Who will hoist the WNBA championship trophy? We’re about to find out.
The 2021 WNBA playoffs start on Thursday, with eight of the league’s 12 teams duking it out for a chance at a title. They’ll battle in an exciting format that has featured plenty of surprising upsets, breakout performances and everything in between in the past.
After playing the entirety of the 2020 season in the “Wubble,” WNBA legend Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm went on a dominant run and emerged as champions. This season, the Storm’s path to a repeat could be halted after just one game.
Wait, there’s single elimination?
Yes and no.
The WNBA adopted a new playoff format in 2016, abandoning conference seedings in favor of seeding the best teams from No. 1 to No. 8.
The first matches will feature the fifth seed vs. the eighth seed and the sixth seed vs. the seventh seed. The higher seeds host each game in a win-or-go-home matchup for a chance to advance to … another one-game playoff.
In the next round, the third seed hosts the lower of the two remaining seeds, while the fourth seed hosts the higher seed left. The winners of those games advance to play in best-of-five series against the top two seeds.
Since the defending champion Storm are the fourth seed, they will play a single-elimination home game and could end up out of the playoffs early. While the fans have enjoyed the excitement, not everyone involved is a huge proponent of the format.
Which teams are playing and what are they seeded?
Here’s a list of every team that made the playoffs and their respective seeds.
1. Connecticut Sun, 22-6
2. Las Vegas Aces, 24-8
3. Minnesota Lynx, 22-10
4. Storm, 21-11
5. Phoenix Mercury, 19-13
6. Chicago Sky, 16-16
7. Dallas Wings, 14-18
8. New York Liberty, 12-20
Previewing the first-round matchups
Two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker, playing her first season with the No. 6 Sky, will try to lead her team to victory in a win-or-go-home matchup against Arike Ogunbowale and the No. 7 Wings.
Parker’s…
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