This is a list of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise post-season appearance droughts. This list includes the all-time and the active consecutive non-playoffs. Aside from the WNBA Playoff appearance droughts, this list also includes appearances in the WNBA Finals and WNBA championships win streak.
This is a list of teams that have active and current consecutive seasons without playoff appearances.
List updated through October 8, 2024.
| ^ | Longest drought in team history |
| ~ | Tied for longest drought in team history |
| Streak | Team | Last appearance in WNBA Playoffs | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Los Angeles Sparks^ | 2020 Second Round | [1] |
| 1 | Chicago Sky | 2023 First Round | [2] |
| 1 | Dallas Wings | 2023 Semifinals | [3] |
| 1 | Washington Mystics | 2023 First Round | [4] |
| 2024 Playoff teams | |||
| 0 | Atlanta Dream | 2024 First Round | [5] |
| 0 | Indiana Fever | 2024 First Round | [6] |
| 0 | Phoenix Mercury | 2024 First Round | [7] |
| 0 | Seattle Storm | 2024 First Round | [8] |
| 0 | Connecticut Sun | 2024 Semifinals | [9] |
| 0 | Las Vegas Aces | 2024 Semifinals | [10] |
| 0 | Minnesota Lynx | 2024 Finals | [11] |
| 0 | New York Liberty | 2024 Finals | [12] |
| ^ | Longest drought in team history |
| ♦ | Most consecutive series losses in team history |
List updated through the 2024 playoffs.
| Seasons since win | Team | Last series win in NBA Playoffs | Losing streak | Series losses – teams | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Indiana Fever^ | 2015 Conference Finals | 3 ♦ | 2015 Minnesota 2016 Phoenix 2024 Connecticut | [6] |
| 8 | Atlanta Dream^ | 2016 First Round | 4 ♦ | 2016 Chicago 2018 Washington 2023 Dallas 2024 New York | [5] |
| 5 | Los Angeles Sparks^ | 2019 Second Round | 2 | 2019 Connecticut 2020 Connecticut | [1] |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 2019 Finals | 3 | 2020 Phoenix 2022 Seattle 2023 New York | [4] |
| 3 | Phoenix Mercury | 2021 Semifinals | 3 ♦ | 2021 Chicago 2022 Las Vegas 2024 Minnesota | [7] |
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2022 First Round | 2 | 2022 Connecticut 2023 Las Vegas | [2] |
| 2 | Seattle Storm | 2022 First Round | 2 | 2022 Las Vegas 2014 Las Vegas | [8] |
| 1 | Dallas Wings | 2023 First Round | 1 | 2023 Las Vegas | [3] |
| 2024 Playoff Series | Winners | ||||
| 0 | Connecticut Sun | 2024 First Round | 0 | [9] | |
| 0 | Las Vegas Aces | 2024 First Round | 0 | [10] | |
| 0 | Minnesota Lynx | 2024 Semifinals | 0 | [11] | |
| 0 | New York Liberty | 2024 Semifinals | 0 | [12] | |
| Seasons | Team | Last appearance in NBA Finals | Result | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Dallas Wings [a] | 2008 | Won vs. San Antonio | [3] |
| 10 | Atlanta Dream | 2014 | Lost vs. Minnesota | [5] |
| 9 | Indiana Fever | 2015 | Lost vs. Minnesota | [6] |
| 7 | Los Angeles Sparks | 2017 | Lost vs. Minnesota | [1] |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 2019 | Won vs. Connecticut | [4] |
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 2020 | Won vs. Las Vegas | [8] |
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2021 | Won vs. Phoenix | [2] |
| 2 | Phoenix Mercury | 2021 | Lost vs. Chicago | [7] |
| 2 | Connecticut Sun | 2022 | Lost vs. Las Vegas | [9] |
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2023 | Won vs. New York | [10] |
| 2024 Finalists | ||||
| 0 | Minnesota Lynx | 2024 | [11] | |
| 0 | New York Liberty | 2024 | [12] |
| Seasons | Team | Last WNBA championship | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | New York Liberty | Never | [12] |
| 25 | Connecticut Sun | Never | [9] |
| 16 | Atlanta Dream | Never | [5] |
| 16 | Dallas Wings [a] | 2008 | [3] |
| 12 | Indiana Fever | 2012 | [6] |
| 10 | Phoenix Mercury | 2014 | [7] |
| 8 | Los Angeles Sparks | 2016 | [1] |
| 7 | Minnesota Lynx | 2017 | [11] |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 2019 | [4] |
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 2020 | [8] |
| 3 | Chicago Sky | 2021 | [2] |
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2023 | [10] |
Updated through the 2024 season.
| ^ | Denotes active drought |
| Team | Longest streak with no post-season appearances | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Sky | 2006 through 2012 | 7 |
| Indiana Fever | 2017 through 2023 | 7 |
| Phoenix Mercury | 2001 through 2006 | 6 |
| Minnesota Lynx | 2005 through 2010 | 6 |
| Dallas Wings | 2010 through 2014 | 5 |
| Las Vegas Aces | 1997 through 2000 2003 through 2006 2015 through 2018 | 4 |
| Connecticut Sun | 2013 through 2016 | 4 |
| Atlanta Dream | 2019 through 2022 | 4 |
| Los Angeles Sparks ^ | 2021 through 2024 | 4 |
| New York Liberty | 2018 through 2020 | 3 |
| Washington Mystics | 1998 through 1999 2007 through 2008 2011 through 2012 | 2 |
| Seattle Storm | 2000 through 2001 2014 through 2015 | 2 |
The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions.
The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Since 2018, YouTube TV is the official sponsor.
The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2002–03 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets, 4 games to 2, in the NBA Finals. Tim Duncan was named NBA Finals MVP for the second time.
Skylar Kierra Diggins-Smith is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diggins was drafted third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. In high school, she was the National Gatorade Player of the Year and the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. She played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and led the team to three consecutive Final Fours and two consecutive NCAA championship appearances. She finished her Notre Dame career ranked first in points and steals, second in assists, and as a two-time winner of the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the nation.
Jasmine Thomas is an American former professional basketball player. She lastly played for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Odyssey Celeste Sims is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). An AP and WBCA All-American, Sims was born in Irving, Texas and graduated from MacArthur High School.
Natasha Howard is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Super League. Howard was the 2019 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. She was drafted in 2014 by the Indiana Fever. Born in Toledo, Ohio, she played college basketball for Florida State University, where she finished sixth in the NCAA for field goal percentage.
A'ja Riyadh Wilson is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The 2016 WNBA season was the 19th season for the Dallas Wings franchise in the Women's National Basketball Association. It was their first in Dallas, Texas after relocating from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was the third season under head coach Fred Williams.
The 2022 Dallas Wings season was the franchise's 25th season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the 7th season for the franchise in Dallas - after relocating from Tulsa and Detroit. This was second season under head coach Vickie Johnson.
