WNBA officially approves the new league’s playoff and postseason format. The WNBA Board of Governors has approved playoff format and postseason seeding changes, starting from the 2022 season, as announced by the WNBA. The new playoff picture will include three rounds of series using the best of 3-5-5 format. In other words, during the first series whoever wins two games will advance. Going forward, during the following series which team ever wins three games will advance.
The WNBA is a fairy new league. In fact, they are going into their 26th season as an organization. The top eight teams with the best win rates from 36 games will advance to the playoffs. They will be seeded based on their record; all eight playoff teams will play in the first round. The bracket style of play will consist of the number one seed playing the eighth. Then the No. 4 seed will play the fifth, the third seed will play the sixth, and the second seed will play the seventh.
Biggest takeaways from WNBA’s new postseason format
It seems the playoffs will consist of no byes, for the first seed. After the first round, teams will remain the same seeding as the playoffs continue.
“We have been considering various playoff formats for the past year, and the new format we’re announcing today will allow fans to connect with the league’s top teams and stars right from the beginning of the postseason. With all eight championship contenders participating in thrilling first-round action, the excitement will be immediate,” stated WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
“After extensive discussions with our Competition Committee and Playoff subcommittee, it became evident that the previous format, with its single-elimination games, brought an exciting win-or-go-home dynamic to the beginning of the playoffs. However, the new format of best-of-three series will offer more chances to build and highlight rivalries, involving all teams eligible for the playoffs.”
The prior playoff format, consisted of four rounds 1-1-5-5 format. Many people disagreed with this format because often time the number one and two seeds received multiple bye weeks going into the semifinals. This isn’t fair for the teams who are playing those weeks to play a team with two weeks of rest essentially. The new format will provide the top eight teams consistently from start to finish of their playoff runs.
