Why Are the WNBA Playoffs Best-of-Three Series in the First Round?

Tom Dierberger | Aug 30, 2024

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu gestures during a game against the L.A. Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The exciting 2024 WNBA regular season is winding down, as the league's 12 teams battle for eight spots in the playoff bracket.

The New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx have proven to be the class of the WNBA this season, while the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces—led by MVP front-runner center A'ja Wilson—remain a big threat. Guard Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, has the Indiana Fever playing their best basketball at the right time, while fellow rookie phenom Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky are trying to stay in the hunt.

The final regular-season games are scheduled for Sept. 19, making way for the playoffs to launch three days later on Sept. 23.

2024 WNBA playoff format

The first round of the playoffs will begin Sept. 22 with four best-of-three series between the eight teams in the field. Winners advance to the semifinals—a best-of-five series—and then to the 2024 WNBA Finals, another best-of-five series.

In the first round of the playoffs, the higher seed hosts the first two games of the series. If it goes to a decisive third game, the home-court advantage flips to the lower seed. In the final two rounds, the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2 and 5, while the lower seed hosts Games 3 and 4.

History of the WNBA playoff format

The WNBA playoffs involved just four teams in 1997 and '98, with single-elimination games in '97 and best-of-three series in '98.

The postseason expanded to six teams in 1999 and eight teams in 2005, a year which also featured the first best-of-five series in the WNBA Finals.

In 2016, the format changed again. The top two teams earned an automatic bid to the semifinals, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds began in the second round and the remaining four teams began in the first round. The first and second rounds were single elimination games, while the semifinals and Finals were best-of-five series.

The WNBA changed the bracket again in '22 to the current format—eight teams with a best-of-three series in the first round and best-of-five series in the semifinals and Finals.

Why are the WNBA playoffs best-of-three series in the first round?

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert explained why the league shifted to a best-of-three series in the opening round in a 2022 statement.

"Following significant discussions with our competition committee and a playoff subcommittee we formed (in 2021), it was clear that while the prior format’s single-elimination games created a win-and-advance level of excitement to the start of the postseason, the new best-of-three series format will provide added opportunities to create and showcase rivalries with all playoff-eligible teams participating," Engelbert said.

The new best-of-three first-round format might decrease the chances for a shocking upset, but it also provides a better chance for the WNBA Finals to feature the league's two best teams.