WNBA playoff seeds 2026: A visual guide to every possible scenario, team by team

The WNBA playoff field is set, but which teams will earn which seeds remains wide open as the WNBA regular season enters its final days.

Our projected bracket shows the Minnesota Lynx as the very likely No. 1 seed, with the Golden State Valkyries and Las Vegas Aces behind them at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. But most other teams have a wide range of possible finishes.

The tables below show all the possibilities. If your team wins its remaining games, what's its best possible seed? What does the worst-case scenario look like? Find out below.

Minnesota is the runaway favorite to earn the No. 1 seed (and with it, home-court advantage throughout the playoffs). The Lynx would be in danger of falling to No. 2 only if they lose at least three of their last four games. That's unlikely, but they do play three games against other playoff teams in this final stretch (the New York Liberty Friday night and two games against the Indiana Fever to end the regular season).

Golden State is the only other team with a chance of getting the No. 1 seed, but it's highly unlikely. The Valkyries need to win their remaining games and hope the Lynx struggle. Realistically, the Valkyries will land the No. 2 seed. Even with their French nationals easing their way back into WNBA action after the World Cup -- consider that Gabby Williams averaged 25.9 minutes in Berlin, more than the 24.8 minutes per game she is playing for Golden State -- a cupcake schedule works in the Valkyries' favor.

They could fall to No. 3 (or worse) if they lose two or more of their final four games, but they are heavy favorites in their remaining matchups.

The Aces, who have won three of the past four WNBA titles, are likely to earn the No. 3 seed. No. 2 is possible, but they'd need to win their final three games and Golden State would have to lose twice.

Thursday's matchup against the Storm should have eliminated any doubts that Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray would need time to rest after heavy workloads at the World Cup. Young tied a WNBA record with 22 points in a quarter and set a career high with 35 points, and the Aces handled business early, allowing both gold medalists and A'ja Wilson to play fewer than 30 minutes.

Las Vegas probably won't fall to No. 4 or worse; that would likely require it to lose two of its final three games, all of which are against teams outside of the playoffs (Seattle, Los Angeles and Phoenix).

Atlanta will most likely earn the No. 4 or 5 seed, but it could finish as high as No. 3 or as low as No. 8.

If the Dream wins their final three games, they would probably secure home-court advantage in the first round with the No. 4 seed. But even one loss could force Atlanta to start the playoffs on the road. As coach Karl Smesko said Thursday, the Dream believe in their ability to make a run from any spot and "no path is catastrophic."

Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese's limited minutes off the bench during the World Cup have kept the pair fresh for the stretch run. After all, Reese said she jokingly told her teammates in the locker room Thursday that she was "very well-rested."

Indiana has a wide range of plausible outcomes -- from No. 3 to No. 8. If the Fever win all four of their remaining games, they would secure home-court advantage in the first round. But Indiana's final two games are against Minnesota.

Winning at least two games (most likely, their matchups against Toronto and Washington) would probably allow the Fever to avoid a first-round matchup against one of the top two seeds, and they'd have a decent chance of securing the No. 5 seed (or better).

But if Indiana loses three or more of its last four games, it could slip much lower, to the No. 6, No. 7 or No. 8 seed.

The Washington Mystics will probably start the first round of the playoffs on the road. They'd only have a realistic chance of earning the No. 4 seed if they finish the season 3-0 -- and even then, the No. 5 seed is more likely. Their fate hinges on Sunday's contest against Indiana, and they'll need Sonia Citron back after the All-Star missed Thursday's game against Chicago for personal reasons.

If the Mystics lose at least once during this final stretch, they would probably finish with no better than the No. 6 seed. Two losses would make the No. 8 seed their most likely outcome.

Dallas is nearly guaranteed to start the first round on the road no matter what happens in its final three games. Only with three consecutive wins could the Wings finish higher than No. 7. But they have a soft schedule to end the regular season: They'll play Phoenix twice and then Seattle. Moving up to No. 6 is the goal for Dallas, which went winless against Minnesota and Golden State this year but won the season series 2-1 against Las Vegas.

New York is the team most likely to earn the No. 8 seed, but its position could improve with a strong finish. Three of its final four matchups are against other playoff teams, and one of those games is at Minnesota, the likely No. 1 seed.

A 3-1 finish would probably be enough for the Liberty to avoid the bottom seed. New York finishes the regular season with two games against Atlanta.