WNBA playoff picture: What’s at stake as regular season concludes

The final day of the WNBA regular season has arrived, and while we already know which teams will make the playoffs, some matchups are still up in the air.

Two games on tonight’s schedule will be especially important: The Golden State Valkyries at the Minnesota Lynx (8 p.m. ET) and the Las Vegas Aces at the Los Angeles Sparks (10 p.m. ET).

The Lynx have already clinched the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage throughout the postseason. But Golden State will either be the No. 6 seed or the No. 8 seed depending on the outcome of their clash at Target Center.

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Center A’ja Wilson has led the Aces to a 15-game winning streak and is the defending WNBA MVP.

Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) is a candidate for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.

Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) is a triple-double machine with 23 in her WNBA career.

Dream guard Allisha Gray (15) won three player of the month awards this season, the only guard to do so in WNBA history.

Guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) has been the driving force behind the Fever making the playoffs despite their injury issues.

Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) is averaging 18.1 points and 6.6 rebounds.

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) averages 18.4 and 5.5 assists a game.

Storm forward Nneka Ogwumike (3) is the model of consistency, averaging nearly 54% shooting in her career.

Aces guard Jackie Young (0) ranks top-15 in the WNBA in points per game and made 3-pointers.

Mercury forward Satou Sabally is a nightmare matchup on both sides of the ball, but her most potent weapon is her 3-point shooting (65 made in 2025 at 32% shooting).

What’s at stake tonight

The Valkyries will lay claim to the No. 6 seed if they win, putting the Indiana Fever seventh and Seattle Storm eighth.

But if the Valkyries lose to the Lynx, Golden State will drop to the No. 8 seed, the Fever will slot in at No. 6 and the Storm will claim the No. 7 seed.

In the nightcap, a win by the Aces over the already-eliminated Sparks will earn them the No. 2 seed since they hold the tiebreaker over the Atlanta Dream. Atlanta moved ahead for the moment with an 88-72 win over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.