WNBA just concluded their regular season with all the seedings completed. Below are your WNBA Playoff Bracket for the 1st round of the WNBA Playoff.
1 – Minnesota Lynx vs 8 – Golden State Valkyries
2 – Las Vegas Aces vs 7 – Seattle Storm
3 – Atlanta Dream vs 6 – Indiana Fever
4 – Phoenix Mercury vs 5 – New York Liberty
Round One of the WNBA Playoffs will kick off this Sunday, Sept. 14th. It will be a best-of-three-game series, the 2nd round will be a best-of-five, and the Finals is a best-of-seven-game series.
The Indiana Fever continued their impressive run, securing their fifth consecutive victory with a gritty 78-74 win over the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday night. Despite being without star Caitlin Clark for the seventh straight game, the Fever showcased their depth and resilience, improving their record to 17-12 on the season and are currently 5th in the standing and just 1.5 game behind NY Liberty.
The Fever were led by a stellar performance from Natasha Howard, who scored 21 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Sophie Cunningham added a season-high 17 points, including a scorching 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Aliyah Boston continued her dominant form, notching another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, proving crucial down the stretch scoring nine-straight points in the fourth quarter.
It was close game but the Fever was able to build an 8-point lead (42-34) at halftime, fueled by strong offensive contributions from Howard and Cunningham, and the rest of the team, Indiana was able to extend the lead to 13-points mid-3rd quarter. Seattle, however, refused to back down, made a significant push at the end of third quarter and all of the 4th quarter. Storm even cut the lead to just 1 point via Dominique Malonga’s inside play with 12.2 seconds left in the game (75 – 74). Then Kelsey Mitchell made a late layup with 8.21 seconds remaining to give Indiana a 3-point cushion. Aliyah Boston added a key free throw in the closing seconds to ice the game.
The Storm, led by Nneka Ogwumike’s 16 points, followed by Skylar Diggins’ 13 points, Gabby Williams (12 points, 9 rebounds), and Dominique Malonga (12 points).
The Indiana Fever will look to continue their winning streak as they face the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday. While the Seattle Storm will host the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday.
Even before she was drafted by the Storm, Dominique Malonga have been known to be a game dunker in the Euro League and even at a young age. Here are some of her videp dunking in game and during practice.
Dominique Malonga was the youngest player on France’s 2024 Olympic team that won silver in Paris. She’s played professionally with Lyon ASVEL in France’s top league and continues to rise as one of Europe’s most exciting young… pic.twitter.com/DJi4IhYyuH
Dominique Malonga is French professional basketball player born on November 16, 2005. She plays as a center and is 1.98 meters (6’6″) tall. She was drafted second overall by the Seattle Storm in the 2025 WNBA draft. She is a member of Lyon ASVEL Féminin in the French Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB) and the youngest member of the French national team at the 2024 Summer Olympics, where she won a silver medal.
WNBA has announced that their annual draft will be this 14th of April at The Shed in New York City. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the draft picks live on ESPN with exclusive coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The first 5 draft picks will be;
1 – Dallas Wings
2 – Seattle Storm
3 and 4 – Washington Mystics
5 – Golden State Valkyries
Monday, April 14… a new class enters the league 🌟
Join us at The Shed for the 2025 #WNBADraft presented by @StateFarm. Exclusive Draft experiences and tickets go on sale March 21 at 10am/ET.
UConn Guard Paige Bueckers and Olivia Miles of Notre Dame are projected to be the top two picks of the draft, that is if they decide to go pro this year and give up their final year of college eligibility.
Top eight teams with the highest winning percentage (regardless of conference) will qualify for playoffs. Bracket is NOT divided by East/West. First Rounds will be 2-1 (first two games hosted by the higher seed). Semi-Finals and Finals will be 2-2-1 (higher seed hosting the first two games and final game, if necessary).
First Rounds will start this Sunday, September 22, 2024.
