7 seed depending on the results of Thursday’s games. The other playoff teams are Minnesota, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Golden State and Indiana. The Aces have the WNBA’s longest active playoff streak, making the postseason for the seventh consecutive season.
Las Vegas and the Dream are still jockeying for the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds while the bottom of the bracket is still in flux between Golden State, Indiana and Seattle.
At the other end of the standings, the 2026 WNBA Draft lottery will include five teams: Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington and Connecticut. The Wings have the best odds (40 percent) of winning the No. 1 pick, which would mark the fourth time in the last decade that a franchise has earned consecutive top picks; the Liberty had the No. 1 pick in 2020 and 2021 but traded the 2021 selection before the draft.
The Sky have the second-best odds (25 percent) of the top pick, which are tabulated via a two-year combined record, followed by the Sparks (17 percent), Mystics (11 percent) and Sun (seven percent). L.A. and Washington could tie for the third-best odds if the Sparks win their final game of the regular season, which seems unlikely against Las Vegas, winners of 15 in a row. However, Chicago, Los Angeles and Connecticut don’t own their first-round picks in 2026; they will be routed to Minnesota, Seattle and the Sky, respectively.
(Photo of Nneka Ogwumike: Amanda Loman / Getty Images)
