As players head to Berlin to represent their respective countries in the FIBA World Cup, the WNBA season begins a 16-day pause through Sept. 16. 

The break offers a chance to take a snapshot of the standings before the regular season resumes on Sept. 17, with the final week of play determining playoff seeding.

• All teams have played a total of 40 games — 20 at home and 20 on the road.
• All teams have four games remaining — two each at home and on the road.
• The eight playoff teams have been determined: Minnesota, Golden State, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Indiana, New York, Washington, and Dallas.
• The seven draft lottery teams are set: Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Toronto, Connecticut, and Seattle.

When it comes to playoff seeding, there are multiple races to be decided in the final week of the season:

• Which team will earn the No. 1 overall seed?
• Which four teams will secure home-court advantage in the first round?
• Which teams will avoid the No. 8 seed and first-round matchup with No. 1?

We’ll dive into each of these questions as we break down how the teams stack up entering the FIBA break.

Note: Stats and rankings through games played on Aug. 30

1. Minnesota Lynx (31-9) ↔️

• Last Week: 1
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 18 vs. NYL, Sept. 20 at CON, Sept. 22 at IND, Sept. 24 vs. IND

Olivia Miles #5 of the Minnesota Lynx

With losses at Golden State and Atlanta, the Lynx dropped consecutive games for only the second time all season, and the first time since July 3-6. Despite the back-to-back defeats, the Lynx still hold a two-game lead over the Valkyries (and the head-to-head tiebreaker), which keeps Minnesota in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall seed. Meanwhile, on the historic front, Olivia Miles (749) passed Lynx legend Seimone Augustus (744 in 2006) for the second-most total points scored by a rookie in WNBA history, trailing only Caitlin Clark (769 in 2024).

2. Golden State Valkyries (29-11) ↔️

• Last Week: 2
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 18 vs. POR, Sept. 19 vs. SEA, Sept. 22 at POR, Sept. 24 at LAS

For the fourth time this season, the Valkyries followed consecutive losses with a win streak of at least four games, winning their final four contests (all on the road) entering the FIBA break. That streak included Golden State’s first-ever win over Minnesota after the Lynx won the first nine meetings between the regular season and playoffs since the Valkyries joined the league in 2025. That victory trimmed Minnesota’s lead for the top seed to two games with four to play. However, because Minnesota holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, Golden State must finish with a better record to take No. 1. Simultaneously, the Valkyries must fend off Las Vegas for the No. 2 seed. Golden State holds a two-game cushion, but the Aces own the tiebreaker.

3. Las Vegas Aces (27-13) ⬆️

• Last Week: 4
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 at SEA, Sept. 20 vs. SEA, Sept. 22 vs. LAS, Sept. 24 at PHX

The Aces defeated the Tempo on Friday in their lone game of the week and their first since losing NaLyssa Smith for the season with a leg injury. Smith averaged 11.7 points on 63.8% shooting, with 6.4 rebounds across 38 games. The Aces signed 6-foot-7 center Kalani Brown on Saturday to help fill that void, with her debut coming after a busy FIBA World Cup break for the Aces, who will have four players participating in the tournament — Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young for the United States, Mai Yamamoto for Japan and Stephanie Talbot for Australia. When the season resumes, Vegas will make a final push for the No. 2 seed as the Aces have the easiest remaining schedule among all teams.

4. Indiana Fever (26-14) ⬇️

• Last Week: 3
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 18 at TOR, Sept. 20 vs. WAS, Sept. 22 vs. MIN, Sept. 24 at MIN

Conversely, the Fever face the second-toughest remaining schedule after the break, with three of their final four games coming against playoff teams. Indy enters the FIBA break, which will see Clark and Aliyah Boston representing the United States, having won seven of their last nine games as the Fever make a run for home-court advantage in the opening round. Indy currently sits No. 5 as Atlanta holds the head-to-head tiebreaker between the 26-14 teams. On a historic note, this past week saw Clark become the first player in WNBA history to post back-to-back games with 30+ points and 10+ assists, as well as Kelsey Mitchell becoming only the second player in league history to score at least 1,000 total points in a season, joining A’ja Wilson in 2024. Mitchell (career-high 25.0 ppg) trails only Wilson (26.0 ppg) in the scoring title race.

