2025 Playoffs

We have finally arrived at the finish line of the 2025 WNBA regular season. The postseason bracket is finally set, with some wildly entertaining first round matchups such as the Seattle Storm against the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty against the Phoenix Mercury. 
Ahead of the first day of the First Round contests on Sunday, September 14, we can dive into the X-factors on each playoff team, and how key those players’ contributions will be for their teams looking to make deep runs. 
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<h3>Minnesota Lynx: Natisha Hiedeman (18.9 MPG)</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-203703" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2233255277.jpg" alt="Natisha Hiedeman #2 of the Minnesota Lynx dribbles the ball against the Seattle Storm" width="960" height="640" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2233255277.jpg 4917w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2233255277-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
Regular season stats: 9.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.8 APG
The Lynx have plenty to write home about in their starting lineup, beginning with All-Star forward Napheesa Collier. They’re a powerhouse on both ends of the court, and they have been the runaway top seed in the league for quite a while. 
Of course, a team with championship aspirations is only as good as its bench. That’s where Hiedeman makes her case as one of Minnesota’s most valuable players. The seven year veteran has completely come into her own this season, averaging a career-best 49 percent on her field goal attempts on a steady diet of 6.8 shots per game. 
She’s a steady force in the midrange, equipped with speed which can muck up a lot of defensive assignments. It’s what makes her so valuable to the Lynx as they seek out offense whenever Collier, Kayla McBride, or fellow StudBud Courtney Williams don’t have the ball in their hands. 
She’s a huge X-factor for the Lynx. Her doggedness on defense is often underrated, and her ability to sneak around screens will be huge for her ability to battle with physical guards such as Skylar Diggins/Veronica Burton. 
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<h3>Las Vegas Aces: NaLyssa Smith (22.7 MPG w/ LVA)</h3>
Regular season stats w/ LVA: 8.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG
When the Aces traded for Smith from the Dallas Wings this season, it wasn’t necessarily seen as a “blockbuster” deal for a team witnessing some major regression. Smith, a fourth year forward who has already bounced around the league a fair deal, landed with Las Vegas amidst some major changes to their roster and starting lineup. 
She had struggled to find a comfortable role with both the Indiana Fever and the Wings prior to ending up with the Aces, so the chances of her doing so while working behind A’ja Wilson felt slim. 
What we’ve seen from Smith’s 27 games with Las Vegas have been anything but questionable. Smith is such a huge X-factor for the Aces not because of her ability to become a sponge around Wilson, which has seemingly contributed to her newfound confidence with scoring in the post and acting as a rim protector when Wilson is on the bench, but because of her durability. She hasn’t missed a single game in two seasons, and her health is nothing to sneer at as a measurement of her value to this Aces team. 
Her ability to stay on the court is exactly why Las Vegas has benefited so strongly from acquiring her. The team went from zero answers at backup to Wilson to one, very reliable, one. 
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<h3>Atlanta Dream: Naz Hillmon (25.5 MPG)</h3>
Regular season stats: 8.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.4 APG
The Dream, heralding a new head coach in Karl Smesko and a promising core in the duo of Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard, have completely dominated the 2025 regular season. They were consistently atop the standings thanks to some otherworldly shooting improvement from Gray and a solid bench helmed by future Hall of Famer Brittney Griner, and thanks to the impact of Naz Hillmon throughout the year. 
Hillmon, another Dream player who decided to improve drastically upon her three point shot, has developed into one of the most important players for Atlanta as they look ahead to the postseason. In her first two years in the WNBA, she shot zero percent from three point range &#8211; she wasn’t even looking in the basket’s direction if she was 22 feet out. This year, she’s attempting 3.8 per game and hitting them at a clip of 32.1 percent. 
If she can maintain her confidence from deep while coming off the bench, she can help keep Atlanta’s dream alive of making a deep postseason run. Gray and Howard are sure to be the focal points of any teams’ defense in the playoffs &#8211; Hillmon can make them pay. 
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<h3>Phoenix Mercury: Kahleah Copper (27.2 MPG)</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-203705" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2222807547.jpg" alt="Kahleah Copper #2 of the Phoenix Mercury reacts after making a basket during the second half against the Las Vegas Aces" width="960" height="640" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2222807547.jpg 2988w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2222807547-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
Regular season stats: 15.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.1 SPG
Copper is not a “fringe” star or performer for the Mercury by any means. On the contrary, she’s one of the most important pieces to their offense that’s led by perpetual engine Alyssa Thomas. Her three level scoring capabilities in addition to her length on defense that can quickly disrupt screens or backcuts are what make Copper an All-Star in any other year. Injuries are the only thing that kept her back from achieving that accolade in 2025. 
