NEW YORK – The WNBA playoffs are set, with the Atlanta Dream in eighth place on Thursday night.
The postseason begins on Sunday with four best-of-three matchups. The Dream face the No. 2 seed New York Liberty, the No. 2 seed Minnesota Lynx host the No. 7 seed Phoenix Mercury, while the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun welcome the No. 6 seed Indiana Fever and sensational rookie Caitlin Clark.
The final clash of the opening round will be between the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces (number 4) and the fifth-seeded Seattle Storm.
Las Vegas is trying to become the first team to win three straight titles since Houston won four in a row in the WNBA’s first four seasons – from 1997 to 2000.
The higher-seeded team will host the first two games of the series, with a potentially decisive third game being played at the lower-seeded team’s venue.
Three of the eight playoff spots were only decided on the last day of the regular season.
The final playoff spot wasn’t decided until the final day of the regular season. Atlanta needed a win to secure a spot, and the Dream did just that, beating New York 78-67. The Liberty had already secured first place. Connecticut beat Chicago 87-54 to secure third place.