5. Atlanta Dream (26-14) ↔️

• Last Week: 5
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 vs. CON, Sept. 19 vs. CHI, Sept. 21 at NYL, Sept. 23 at NYL

The Dream enter the FIBA break on a high note after knocking off the league-leading Lynx at home for their fourth win in five games. The night marked the Dream debut of DeWanna Bonner, who signed with Atlanta following a contract buyout in Phoenix after the Mercury were eliminated from playoff contention. The game also featured Angel Reese’s 29th double-double, setting a new WNBA single-season record, as well as Rhyne Howard’s 128th 3-pointer of the season, tying the single-season record set by Sabrina Ionescu in 2023. Howard can break that mark once the season resumes, with the Dream facing Ionescu and the Liberty in their final two games of the season, both of which could be critical in the playoff seeding race.

6. Dallas Wings (24-16) ⬆️

The Dallas Wings huddle

• Last Week: 8
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 vs. LAS, Sept. 19 vs. PHX, Sept. 21 at PHX, Sept. 23 at SEA

After going just 2-7 coming out of the All-Star break to fall to eighth place in the league, Dallas has won four straight to create a three-way tie with New York and Washington at 24-16 for the Nos. 6-8 seeds in the playoff race. This is another space to discuss the importance of tiebreakers:

• Dallas holds tiebreaker over New York
• Washington holds tiebreaker over Dallas
• New York holds tiebreaker over Washington

Should all three teams finish tied, the secondary tiebreaker will come into play: record against teams .500 or better. Currently, New York holds that mark (11-10), with Washington just behind (11-11) and Dallas well behind (8-15). With tiebreakers not on their side, the Wings need to keep winning if they want to climb the standings. Something in their favor: Dallas has the second-easiest remaining schedule among all teams and faces no playoff teams the remainder of the season.

7. New York Liberty (24-16) ⬇️

• Last Week: 6
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 18 at MIN, Sept. 20 at TOR, Sept. 21 vs. ATL, Sept. 23 vs. ATL

The word “break” does not really apply to the Liberty, as New York features a league-high six players suiting up in the FIBA World Cup. The Liberty enter the World Cup pause having won four of their last six games, putting themselves in a three-way battle with Dallas and Washington as they look for separation in the standings. However, of those three teams, New York faces the toughest remaining schedule with three of its final four games coming against playoff-bound teams.

8. Washington Mystics (24-16) ⬇️

• Last Week: 7
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 at CHI, Sept. 20 at IND, Sept. 22 vs. CON, Sept. 24 vs. CHI

While Friday’s loss to Los Angeles snapped a three-game win streak, the Mystics have still won five of their last seven games entering the World Cup break. Once the season resumes, they close out the regular season with three lottery-bound teams and one showdown with the Indiana Fever — a rubber match in Indy after exactly two points decided both of the first two meetings.

9. Portland Fire (16-24) ⬆️

• Last Week: 10
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 vs. PHX, Sept. 18 at GSV, Sept. 20 at LAS, Sept. 22 vs. GSV

With a 96-78 loss to Dallas last Tuesday, the Fire were officially eliminated from playoff contention in their first WNBA season in 24 years. Overall, the Fire have dropped four of their last five games entering the World Cup break, which will see four Portland players represented in the tournament, headlined by the Fire’s leading scorer, Carla Leite of France. Once the season resumes, the Fire have a chance to play spoiler as two of their final four games come against Golden State —  a team vying for the No. 1 seed in the postseason.