Nonetheless, she’s an X-factor in the postseason because of the Mercury’s first round matchup against the New York Liberty. 
The Liberty have struggled to find a perfect defensive scheme to stop Copper from getting hot, and the closest defender they have to pair against her is Leonie Fiebich. Copper’s ability to take advantage of this matchup &#8211; which she’s done consistently in the regular season &#8211; is what makes her an X-factor for Phoenix ahead of the playoffs. She’s averaging 22 points per game on 41 percent shooting from deep against New York in 2025, creating a formidable task for Fiebich and the Liberty. 
Health makes her another X-factor, as she only played in 28 games out of a possible 44 this year. But, she seems completely healthy to close out the year, averaging 16.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and just over one assist and steal over her last ten games for Phoenix. 
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<h3>New York Liberty: Leonie Fiebich (28.4 MPG)</h3>
Regular season stats: 8.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.7 APG 
 
Fiebich, conversely, will be the Liberty’s X-factor this postseason. She’s the teams’ best 3 and D wing, able to get hot from three point range and savvy enough to navigate through the chaos and get decent open looks from beyond the arc consistently. On defense, she is often paired up against opposing teams’ wings, like Copper, and asked to stop the bleeding from beyond the arc. 
One stat that stands out for Fiebich ahead of this postseason is her true shooting percentage, a stat that measures field goals made from both two and three point range, and one that measures free throw efficiency. Fiebich has the best true shooting percentage of anyone in the WNBA in 2025 amongst players who have featured in 30 or more contests. 
She’s a threat, full stop. However, Fiebich’s usage percentage of just 12.8 percent this season doesn’t feel like a recipe for success for New York, especially if they’re trying to find shooting outside of Sabrina Ionescu, Emma Meesseman, and Jonquel Jones from beyond the arc. 
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<h3>Indiana Fever: Natasha Howard (24.1 MPG)</h3>
Regular season stats: 11.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.2 SPG
Howard has been one of the Fever players that kept the ship afloat this season. Playing in all 44 contests, Howard has been a vital veteran presence in a sea of changing faces in the starting lineup for Indiana due to numerous injuries. She’s managed to provide reliable scoring in the post, hitting 55 percent of her field goals this year. That’s good for second best in her career, just behind her 2016 year with the Lynx.  
Another stat that speaks to her impact on the Fever’s injury-riddled squad is how many steals she alone has contributed to Indiana &#8211; 28 percent of them through 44 games, good for best on the team. Her defensive impact when slotted in alongside Aliyah Boston can’t be ignored in the postseason. 
Howard has struggled to be a proper rim protector for Indiana this season, with Boston often taking over in that regard. But, she’s still got the length to properly end an opponent’s drive into the paint. A wall is easily constructed by herself and Boston in the post, and that’s not a tool many teams can utilize in the postseason. 
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<h3>Golden State Valkyries: Cecilia Zandalasini (23.7 MPG)</h3>
Regular season stats: 10.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG
Zandalasini recently returned to the Valkyries from a calf injury, a welcome sight considering she had been one of the teams’ best bench scorers prior to going down with that. A former Minnesota Lynx X-factor, Zandalasini is suddenly going to be thrust into postseason action for the WNBA’s latest expansion team. 
As mentioned, her shooting this season has been unreal &#8211; she’s averaging 44 percent from three point range on 4.7 attempts per game. She can start or come off the bench for Golden State, providing a pop whenever she’s utilized. Her length is key to her ability to match up well with other wings this postseason, and her defense has been solid around the perimeter. 
As Golden State navigates a postseason without Kayla Thornton back from injury, Zandalasini comes back at the perfect time to provide versatility on defense and to contribute to the third-highest scoring bench in the WNBA at 24.4 points per game. 
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<h3>Seattle Storm: Dominique Malonga (14.3 PPG)</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-203722" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2234035186.jpg" alt="Dominique Malonga #14 of the Seattle Storm looks on against the New York Liberty" width="960" height="640" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2234035186.jpg 3891w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2234035186-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2234035186-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/GettyImages-2234035186-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
Regular season stats: 7.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG
After a slow start from the French rookie, Malonga has quickly become an important piece to Seattle’s bench unit led by Erica Wheeler. Now averaging just over 14 minutes per game, Malonga has begun to look like every bit of the scoring threat she’s been while playing overseas. Her 22 point explosions against the Dallas Wings and the Las Vegas Aces were proof that she had finally arrived with Seattle, and had clearly endeared herself to head coach Noelle Quinn. 
