WNBA standings tracker 2026: Final playoff bracket, matchups entering postseason

What this year's WNBA playoff bracket lacks in intrigue, it made up for in sheer number of possibilities.

The deck of postseason-bound teams was the same for the better part of a month. Their order changed by the day, however; every spot in the eight-team bracket was up for grabs down to the very end, with some positions proving especially contentious.

The Lynx and Valkyries have been the league's heavyweights, locking up the top two seeds in the postseason. Further down the rankings, the Dream, Fever, Liberty, Mystics and Wings find themselves in close quarters, as just a handful of games at the end of the season was the difference between first-round home-court advantage and the No. 8 seed.

With that, here's a look at how the playoff bracket shapes following a contentious final week of the regular season.

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WNBA standings 2026

Standings updated through games on Sept. 23.

*clinched playoff berth

WNBA clinching scenarios

Lynx

Clinched No. 1 seed on Tuesday night with Valkyries loss.

Valkyries

Clinched No. 2 seed by winning final game of the season on Thursday night.

Aces

Clinched No. 3 seed with Valkyries win over Sparks.

Dream

Clinched No. 4 seed with win over Liberty on Wednesday.

Mystics

Clinched No. 5 seed by winning final game and Fever losing final game.

Fever

Clinched No. 6 seed with with loss and Mystics win on Thursday.

Wings

Clinched No. 7 seed with Liberty loss on Wednesday.

Liberty

Clinched No. 8 seed after losing to Dream on Wednesday.

WNBA Playoffs matchups

Now that the season is over, here are the full first-round matchups:

(1) Lynx vs. (8) Liberty
(2) Valkyries vs. (7) Wings
(3) Aces vs. (6) Fever
(4) Dream vs. (5) Mystics