10. Los Angeles Sparks (15-25) ⬆️

Nneka Ogwumike #30 and Cameron Brink #22 of the Los Angeles Sparks

• Last Week: 12
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 at DAL, Sept. 20 vs. POR, Sept. 22 at LVA, Sept. 24 vs. GSV

Similar to the Fire, the Sparks will have a chance to impact the playoff races once the season resumes following the World Cup break, as three of their final four games come against playoff-bound teams (Dallas, Las Vegas and Golden State). Los Angeles enters the break having won three of its last four games with Nneka Ogwumike (21.3 ppg, 10.8 rpg) leading the way in the final weeks of her legendary career. This past week, Ogwumike climbed to 10th on the all-time list for games played and fourth all-time in steals. She needs just 25 points to become the fourth player ever to score 8,000 career points, joining Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles and DeWanna Bonner.

11. Chicago Sky (15-25) ⬇️

• Last Week: 9
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 vs. WAS, Sept. 19 at ATL, Sept. 22 vs. TOR, Sept. 24 at WAS

This past week, Courtney Vandersloot joined Sue Bird (3,234) as the only players in WNBA history with at least 3,000 career assists. However, those dimes came in three consecutive losses as the Sky have swung through three-game streaks over their last nine contests (three losses, three wins, three losses). When the season resumes, the Sky can play a role in breaking the three-way tie between the Mystics, Liberty and Wings as two of Chicago’s final four games come against Washington, including the regular-season finale.

12. Phoenix Mercury (14-26) ⬇️

• Last Week: 11
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 at POR, Sept. 19 at DAL, Sept. 21 vs. DAL, Sept. 24 vs. LVA

Saturday’s win over Toronto snapped a four-game skid for the Mercury, who will miss the playoffs for only the second time in the last 14 years. With their postseason fate sealed, the Mercury waived two-time champion DeWanna Bonner, who has since signed with the playoff-bound Dream. Atlanta isn’t the only contender affected by Phoenix; the Mercury face Dallas twice and Las Vegas once in the final week — two teams in the middle of tightly contested playoff races.

13. Seattle Storm (8-32) ↔️

• Last Week: 13
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 vs. LVA, Sept. 19 at GSV, Sept. 20 at LVA, Sept. 23 vs. DAL

No team faces a tougher schedule once the season resumes than the Storm, who will take on the Aces (twice), the Valkyries and the Wings to close out the regular season. This will also close out the debut seasons for Seattle rookies Flau’jae Johnson and Awa Fam. Johnson is on pace to finish second among rookies in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (4.8 rpg), first in steals (1.3 spg) and third in blocks (0.7 bpg), while Fam leads all rookies in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and blocks (0.8 bpg).

14. Connecticut Sun (10-30) ↔️

• Last Week: 14
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 17 at ATL, Sept. 20 vs. MIN, Sept. 22 at WAS, Sept. 24 vs. TOR

Before Tuesday’s game against Chicago, the Sun honored former star Tina Charles, whom Connecticut drafted No. 1 overall in 2010 and who won league MVP for the Sun in 2012, as part of their “Sun Legends” celebration in their final WNBA season before relocating to Houston next year. The team has already recognized Jonquel Jones, Jasmine Thomas, Curt Miller and Alyssa Thomas, and will cap it off with former coach Mike Thibault on Sept. 20. After the Sun beat the Sky, they dropped three straight games to teams that have clinched playoff berths (Golden State, Indiana and Dallas) and will face three more in the final week of the regular season (Atlanta, Minnesota and Washington) before closing out the Connecticut Sun era at home against Toronto at Mohegan Sun on Sept. 24.

15. Toronto Tempo (11-29) ↔️

• Last Week: 15
• Remaining Schedule: Sept. 18 vs. IND, Sept. 20 vs. NYL, Sept. 22 at CHI, Sept. 24 at CON

The Tempo enter the World Cup break having lost four straight and 16 of their last 17 games, as injuries and overseas commitments have hit their roster. Britteny Sykes (foot) and Aneesah Morrow (knee) are already out for the remainder of the season, and Marina Mabrey (adductor) may join them once she is reevaluated in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Nyara Sabally, Maria Conde and Julie Allemand were temporarily suspended this week to begin their World Cup responsibilities with their respective national teams. When the season resumes in September, keep an eye on matchups with Indiana and New York that could be important to the postseason races before Toronto closes its inaugural season with a final game in Connecticut.