The most-hyped WNBA regular season since the league’s inception delivered excitement from start to finish, but the real drama is just getting started. After a 2023 season that seemed like one long prelude to the Aces-versus-Liberty finals, the 2024 playoffs promise more chaos and intrigue from the get-go.

Here are five burning questions for the 2024 postseason, starting with how this whole format works and a breakdown of each series.

How are the playoffs structured?

The top eight teams in the league, regardless of conference, qualify for the postseason. The first-round matchups are 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, and 4 vs. 5. There is no re-seeding in between rounds, so the victor of 1 vs. 8 plays the winner of 4 vs. 5, and the 2 vs. 7 winner faces the 3 vs. 6 victor.

The playoffs last for three rounds, starting with a three-game series in the first round, in which the higher seed hosts the first two games. That format helped simplify travel before the league started flying exclusively on charters this season. The 2-1 series has been in place since 2022, and though the lower seed has forced a decisive Game 3 three times at its home arena, the higher seed has never failed to advance. The semifinal round is a five-game series (2-2-1 format), as are the WNBA Finals.

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No. 1 New York…

With the final buzzer of the WNBA regular season Thursday night, the WNBA playoff odds are set — for now. The New York Liberty (+120) secured the No. 1 seed and are favorites to win the WNBA title this year, with the rival Las Vegas Aces (+225) right behind and the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx (+240) completing a tier of three at the top of the odds.

After that, the odds drop off significantly, with the Connecticut Sun (+800) followed by the Indiana Fever (+3000), Seattle Storm (+4000), Phoenix Mercury (+15000) and Atlanta Dream (+25000).

The stakes and storylines are thrilling for this year’s playoffs, fitting for a league that is exploding in popularity and delivering for new and old fans alike. The 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart and the Liberty are aiming to get the city’s first-ever title after falling to the Aces in last year’s finals. Meanwhile, reigning Finals MVP A’ja Wilson and the Aces are chasing a three-peat, the first since 2000 when the league was in just its fourth season.

And, of course, the name on everyone’s lips: Caitlin Clark will make her WNBA Playoff debut with her No. 6-seed Indiana Fever.

Here’s the bracket for the first round:

• No. 8 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 1 New York Liberty
• No. 7 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 2 Minnesota Lynx
• No. 6 Indiana Fever vs. No. 3…

Diana Taurasi, playing in her 20th WNBA season, didn’t officially announce her retirement Thursday night after the Phoenix Mercury’s regular season finale against the Seattle Storm. But the Mercury icon hinted the end may be imminent as she addressed the home crowd.

“If it is the last time, it felt like the first time,” Taurasi said as the crowd chanted, “one more year.”

“I love you guys.”

Taurasi played 18 minutes Thursday as the Mercury lost 89-70 to the Storm, where she scored nine points and tallied one rebound and two assists. With 3:11 remaining in the fourth quarter, fans at the Footprint Center got on their feet, urging Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts to sub Taurasi back into the game. The first-year coach obliged. Taurasi checked back into the game where she blew a kiss and clapped to the crowd, who showered her with cheers.

It was a 10-second curtain call for the Mercury fans to show their appreciation for a historic player in potentially her final home game. As Taurasi left the court, fans chanted, “One more year.”

Diana Taurasi checks back in and the crowd is lovin’ every second of it

SEA-PHX | League Pass pic.twitter.com/MIaFPkvB0g

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 20, 2024

When the game ended, the lights dimmed in the seating areas as the spotlight…

You always want a viewership story to sell if you are a professional sports league and the WNBA has a great metrics story to sell in 2024. Last week ESPN announced that its WNBA regular season was its most-watched ever for games across ESPN Networks airwaves (including ABC). Games averaged 1.2 million viewers, a massive jump over last year’s games (440,000 viewers). These are unheard of percentage increases in sports television.

Something even more impressive? The WNBA had 22 regular-season games that averaged more than 1 million viewers — the first time since 2008 that a WNBA game topped one million viewers. If you want to add in the WNBA All-Star Game and the WNBA Draft, it makes 24 programming events during the 2024 calendar year that topped 1 million viewers (Caitlin Clark was part of all but three of these windows, per Sports Media Watch).

On that note: The WNBA All-Star Game averaged 3.44 million viewers on ABC, crushing the previous audience record set in 2003. The WNBA Draft, featuring Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, averaged a record 2.446 million viewers, which is a 307 percent increase in viewership over last year.

What else? There were seven games on ION this season that topped more than 1 million viewers including last Friday’s game between Indiana and Las…

Tuesday night was supposed to be a celebration for the Los Angeles Sparks, their fan appreciation night on the final home game of the regular season. It was also an opportunity for the Southern California crowd to honor one of its own, as Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi played what could be her final professional game in Los Angeles.

Instead, the contest was marred by an altercation between Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson and Mercury star Brittney Griner. Both were ejected with 18.8 seconds to play in the first half after a conversation between the two following a free-throw box out escalated in front of the Phoenix bench.

Security rushed onto the court, as did Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts, to help separate the players, but a related confrontation between Sophie Cunningham and Crystal Dangerfield also resulted in technical fouls for the pair.

L.A. was up seven points at the time of the ejection and took an eight-point lead into halftime. However, Phoenix junked up the game after the break, pressuring full court and sinking back into a zone defense that frustrated the Sparks into a 10-point third quarter. The Mercury went on to win 85-81.

