The WNBA’s 28th regular season has officially come to a close. The season’s biggest highlights included the magical rookie season of Indiana’s Caitlin Clark, the rise of the Minnesota Lynx as true contenders, and the most dominant season in the history of the league from A’ja Wilson.
And now the playoffs are officially underway. For those not familiar with how the WNBA playoffs work, it’s formatted as the best teams one through eight regardless of conferences. The first round is a best-of-three series and the semifinals and finals are best-of-five series.
With the formatting out of the way, here’s Fantom’s official WNBA playoff preview of each first round series.
1. New York Liberty vs 8. Atlanta Dream
The Liberty had as successful of a season you could ask for. After losing in the 2023 WNBA Finals, they finished the 2024 season with a 32-8 regular season record, had All-WNBA caliber seasons from Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, and of course took the internet by storm with their mascot Ellie the Elephant.
They play a methodical style of basketball, but it’s efficient and results in points, as they were 2nd in the league in scoring this season as a team. They also had the highest offensive rating in the league.
With veteran depth from players like Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot, this team is built for another deep playoff run.
For the Dream, it’s a season of development, where their young team gets some pivotal playoff experience.
It’s a team built through a defensive identity, led by third-year standout Rhyne Howard alongside vets Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray and all-time great Tina Charles.
However they truly struggle offensively. They have the lowest points per game, second-slowest pace and second lowest offensive rating in the league this season.
At the time of writing, the Liberty already own a 1-0 series lead after a microwave performance from rookie Leonie Fiebich. I’d expect them to handedly close out this series in preparation for the 4-5 matchup.
Series Prediction: Liberty win 2-0
4. Las Vegas Aces vs 5. Seattle Storm
This series will probably be the most entertaining to many WNBA fans. From the narrative of the defending champion Aces now finding themselves outside of the top three, to the successful Big 3 of Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jewell Loyd and Nneka Ogwumike in Seattle.
And who could forget the viral meme of A’ja Wilson and Jewell Loyd from All-Star Weekend earlier this year.
This series is truly an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. For the Aces, they’re led by unanimous MVP A’ja Wilson. Wilson had the most dominant season of her career, breaking the single season scoring and rebounding record as well as leading the league in blocks.
But the Aces aren’t as dominant of a team as they’ve been in years past. They still play a unique brand of basketball, with the highest scoring offense in the league.
But this season also saw some health struggles with former Finals MVP Chelsea Gray, and some inconsistent play from Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. The biggest glaring issue has been a lack of frontcourt depth that has forced Wilson to play 34 minutes per game.
The Storm might be the perfect matchup for their strengths and weaknesses. With Diggins-Smith, Loyd, and Ogwumike holding the offensive load, and Ezi Magbegor and Gabby Williams as stout perimeter and post defensive help, I firmly expect this series to go to 3 games.
Series Prediction: Aces win 2-1
2. Minnesota Lynx vs 7. Phoenix Mercury
The biggest story entering this series has all eyes on legend Diana Taurasi, who may just be in her last ever WNBA playoffs. The 42-year-old is in search of her fourth WNBA championship this playoffs, but the Mercury were not given an easy route as they square off against the Lynx.
The Lynx were the winner of this season’s Commissioner’s Cup and finished the season with a 30-10 record.
Napheesa Collier has been one of the best players in the league this season on both sides of the ball. Kayla McBride returned to all-star form for the first time in five seasons. Bridget Carleton has played the best basketball in her career with an expanded role in Minnesota. Overall, the Lynx have been operating like a well-oiled machine.
But the Mercury will be no pushover. Despite their 19-21 record, they’re a team with a lot of experience and that is ascended in the WNBA Playoffs. Other than Taurasi, they have a former Finals MVP in Kahleah Copper leading the way offensively. They have a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in Brittney Griner to face off against Collier.
I expect this to be one of the most hard-fought series of the entire playoffs, but I have no reason to doubt the team that’s already claimed one Cup this year.
Series Prediction: Lynx win 2-1
3. Connecticut Sun vs 6. Indiana Fever
From the first overall pick to the WNBA Playoffs. Caitlin Clark has taken the Indiana Fever to new heights very quickly. Just this season she shattered countless rookie records, claimed the single season assists record, and will most likely be the unanimous Rookie of the Year and earn All-WNBA honors.
And it’s led her back to a familiar foe in the Connecticut Sun. The Sun have been a thorn in the Fever’s side all season, from hard fouls to flat-out shutdown defense. The had the best defense in the league through every metric, and that puts them in a great position against such a dynamic offensive trio of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.
With DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey switching on wing scorers and Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner controlling the post, I think they’re going to walk all over an inexperienced Fever team.
At the time of writing, the Sun flattened the Fever in Game 1 and held Clark to 11 points on 4 for 17 from the field. I’d expect much of the same in Game 2 on Wednesday and honestly the Sun are my personal early favorites to take home this year’s championship.
But I won’t completely count the Fever out. They’ve been one of the hottest teams in the second half of the season, have one of the quickest tempos and were the third-best offense this season. If Clark can get the looks she wants and they can hit the ground running, they can keep this series alive.
Series Prediction: Sun win 2-0
The WNBA Playoffs are already underway, with the first round streaming on ESPN and ESPN 2 all week. Who do you think will win the championship this year?
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