Fans cheered relentlessly for the Seattle Storm as they snapped the Las Vegas Aces’ 17-game winning streak in game two of their first-round series in the 2025 WNBA playoffs. The competition and action displayed in that game are representative of the entirety of the playoffs thus far, and it is due in part to the WNBA’s new playoff structure. On Oct. 10, 2024, the league announced its plans to change the first round of the playoffs to a 1-1-1 series, ensuring at least one home game for each team, as well as its expansion of the WNBA finals from a best-of-five series to a best-of-seven one.
Round one of the playoffs saw competitive play from all eight teams, with all but one series going to the full three games. Many of these contests were nail-biters, like the aforementioned game between the Storm and the Aces. Facing elimination, Seattle pulled off a furious 14-2 run in the fourth quarter to snap the Aces’ 17-game win streak — the second-longest streak in WNBA history — and force a winner-take-all game three.
Although the favored Aces went on to defeat the Storm 74-73 in game three, it was a game as hard-fought and down to the wire as the final score indicated.
Though three out of the four higher seeds won their first-round series, parity defined the opening round. The Indiana Fever achieved a thrilling upset, defeating the Atlanta Dream 2-1. After losing the first game of the series, the Fever battled their way back, beating the Dream 77-60 in game two, and they secured their ticket to the second round with a tight 87-85 victory in game three. Indiana pulled it off without their star player, Caitlin Clark, who injured her groin in a game against the Connecticut Sun on July 15. Her recovery has since been delayed, as she suffered an ankle injury while in rehab. Clark is out for the remainder of the playoffs, but the scrappy Fever have proven up to the task without her on the court.
Meanwhile, the defending champions, the New York Liberty, were eliminated by the Phoenix Mercury in three games. The result was certainly a far cry from the Liberty’s 2024 campaign, when they defeated the Lynx in the final for their first WNBA championship. With the reigning champions eliminated, the league will have a unique champion for the third year in a row.
With round two in the books, the Minnesota Lynx were defeated by Phoenix Mercury in four games, with the Mercury solidifying their spot in the WNBA Finals. The Lynx were heavily favored to win the WNBA championship (-160 odds), while the Fever are the least favored with +3000 odds. However, the Fever fought their way until the end of their playoff run. Facing potential elimination, they beat the Las Vegas Aces to tie the series 2-2 and force a game five. However, the Aces showed their playoff experience by beating the Fever 107-98 in game five. This sets up a seven game finals series between the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces.
While teams are still duking it out for the WNBA championship, the debate over who the best player was throughout the 2025 season is settled. On Sept. 21, the WNBA MVP was awarded to Aces center A’ja Wilson. Wilson now holds the WNBA record for most MVPs won with four, all of them in the span of five seasons. She averaged 23.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.2 minutes across 40 games played in the regular season.
Wilson’s performance may have defined the regular season, but the outcome of the playoffs is far from decided. The WNBA finals between the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces begin in mid-October and will determine — this time, in at least four games — which team gets all the glory. As the league waits to crown a victor, it can celebrate the early success of its new playoff format. The decision has certainly factored into the largely unprecedented viewership that these playoffs have seen. Boosted competition has also helped — teams have delivered action-packed games that have fans on the edge of their seats, wondering who will come out on top. Thanks to this revamped playoff landscape, they can look forward to more playoffs like this one.
