2026 WNBA playoffs bracket, schedule: Fever fight off elimination, Lynx on the brink

The 2026 WNBA playoffs continued on Tuesday night with the Fever and Lynx facing elimination in the first round. For Indiana, Caitlin Clark was not going to let her team go down without a fight. Clark posted the first 25-point, 15-assist performance in WNBA history, pushing the Fever past the Aces 99-89 to set up a win-or-go-home Game 3 back in Las Vegas on Thursday. 

Will the top-seeded Lynx be able to do the same? Like the Fever, the Lynx lost on Sunday and need a road win over the Liberty to keep their season alive. A first-round sweep would be a shocking result for Minnesota, which entered the postseason as the favorite to win the title. 

Elsewhere, the Valkyries and Dream have 1-0 leads in the first round against the Wings and Mystics. Golden State and Atlanta can advance to the semifinals with a win.

The higher seeds will host a deciding Game 3, if necessary, later in the week. After that, the second round is best-of-five and the Finals will be a best-of-seven series for just the second time in league history.

The 2026 WNBA season has been groundbreaking, on and off the court. It launched on the heels of a contentious and extended labor battle that resulted in a historic raise for the players (the salary cap increased from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7 million in 2026), and in return, the players raised the bar on a weekly basis. Multiple regular-season records fell this year, from Caitlin Clark becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-point, 10-assist game, to Angel Reese breaking the single-game rebounding record with 26 to Kelsey Mitchell passing A’ja Wilson’s single-season points record.

Here’s how you can follow the playoffs.

2026 WNBA playoff bracket

2026 WNBA playoff schedule

First-round schedule

(All times ET)

Tuesday, Sept. 29

• Game 2: Fever 99, Aces 89 (Series tied 1-1)
• Game 2: Lynx vs. Liberty, 8:30 p.m., USA/fubo (New York leads 1-0)

Wednesday, Sept. 30

• Game 2: Dream vs. Mystics, 7 p.m., ESPN/fubo
• Game 2: Valkyries vs. Wings, 9 p.m., ESPN/fubo

Thursday, Oct. 1

• Game 3*: Lynx vs. Liberty, TBD
• Game 3: Aces vs. Fever, TBD

Friday, Oct. 2

• Game 3*: Dream vs. Mystics, TBD
• Game 3*: Valkyries vs. Wings, TBD

First-round scores

Sunday, Sept. 27

• Game 1: No. 8 Liberty 91, No. 1 Lynx 75
• Game 1: No. 3 Aces 102, No. 6 Fever 85
• Game 1: No. 4 Dream 92, No. 5 Mystics 77
• Game 1: No. 2 Valkyries 104, No. 7 Wings 80

Semifinals

Sunday, Oct. 4

• Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, NBC/fubo
• Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, ABC/fubo

Wednesday, Oct. 7

• Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, ESPN/fubo
• Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, NBCSN

Friday, Oct. 9

• Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, NBCSN
• Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, ESPN2/fubo

Sunday, Oct. 11

• Game 4*: TBD vs. TBD, NBC/fubo
• Game 4*: TBD vs. TBD, ABC/fubo

Wednesday, Oct. 14

• Game 5*: TBD vs. TBD, ESPN/fubo
• Game 5*: TBD vs. TBD, NBCSN

WNBA Finals

Saturday, Oct. 17

• Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m. ET | NBC/fubo

Monday, Oct. 19

• Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m. ET | USA/fubo

Thursday, Oct. 22

• Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo

Saturday, Oct. 24

• Game 4: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m. ET | NBC/fubo

Monday, Oct. 26

• Game 5*: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo

Thursday, Oct. 29

• Game 6*: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo

Saturday, Oct. 31

• Game 7*: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo

* – denotes if necessary