 | |
| Dates | September 21 - October 20 |
|---|---|
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Los Angeles Sparks (Finals champion) |
| Higher seed finalist | Minnesota Lynx (Coach: Cheryl Reeve) |
| Lower seed finalist | Los Angeles Sparks (Coach: Brian Agler) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Attendance | 8,719 per game |
The 2016 WNBA Playoffs is the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2016 season.
The WNBA changed its playoff format in 2016. [1] Following the WNBA regular season, eight teams in the entire league qualified for the playoffs and were seeded one to eight.
Regular season records determined the seedings of the teams. The team with the best record received seed one, the team with the next best record received seed two, and so on. The top two seeds get double byes, while the next two seeds get first-round byes.
These seedings were used to create a bracket that determines the match-ups throughout the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs consisted of two match-ups based on the seedings (5-8 and 6-7). The two winners advanced to the second round with a match-up between the number 3 seed and the lower of the advancing seeds and another match-up between the number 4 seed and the other first round winner. The winners of the first two rounds advanced to the semifinals, where the lower ranked seed of the winners faced the number 1 seed, while the other remaining team faced the number 2 seed.
The first two rounds are single elimination games played on the higher ranking seed's home court. The semifinals and WNBA Finals are best-of-five series played in a 2-2-1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage (better record) hosts games 1, 2, and 5 while their opponent hosts games 3 and 4.
| Seed | Team | Record | Clinched | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff berth | Bye to Semis | Top Record | |||
| 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 28–6 | July 25 | September 6 | September 12 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 26–8 | July 25 | September 6 | — |
| 3 | New York Liberty | 21–13 | September 7 | — | — |
| 4 | Chicago Sky | 18–16 | September 10 | — | — |
| 5 | Indiana Fever | 17–17 [lower-alpha 1] | September 10 | — | — |
| 6 | Atlanta Dream | 17–17 [lower-alpha 1] | September 10 | — | — |
| 7 | Seattle Storm | 16–18 [lower-alpha 2] | September 11 | — | — |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 16–18 [lower-alpha 2] | September 14 | — | — |
| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 113 | 96 | 82 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | New York Liberty | 94 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 95 | 86 | 67 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Indiana Fever | 78 | 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 101 | 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 76 | 79 | 75 | 85 | 76 | |||||||||||||
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 89 | 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 78 | 60 | 92 | 79 | 77 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 95 | 99 | 66 | 95 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago Sky | 108 | 4 | Chicago Sky | 75 | 84 | 70 | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Atlanta Dream | 94 | 6 | Atlanta Dream | 98 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Seattle Storm | 85 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.
September 21 6:00 PM |
| Phoenix Mercury 89, Indiana Fever 78 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18-18, 17-20, 24-19, 30-21 | ||
| Pts: Taurasi 20 Rebs: Griner 9 Asts: Taylor 4 | Pts: Coleman & Catchings 13 Rebs: Catchings 10 Asts: January 9 | |
| Phoenix wins series 1-0 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 6,282 Referees: Tom Nunez, Byron Jarrett, Maj Forsberg |
| Indiana won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
September 21 8:00 PM |
| Seattle Storm 85, Atlanta Dream 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 27–18, 21–29, 19-28 | ||
| Pts: Loyd 24 Rebs: Steward & Langhorne 7 Asts: Bird 7 | Pts: McCoughtry 37 Rebs: Williams 16 Asts: McCoughtry & Clarendon 7 | |
| Atlanta wins series 1-0 | ||
Hank McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Georgia Attendance: 2,553 Referees: Eric Brewton, Amy Bonner, Jeff Wooten |
| Seattle won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
September 24 7:00 PM |
| Phoenix Mercury 101, New York Liberty 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25-25, 27–16, 16–26, 33-27 | ||
| Pts: Taurasi 30 Rebs: Griner 10 Asts: Griner 5 | Pts: Wright 21 Rebs: Charles 9 Asts: Wright & Charles 5 | |
| Phoenix wins series 1-0 | ||
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY Attendance: 10,227 Referees: Michael Price, Jeff Smith, Tom Mauer, Cheryl Flores |
| New York won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
September 25 12:00 PM |
| Atlanta Dream 98, Chicago Sky 108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25-37, 25–19, 20–31, 28-21 | ||
| Pts: Hayes 30 Rebs: Williams 9 Asts: McCoughtry 9 | Pts: Vandersloot 21 Rebs: Breland 16 Asts: Vandersloot 13 | |
| Chicago wins series 1-0 | ||
| Atlanta won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
September 28 8:00 PM |
| Phoenix Mercury 95, Minnesota Lynx 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 15-31, 34-36, 23–22 | ||
| Pts: Taurasi 25 Rebs: Taylor 5 Asts: Dupree & Harding 5 | Pts: Moore 31 Rebs: Fowles 10 Asts: Augustus & Whalen 7 | |
Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota Attendance: 9,013 Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Eric Brewton, Tiffany Bird |
September 30 8:00 PM |
| Phoenix Mercury 86, Minnesota Lynx 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–35, 23-20, 18–22, 21–19 | ||
| Pts: Taurasi 31 Rebs: Harrison 9 Asts: Taylor 5 | Pts: Moore 26 Rebs: Brunson 11 Asts: Moore 5 | |
Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota Attendance: 11,923 Referees: Byron Jarrett Jeff Smith, Maj Forsberg |
October 2 5:00 PM |
| Minnesota Lynx 82, Phoenix Mercury 67 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 21–15, 26–15, 17–14 | ||
| Pts: Moore 20 Rebs: Brunson 9 Asts: Whalen 5 | Pts: Taurasi & Bonner 12 Rebs: Griner & Harrison 7 Asts: Xargay 5 | |
| Minnesota wins series 3-0 | ||
Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ Attendance: 9,631 Referees: Sue Blauch, Kurt Walker, Michael Price |
| Minnesota won 3–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
