WNBA Playoffs Preview: Who’s In & Who’s Up
It’s down to eight teams in the WNBA Playoffs with the league’s superstars including A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark vying for the title.
Black News 
The WNBA has come down to its final eight teams as the playoff get started on Sunday. While eyeballs on the W may be compromised by the early weeks of the NFL, this 30th-year playoff season is worth watching. It stands out for the number of veteran and new stars vying for a title. Will it be the three-time champion Las Vegas Aces, who are looking to defend their title with likely five-time MVP A’ja Wilson? Will it be the surging Atlanta Dream with Angel Reese almost certainly the season’s Defensive Player of the Year?
Will it be the Minnesota Lynx, behind the certain Rookie of the Year in Olivia Miles, who came close to a fifth franchise championship two seasons ago before losing to the New York Liberty? Will the Liberty return to championship caliber with a new coach? Will the Mystics take their surging young squad to the top with Shakira Austin putting up impressive numbers, or will it be the Indiana Fever with the core of Caitlin Clark, Aaliyah Boston, and sharpshooter Kelsey Mitchell? Or the Wings with Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard in her breakout year? Or will the stingy defense of the Golden State Valkyries take out the competition in only their second year in the league?
The WNBA playoffs will be spread across the following TV and streaming channels: ABC, NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSN, Prime Video, Fubo, DirecTV, ESPN app, and Peacock. But live playoff games will not be available on WNBA League Pass. Yeah, it sucks, but it’s by far the cheapest of the major league passes, so you may have to spring for channels you don’t already have, at least through the playoffs. The full playoff schedule and where to watch is here.
The playoffs begin on Sunday, Sept. 27. The WNBA Finals begin on Oct. 17 and extend through to Oct. 31, if necessary. This is the second season for seven-game finals, which the Las Vegas Aces didn’t need last year as they beat the Phoenix Mercury in a four-game sweep.
Here are the first-round matchups in the best-of-three series:
