With Only 4 Days Left, How Is the WNBA Playoffs Format Different From the NBA?

The 2023 WNBA regular season was one of the best the league has ever seen since its inception 27 years ago. Not only was the season entertaining but it was also the longest ever with each team playing 40 games each. This season also saw many legends retire from the sport as names such as Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles and Briann January all bid adieu to the sport. Beginning in mid-May when the Phoenix Mercury visited the Los Angeles Sparks the regular season has finally run its course as it reaches its penultimate game week. With only 4 days to spare, the Chicago Sky clinched the final playoff spot last night as they beat the Minnesota Lynx with a score of 92-87. This win saw them become the 8th seed in the division as the Los Angeles Sparks missed out on the playoffs this season.

The LA based team wasn’t the only name missing out from the playoffs, though, as the Phoenix Mercury lost their 10-yearlong playoff streak by finishing dead last in their conference. This particular omission raised plenty of eyebrows as Dianna Taurasi and Britney Grinner’s efforts weren’t enough to propel them into the playoffs. While the Mercury’s future hangs in the balance the rest of the WNBA community has started to prepare itself for the playoffs. With there being plenty of differences between the NBA and its female counterpart, the biggest has to be the playoff structure. Dissecting this in detail, here is how the WNBA playoffs format is different from the NBA.

How is the WNBA playoffs format different from the NBA?

One of the biggest differences noticed while taking into account the playoff formats for the two leagues is the way teams qualify for the playoffs. While the NBA has 6 teams from both conferences advancing to the playoffs the same isn’t applied in the WNBA. The Women’s division sees the top 8 teams from the regular season qualify for the playoffs irrespective of their conference.

For instance, the 2023 playoffs will have 5 teams from the Eastern Conference while there will only be 3 teams representing the Western Conference. Each team will also be seeded according to their regular season record with the teams then facing each other according to their ranking just like in the NBA.

Although the top seed faces the lowest seeded team similar to the NBA, the most notable difference between the two league’s is then the number of games played during the playoffs. While NBA teams usually battle it out in a best-of-7 series, the WNBA does not follow the same format.

In the current playoff scenario teams begin their journey in the quarter final stage with this round being a best-of-3 series. The number of games in a series then increases to 5 in the semifinals with the Finals also being played as a 5-game series.

Another notable difference in the playoffs between the WNBA and NBA is the home court advantage pattern.

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During the quarterfinals, higher seeded teams are given a 2-1 home court advantage meaning a higher seeded team could qualify further without having to travel to the lower seeded team’s home. This pattern, though, is not repeated in the semifinals and finals as the number of games then increases to 5.

These rounds then follow a 2-2-1 pattern of home games as the top seeded teams get the home court advantage in games 1,2 and 5.

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With only 4 days remaining before the playoffs begin, who will you be supporting? Let us know in the comments!