The WNBA rulebook states, “During an altercation, all players not participating in the game must remain in the immediate vicinity of their…

In the grand scheme of the 2024 season, the identity of the eighth seed in the WNBA postseason bracket is relatively inconsequential. The New York Liberty have been the best team in the league for essentially the entire year. Their net rating of plus-12.1 points per 100 possessions is more than 15 points better than any of the three teams vying for the final playoff spot, and a three-game series should be short work for the title contenders.

But the ultimate outcome shouldn’t overshadow the fun of the process, and the minor miracle it would be for the Washington Mystics to claim that final bid. As a reminder, the Mystics lost 12 consecutive games to start the year. The 2015 Los Angeles Sparks currently hold the WNBA record for the longest opening losing streak (0-7) before making the playoffs. Seven games represented 20 percent of that 34-game season in 2015, but Washington crushed that mark by going 0-fer for 30 percent of this year, yet it has rallied to sit in the No. 8 seed with two games to play.

The Mystics weathered injuries to Brittney Sykes, Karlie Samuelson and Shakira Austin while trading away Myisha-Hines Allen. That simply meant more playmaking duties for Ariel Atkins, who has the highest assist rate of her career; more offense from Stefanie Dolson, now the…

The Athletic has launched a series of sports debates in which two writers break down a specific topic. In this edition, Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman debate which WNBA team will be the most dangerous in the playoffs. (Stats are before Wednesday night’s games.)

Sabreena Merchant: For the first time in three seasons, the WNBA has a new title favorite entering the postseason: the New York Liberty. They’ll have the best record in the league and have beaten each of the other top teams in the standings – the only squad in the WNBA to win against each of the other playoff teams. But even if the Liberty are the favorite on paper, that doesn’t mean they’re heading into the postseason with the most momentum. Ben, is New York the team you most wouldn’t want to play in the 2024 playoffs?

Ben Pickman: If it’s the team most likely to put a top-four seed on upset alert, I have to choose the Indiana Fever, right? Indiana has won nine of 11 contests since second-half play resumed and heading into Wednesday’s loss against the Aces, the Fever had a 6.1 net rating, the third-best mark in the league. Kelsey Mitchell is averaging 24.9 points per game (second-most since play resumed) on 49.7 percent shooting, while Caitlin Clark is third in scoring (24.7 points) and first in…

After focusing on the top half of the playoff bracket last week, it’s time to check in on a surprisingly spirited race for the eighth seed. With about two weeks left in the regular season, seven playoff teams are essentially set in stone, though the matchups aren’t yet set.

There is drama at the bottom of the postseason bracket. Chicago has been in a tailspin since the Olympic break, relinquishing what had been a comfortable lead over the lottery teams. The Sky have lost six in a row, suffering from the absence of Chennedy Carter (illness) and already without Marina Mabrey due to the pre-deadline trade. Chicago is still slotted into the No. 8 seed by virtue of a 2-1 head-to-head tiebreaker over Atlanta; however, a Sept. 17 showdown against the Dream looms charge. The Sky don’t have a true incentive to tank out of the playoffs because they don’t own their first-round pick, but they do have a swap with Dallas. If it seems like the Wings also will land outside the top eight, missing the postseason would ensure that Chicago at least gets a lottery pick, even if it’s not the best selection.

The Atlanta Dream (11-21) have now matched the Chicago Sky’s record! #WNBA pic.twitter.com/ei16oNr1V1

— I talk hoops (@trendyhoopstars) September 2, 2024

Atlanta seems to…

Three-quarters of the way through the WNBA season, the playoff picture is starting to take shape. One of the most interesting fault lines will be between fourth and fifth place in the standings, as teams battle for home court in the first round of the playoffs.

The New York Liberty have a clear path to the top overall seed. Although they won’t claim it as an accomplishment, entering the playoffs with the best record means something. Over the past seven seasons, only once has a team won the WNBA title (No. 5 seed Chicago Sky in 2021) without having been or being tied for the best record in the league. The Liberty are two games clear of Connecticut and own the tiebreaker, which means they’d have to lose three more games than the Sun over the final 10 to fall out of the top spot.

The battle for the No. 2 seed is slightly more contested. Connecticut is one game up on Minnesota, also with the tiebreaker in hand, so the Lynx would have to outdo the Sun by two games. However, they play each other once during this final stretch, so Minnesota can make up one game then. The Lynx also have the second-easiest remaining schedule, with no games left against the Seattle Storm or the Las Vegas Aces, and Connecticut has four. Considering Minnesota’s recent run, I’d wager that the Lynx…

The WNBA is already full speed ahead into the second half of the season, and it is going to be a sprint to the finish. Regular-season action ends in exactly one month, with each team packing 12-14 games in the final stretch.

As players re-acclimate to following the Olympic break and make one last push for the postseason, here is a look at which teams I project will make the playoffs as well as a to-do list for each team to focus on to be in the best possible position come playoff time.

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Playoff-bound

1. New York Liberty

Stay the course

The Liberty remind me of the Aces at this point last season. New York is the best team in the league, and a couple of bad games or a bad week won’t change that, just as an August swoon for Las Vegas didn’t prevent the Aces from repeating as champs. It will be interesting to see if the Liberty choose to chase the single-season wins record of 34, set by the Aces last year. New York can also tie the best winning percentage of all-time — the Houston Comets won 90 percent of their games in 1998 — by winning out, but that might be a Pyrrhic victory if the Liberty tire themselves out and don’t cap off the season with a ring. Just ask the 2016 Golden State Warriors.

The bag was DEEP and the Libs closed the West Coast tour out the right way