Malonga is an X-factor for Seattle as they prepare to face off with the Las Vegas Aces. Seattle’s bench is averaging 18.4 points per game, good for only 11th in the league. More utilization for the rookie center could go a long way for helping produce a more efficient offense when starters are resting. If the Aces are also relying on Smith’s backup minutes when Wilson is off the floor, the best matchup defensively for her would be Malonga. 
A key stat reflecting just how impactful she is when on the court is her PIE, or Player Impact Estimate. She’s got the second-highest PIE on the Storm (13.8), just behind Nneka Ogwumike (15.9). Malonga can throw a wrench into some game plans if Quinn decides to up her minutes at any point in the first round, or beyond.

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Power Rankings

With only four days remaining in the regular season, this is our final power rankings of the 2025 campaign.
Over the past week, the playoff picture has continued to come into focus, with seven of the eight spots secured. However, the final 11 games on the regular-season schedule will be important to deciding seeding as well as the final playoff berth.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Who’s In: Lynx, Aces, Dream, Mercury, Liberty, Valkyries, Fever</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Who’s Out: Mystics, Sun, Sky, Wings</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400">Who’s In The Mix: Storm, Sparks</li>
</ul>
As the regular season wraps and the playoffs draw near, we take a look at each team’s season as a whole and how we got to this final snapshot of the league rankings.
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✅ Who’s In: Clinched Playoff Berth
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-203367" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-86.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-86.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-86-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-86-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-86-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />
1. Minnesota Lynx (33-9)
Last Week: 1 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. at IND, Thur. vs. GSV
The Lynx are 33-9 with two games to play, meaning they are guaranteed to finish with a win percentage of at least .750 (33-11). Why is that significant? All six times the Lynx have finished the regular season with a win percentage of .750 or better they have gone on to make the WNBA Finals (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2024). Can Napheesa Collier and Co. make it seven-for-seven as they enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed?
2. Las Vegas Aces (28-14)
Last Week: 2 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. vs. CHI, Thur. at LAS
A search for the phrase “peaking at the right time” should show A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces as the top results. The Aces enter their final two games of the regular season looking to extend a franchise-record 14-game win streak that has vaulted them to No. 2 in the standings – via a tiebreaker over the Atlanta (3-0 season series lead) – and looking as dangerous as any team entering the postseason.
3. Atlanta Dream (28-14)
Last Week: 3 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Mon. vs. CON, Wed. at CON
Riding a four-game win streak, Atlanta closes the regular season with a home-and-home with Connecticut. Sweeping those two games would see the Dream finish 30-14, cementing the best regular season (.681 win percentage) in franchise history – surpassing the 23-11 (.676) by the 2018 squad and doubling last season’s win total (15-25). The next challenge is the postseason, where Atlanta looks to win a series for the first time since 2016.
4. Phoenix Mercury (27-15)
Last Week: 4 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. vs. LAS, Thur. at DAL
The Mercury completely overhauled their roster last offseason – returning only two players from the 2024 squad. The culmination of those moves is a squad that has locked up home-court advantage in the opening round (PHX holds tiebreaker over NY) and is two wins away from matching the franchise record for wins in a season (29 in 2014) with two games to play. Prior to this season, Phoenix has won 23 or more games three times in a season – they won the Finals all three times.
5. New York Liberty (25-17)
Last Week: 5 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. vs. WAS, Thur. at CHI
The Liberty will open their title defense on the road as they are locked into the 5-seed – New York does not have tiebreaker over only team they can catch (1-3 vs. Phoenix), but does hold the tiebreaker over the only team that can match them (3-1 vs. Golden State). But a key question entering their championship defense is health. Breanna Stewart has averaged a team-high 17.6 ppg, 6.4 reb and 1.4 bpg in five games since returning from a knee injury. However, Sabrina Ionescu has missed the past four games (toe) and Nyara Sabally has not played since mid-July (knee). 
6. Golden State Valkyries (23-19)
Last Week: 6 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. at SEA, Thur. at MIN
The Valkyries made history with Thursday’s win over Dallas, becoming the first expansion team to clinch a playoff berth in their inaugural season. Although a loss to the Lynx on Saturday snapped a five-game win streak, Golden State is guaranteed a winning record in its debut season – setting a foundation to build upon in the years to come as well as the present in the Valkyries’s first postseason.
