The final day of the 2024 WNBA regular season is here and there’s still a playoff spot up for grabs as all 12 teams head to Thursday’s Finals. The No. 1 seed New York Liberty were the first to clinch a playoff spot, on Aug. 17. But they’ve had to wait a month to find out who they’ll face in the best-of-three first round, which begins Sunday on the home courts of the top four seeds.
The Atlanta Dream (14-25), Chicago Sky (13-26) and Washington Mystics (13-26) are vying for the final playoff spot. The Dream travel to face the Liberty on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV), while the Sky visit the Connecticut Sun (7 p.m. ET). Atlanta is 0-3 against New York this season, and Chicago is 0-3 against the Sun. Washington will host the Indiana Fever (7 p.m. ET, Prime Video); the Mystics are 1-2 against the Fever.
While the No. 6-ranked Liberty and Fever already have their playoff spots set, the Sun’s isn’t yet secured. They begin the day in third place, but a loss Thursday combined with a Las Vegas Aces win over the Dallas Wings (10 p.m. ET) would see the Aces move up to the No. 3 spot and the Sun fall to No. 4.
The No. 5 seed Seattle Storm already has its spot set heading into Thursday’s road game (10 p.m. ET) against the No. 7 seed Phoenix Mercury. So while there’s nothing at stake in the Storm-Mercury game, it will attract plenty of attention as it could be the final home game for Phoenix legend Diana Taurasi. At 42, she’s playing her 20th WNBA season and hasn’t said whether it will be her last.
Thursday’s game between the No. 2 seed in the playoffs and the last-place Los Angeles Sparks (8 p.m. ET) also has no impact on the postseason. The Sparks will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
While some teams will be more focused on resting their stars for everything that lies ahead, others will have a lot at stake on Thursday. Here’s a look at what to keep in mind as the regular season concludes.
1:52
Tina Charles ties WNBA record with 193rd double-double
With her 193rd double-double, Tina Charles tied the WNBA career double-double record.
Which team will get the last playoff spot?
For some time now, it has seemed like the eighth and final playoff spot wouldn’t be secured until the final day of the regular season. That’s how things turned out, but Atlanta has the final say: If the Dream wins, they’re in.
Of course, facing top-seeded New York is no easy task. But even if the Dream lose, they could still clinch the last spot in two other scenarios: if Washington and Chicago also lose, or if Washington wins and Chicago loses.
What about the Mystics and Sky? The only situation where Washington makes the postseason is if they win, just like Chicago, but Atlanta loses.
For the Sky, who are dealing with a series of injuries, to get the final spot, they need to win and they need Atlanta and Washington to lose. Felipe
How will the 3rd and 4th seeds be distributed?
While fifth-place Seattle and sixth-place Indiana have nothing at stake on Thursday, they will be watching closely to see how the Chicago-Connecticut game plays out. The outcome of that game could make the Las Vegas-Dallas game a must-see for Storm and Fever fans.
If the Sun win, they will be the third seed and face Indiana. The Sky have been in free fall since the Olympic break ended, with a 3-12 record, and it’s hard to see the Sun losing this game. But…
If the Sun falls and Vegas beats a second-to-last-place Wings team, then we’ll have a first-round series between the Aces and the Fever, featuring the heavy favorites for MVP (A’ja Wilson of the Aces) and Rookie of the Year (Caitlin Clark of the Fever).
The Fever went 0-4 against the Aces this season and 1-3 against the Sun. Both will be extremely tough opponents for an Indiana team appearing in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. But Indiana has at least had some success against the Sun.
The Storm went 1-3 against the Aces and 2-1 against the Sun. Seattle is coming off an 85-72 home loss to Las Vegas on Tuesday that snapped a four-game winning streak. Voepel
What are the lottery implications of Thursday’s results?
Which teams will join Los Angeles and Dallas, who were eliminated from playoff contention in early September, in the lottery? The Dream previously traded their 2025 first-round draft pick to acquire Allisha Gray, so Atlanta won’t be in the lottery even if they don’t make the playoffs. That draft pick ultimately ended up in the hands of the Mystics, who likely wouldn’t mind receiving two lottery picks (their own and Atlanta’s) or finding themselves in the lottery even if they make the playoffs.
Dallas is also rooting for Chicago to miss the postseason. If that happens, then the Wings have a better chance of landing the No. 1 pick by combining their own odds with Chicago’s, thanks to the pick swap that was part of the Marina Mabrey trade in 2023. Felipe
How do teams plan to play their final game?
With relatively little at stake for teams already in the playoffs, teams will have to weigh the importance of building positive momentum heading into the postseason along with resting key players.
Injury reports from Wednesday night heading into Thursday indicate some teams are gravitating toward the latter option. The Lynx have already ruled out Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride due to rest. The Vegas quartet of Wilson, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray are all listed as doubtful for the same reason; notably, the Aces will know at 10 p.m. ET if they’re locked into the No. 4 seed, as the Connecticut game starts three hours earlier.
The Storm could still be without Jewell Loyd (questionable, knee), while Ezi Magbegor is out with a concussion (both players last appeared last Friday). Kahleah Copper, who hasn’t played since Sept. 7, was listed as questionable for the Mercury with a back issue.
The three teams competing for the final playoff spot won’t be in top form either, but no team is as depleted as Chicago, which, in addition to recently losing Angel Reese (wrist) for the year, will also be without Diamond DeShields (ankle), plus potentially Kamilla Cardoso (doubtful, shoulder) and Chennedy Carter (questionable, foot). Felipe
Your drive, your dreams, and your mastery created joy for us all.
Our final regular season home game is tomorrow. If so… don’t miss the greatest of all time.
🎟 https://t.co/Rb3988XXlX photo.twitter.com/BvzMu8zLLL— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) September 18, 2024
Is this a farewell to the greatest of all time in Phoenix?
Taurasi said after Tuesday’s win in Los Angeles that she would wait until this season was over to make a decision about retirement. At 42, she has done everything there is to do in basketball, several times over. Yet she remains effective: Taurasi is averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Those statistics are not retirement numbers.
Still, knowing what it takes in the offseason to perform at the level she wants in the WNBA, Taurasi has to evaluate whether she wants to continue.
That said, she still has plenty of enthusiasm for this Mercury team, which will face Minnesota in the first round. On Tuesday, Taurasi praised first-year Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts for changing “the whole mentality of this franchise” and talked about how well the team gets along despite its ups and downs.
“We’re still trying to find a rhythm … to find things that work for us,” Taurasi said. “There’s still an opportunity to get better every night. It’s still a great time. Whenever you step on the court, the ultimate goal is to win.” Voepel
