If the first round of the 2026 WNBA Playoffs has proved anything, it’s that seeding doesn’t mean much when the postseason starts.
The biggest shock came from the New York Liberty. Entering as the No. 8 seed, the 2024 champions swept the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx in two games, abruptly ending a season in which Minnesota had been the league’s uncontested top team.
Two-Time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart led the upset, putting up 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in Game 1, before adding another 21 points in Game 2.
New York will now meet the Atlanta Dream, who defeated the Washington Mystics in a 2-0 sweep of their own. Atlanta entered the postseason with a deep roster featuring All-Stars and Olympic medalist Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard as well as the newly crowned 2026 Kia WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Angel Reese.
On the other side of the bracket, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces survived one of the first round’s marquee matchups against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. A’ja Wilson once again showed why she is the four-time WNBA MVP and one of the league’s biggest stars, scoring 38 points in Game 2 and 36 points in the deciding Game 3.
The last semifinal spot was claimed by the Golden State Valkyries who beat the Dallas Wings in a close Game 3. The young roster and offensive pace of the Wings, powered by Paige Bueckers, was not enough to stop Golden State, who entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed after leading the league in defensive rating and three-pointers made per game
For Toronto basketball fans, the playoffs also offer a glimpse at what the Tempo hope is in their future.
Toronto missed the postseason this year in the team’s inaugural year, ending the season in 13th place overall, but the season was hardly uneventful. Injuries and illnesses became one of the team’s defining problems, costing the Tempo 120 player games.
Brittney Sykes missed 27 games, while Sykes, Marina Mabrey and Aneesah Morrow were all eventually ruled out for the remainder of the season. Still, there is plenty to build on.
Mabrey averaged a career-high 20.8 points and tied Wilson’s WNBA single-game scoring record with 53 points against the Los Angeles Sparks in June.
Meanwhile, Toronto certainly proved there is an audience waiting for the Tempo to become a contender, with all 15 home games at Coca-Cola Coliseum having sold out. For the Toronto Tempo, Year 1 was about getting their bearings. Year 2 will be about seeing how quickly the team can join the postseason chaos.