The WNBA delivered exciting trades and movement this offseason, with the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever making some of the biggest splashes in the league. Pair that with rising stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, the competition for the WNBA playoffs will be better than ever.
Of course, the best teams in the W lead the field of championship contenders this season. The New York Liberty are the reigning WNBA champions, but the Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces both have championship pedigrees with the talent and coaching to win it all.
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Let’s dive into our WNBA playoff predictions for the 2025 season.
WNBA Playoffs predictions: Round-by-round projections
First round forecast
(1) New York Liberty sweep (8) Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks aren’t a favorite to make the WNBA playoffs this season, but we do think a late-season run can get them there. Rickea Jackson can make a second-year leap, especially playing alongside veteran guard Kelsey Plum. Los Angeles is also poised to get Cameron Brink back this summer, which could help spark that final push for the 8th seed. However, the Liberty are the best team in the W and would coast to a sweep.
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(2) Minnesota Lynx sweep (7) Atlanta Dream
The offseason acquisition of Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones helps create a new core for the Atlanta Dream and positions them to be a playoff contender in 2025. Pairing Griner and Jones with Rhyne Howard and Alisha Gray in a new system creates a foundation that will consistently keep Atlanta in games, enough so to make the playoffs. However, getting a lower seed means drawing a matchup against one of the most talented and well-coached teams in the W. In a first-round series with the Minnesota Lynx, Minnesota easily takes out Atlanta.
(3) Indiana Fever beat (6) Chicago Sky in three games
A playoff series between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is something TV executives and the national media desperately want. It would also deliver a battle between clubs with two of the brightest futures in women’s basketball. Chicago and Indiana did an outstanding job adding quality depth and experience to support their young superstars. Right now, the Fever have the better roster and we’ll give the tandem of Clark and Aliyah Boston the edge in what would be a must-watch series.
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(4) Las Vegas Aces knock out (5) Seattle Storm
The Seattle Storm made big changes a year ago and it took time to gel. Then, the organization followed that up with the Jewell Lloyd trade this offseason. Seattle brought in Lexie Brown and rookie Dominique Malonga, but the biggest addition will be a full season from Gabby Williams. Seattle should find itself competing for a top-four seed this season, but the Las Vegas Aces are just the better team. In an outstanding first-round clash, WNBA MVP A’Ja Wilson leads Las Vegas to the second round.
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WNBA Semifinals projections
(1) New York Liberty takes out (4) Las Vegas Aces in five games
It would be a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Semifinals, with the best team in women’s basketball squaring off against by far the best player in the sport. This time around, though, the Aces would have Jewell Lloyd in place of Kelsey Plum. The Wilson-Lloyd combo might be enough to make it a five-game series, especially under the new playoff format. However, New York’s outstanding lineup would likely give the edge in a decisive game. It would be consecutive years of heartbreak for Las Vegas, but New York’s home-court advantage in Game 5 is big.
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(3) Indiana Fever stun (2) Minnesota Lynx in five games
We’ve been pretty chalk with our WNBA playoff predictions to this point, but that changes with this series between the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx. Minnesota certainly has the advantage of playoff experience from its stars and it could be argued no team is more motivated than this one after last year’s crushing loss in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. However, this is the series where we think Clark and Boston elevate themselves as one of the best tandems in the NBA. Indiana also has a lot more depth than it did before, with improved defense, which all decides the winner-take-all Game 5. Clark will seal it with a clutch fourth-quarter performance that sends Indiana to the WNBA Finals.
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WNBA Finals predictions
New York Liberty defeats Indiana Fever in five games
The WNBA Finals is now a best-of-seven series, but we don’t see New York needing that much time in this bout against Indiana. There’s a reason the Liberty are viewed as the best team in the league. They kept a championship core together and added Natasha Cloud. While the Fever arguably has more roster depth than the Liberty, the better starting lineup with the added benefit of experience playing on the biggest stage ends the Finals in five games. It’ll be back-to-back championships for New York.