September 28 9:00 PM |
| Chicago Sky 75, Los Angeles Sparks 95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 15-30, 26-23, 14-20 | ||
| Pts: Faulkner 13 Rebs: Breland 7 Asts: Vandersloot 5 | Pts: Parker 30 Rebs: Ogwumike 10 Asts: Ogwumike 6 | |
September 30 9:00 PM |
| Chicago Sky 84, Los Angeles Sparks 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 15-29, 17-21, 25–21 | ||
| Pts: Dos Santos 15 Rebs: Breland 9 Asts: Quigley 5 | Pts: Parker, Lavender 20 Rebs: Parker 12 Asts: Parker 8 | |
October 2 3:00 PM |
| Los Angeles Sparks 66, Chicago Sky 70 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:23–14, 16–16, 8–19, 19–21 | ||
| Pts: Ogwumike 22 Rebs: Parker 15 Asts: Parker 6 | Pts: Vandersloot 17 Rebs: Boyette 11 Asts: Faulkner & Vandersloot 5 | |
October 4 8:00 PM |
| Los Angeles Sparks 95, Chicago Sky 75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:23–11, 32–20, 14–28, 26–16 | ||
| Pts: Parker 29 Rebs: Ogwumike 9 Asts: Gray 7 | Pts: Pondexter 19 Rebs: Boyette 10 Asts: Young 6 | |
| Los Angeles wins series 3-1 | ||
| Los Angeles won 3–0 in the regular-season series |
|---|
October 9 3:00 PM |
| Los Angeles Sparks 78, Minnesota Lynx 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:21–18, 13–18, 22–24, 22–16 | ||
| Pts: Toliver & Ogwumike 19 Rebs: Parker & Ogwumike 9 Asts: Gray 4 | Pts:three tied 18 Rebs: Fowles 13 Asts: Whalen 6 | |
October 11 8:00 PM |
| Los Angeles Sparks 60, Minnesota Lynx 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 11–21, 21–15, 14–25 | ||
| Pts: Ogwumike 14 Rebs: Ogwumike 12 Asts:three tied 3 | Pts: Moore 21 Rebs: Fowles 15 Asts: Fowles 4 | |
October 14 9:00 PM |
| Minnesota Lynx 75, Los Angeles Sparks 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 23–16, 18–22, 17–22 | ||
| Pts: Fowles, Brunson 14 Rebs: Moore 7 Asts: Moore 5 | Pts: Parker 24 Rebs: Parker, Ogwumike 9 Asts: Beard 7 | |
October 16 8:30 PM |
| Minnesota Lynx 85, Los Angeles Sparks 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:22–20, 24–20, 19–19, 20–20 | ||
| Pts: Moore 31 Rebs: Fowles 13 Asts: Augustus, Moore 5 | Pts: Gray 20 Rebs: Ogwumike 8 Asts: Beard 4 | |
October 20 8:00 PM |
| Los Angeles Sparks 77, Minnesota Lynx 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–18, 11–16, 26–21, 23–21 | ||
| Pts: Parker 28 Rebs: Parker, Ogwumike 12 Asts: Beard 6 | Pts: Moore 23 Rebs: Brunson, Fowles 9 Asts: Moore 11 | |
| Los Angeles wins series 3–2 | ||
| Minnesota won 2–1 in the regular-season series |
|---|
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national champion.
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs is the single-elimination tournament to determine the annual league champion. The four-round tournament is held after the league's regular season. Since the 2020 season, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season winning percentage, with a tie-breaking procedure if required. The top team in each conference receives a first-round bye, automatically advancing to the next round. The tournament culminates in the Super Bowl, the league's championship game, competed between teams from each conference.
There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the single elimination, the best-of- series, the total points series more commonly known as on aggregate, and the round-robin tournament.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs is the annual elimination tournament held to determine the league champion. The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the league's regular season and its preliminary postseason tournament, the NBA play-in tournament. Six teams from each of the two conferences automatically advance to the playoffs based on regular season winning percentage, while those teams finishing seven through 10 from each conference compete in the play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds.
The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The MLS Cup, the league's championship game, is the final match of the tournament. Under the current format adopted for the 2023 season, 18 teams qualify for the tournament based on regular-season point totals — the nine highest-placed teams from each the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Audi is the title sponsor of this tournament.
The WNBA playoffs is an elimination tournament between 8 teams in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals.
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences that make up the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the other being the Western Conference. Both conferences consist of 6 teams.
The 2010 WNBA Playoffs is the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2010 season.
The 2011 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2011 season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format. The finals were won by the Minnesota Lynx who defeated the defending Eastern Conference Champion Atlanta Dream.
The 2012 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2012 season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format.
The 2013 WNBA Playoffs is the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2013 season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences will qualify for the playoffs, seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format.
The 2014 WNBA playoffs was the postseason for the 2014 WNBA season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format.
The 2015 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2015 season.
The 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 14 when the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings and concluded on September 18, with a Seattle Storm defeat of the Chicago Sky.
The 2017 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2017 season.
The 2018 WNBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2018 season. The Seattle Storm won the team's third WNBA title, sweeping the Washington Mystics 3–0 in the best-of-five WNBA Finals.
The 2019 WNBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2019 season. The Washington Mystics won the team's first WNBA title in their 22-year franchise history.
The 2020 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2020 season being played in Bradenton, Florida at the IMG Academy, known for the season as the "wubble." The Seattle Storm defeated the Las Vegas Aces three games to zero in the finals to claim the franchise's fourth WNBA title.
The 2021 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2021 season. The Chicago Sky won their first WNBA championship.