7. Indiana Fever (23-20)
Last Week: 8 ⬆️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. vs. MIN
On Thursday, Caitlin Clark announced that she would miss the remainder of the season after being limited to 13 games in her sophomore season. However, three days later, the Fever defeated the Mystics to clinch a playoff berth for the second straight year following a seven-season playoff drought. Indiana has overcome multiple injuries – particularly in their backcourt –to not only stay in the playoff hunt, but lock up a top-seven finish.
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👀 In The Hunt: Two Teams Competing For One Spot
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-203368" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-87.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-87.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-87-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-87-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />
8. Seattle Storm (22-21)
Last Week: 7 ⬇️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. vs. GSV
The Storm have a magic number of one with one game remaining in the regular season, meaning one Storm win or one Sparks loss will clinch a playoff berth for Seattle. With a veteran-laden roster led by Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins, this team has been built to make a playoff run now, but may need to do so from the 8-seed. At the All-Star break, the Storm (14-9) were in fourth place, but an 8-12 run post All-Star has dropped them into a battle for the final playoff spot.
9. Los Angeles Sparks (20-22)
Last Week: 9 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. at PHX, Thur. vs. LVA
L.A. must win its final two games (at Phoenix, vs. red-hot Vegas) and have Seattle lose its regular-season finale (vs. Golden State) in order to secure the final playoff spot. While the Sparks may fall short of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2020, they have already made a 12-win improvement over last season when they won a franchise-low eight games. That’s the season’s second-highest wins leap behind only Atlanta’s 13-win jump from 2024 to 2025.
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🚫 Who’s Out: Eliminated From Playoffs
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-203369" src="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-88.png" alt="" width="2000" height="1125" srcset="https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-88.png 2000w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-88-1024x576.png 1024w, https://cdn.wnba.com/sites/4/2025/09/Thumbnail-88-1536x864.png 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" />
10. Washington Mystics (16-27)
Last Week: 10 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. at NYL
After an offseason of change – Elena Delle Donne retired, Ariel Atkins traded, new head coach and general manager and three top-six picks in the 2025 Draft – the Mystics exceeded projections early in the season, entering the All-Star break in seventh place at .500 (11-11) – sending Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen to Indy as the league’s first All-Star rookie teammates since 1999. However, after trading leading scorer Brittney Sykes to Seattle at the deadline for more future assets, the Mystics have gone 5-16 since the break to fall out of the playoff picture.
11. Connecticut Sun (11-31)
Last Week: 11 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Mon. at ATL, Wed. vs. ATL
The Sun knocked on the championship door for eight straight seasons from 2017-2024 – racking up a league-high 181 regular-season wins during that span, but never breaking through to win the franchise’s first championship. The core of that team was broken up in the offseason as the Sun began a rebuild. With a new-look roster featuring five rookies, the Sun struggled early, entering the All-Star break at 3-19. However, they have gone 8-12 since the break thanks to key contributions from veterans Marina Mabrey and Tina Charles and the development of their young talent.
12. Chicago Sky (10-32)
Last Week: 12 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Tue. at LVA, Thur. vs. NYL
The Sky will cap off a challenging season with a challenging final two games, facing two teams that won the past three WNBA titles – Las Vegas (2022 &amp; 2023 champs) and New York (2024 champs) to conclude the 2025 campaign. Chicago struggled with consistency (they won consecutive games only two times all year) and offensive production (currently last at 75.9 points per game). Key injuries to Courtney Vandersloot (torn ACL after seven games) and Angel Reese (Sky went 1-9 in her 10 games missed with a back injury) played a key role as Chicago has its fewest wins since its inaugural season in 2006.
13. Dallas Wings (9-34)
Last Week: 13 ↔️
Remaining Schedule: Thur. vs. PHX
The Wings close out their season on Thursday against the Mercury looking to snap a 10-game losing streak and earn their 10th win of the season. Dallas’ season has featured a mix of highs and lows. No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers has shined, ranked in the top eight in the league in scoring (5th, 19.1), assists (8th, 5.3), steals (5th, 1.6) and minutes (4th, 33.4). However, the team struggled on defense (last in points allowed at 88.3 per game) and through injuries (only three players have appeared in 30+ games). Outside of a seven-game stretch from June 17-July 3 when the Wings went 5-2 with wins over three playoff teams, Dallas has gone 4-32 while enduring five losing streaks of 4+ games.

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