The 2024 WNBA Playoff schedule is set to kick off on September 22nd, 2024. The 2024 WNBA season is the 28th for the league, and it will run from May 14th through September 19th, 2024. There will be a month-long pause for the Summer Olympics that starts after the WNBA All-Star game on July 20th, 2024. All teams in the WNBA play 40 games this season, and there will be an in-season tournament again this season (WNBA Commissioner’s Cup). We have the confirmed league key dates and notional playoff schedule for you below.
Who Qualifies for the 2024 WNBA Playoffs?
The WNBA does the playoff qualification a tad different than the NBA Playoffs. Mostly due to the size of the league right now. The eight best teams, regardless of their conference, qualify for the WNBA playoffs. There are 12 teams total in the league for the 2024 season.
How are the WNBA Playoffs Conducted?
Since the 2022 WNBA Playoffs, the first round is a best-of-three series, overall single-elimination format. All the teams get seeded based off of their regular season record. First team in the opening round to win two games moves to the semifinals. The semifinal round and finals are best-of-five series. The Las Vegas Aces enter the 2024 WNBA season as defending back-to-back champions.
Key Dates for the 2024 WNBA Regular Season
The following are the key dates published by the WNBA for the upcoming 2024 season.
| Date | Event |
| April 15 | WNBA Draft |
| April 28 | Training Camp Begins |
| May 3 | Pre-season Games Begin |
| May 12 | Last Possible Date for Pre-Season Games |
| May 13 | Final Roster Cut-down Date |
| May 14 | WNBA Regular Season Begins |
| June 1-13 | WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Tournament |
| June 25 | WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship |
| July 18-21 | WNBA All-Star Break |
| July 20 | WNBA All-Star Game |
| July 21- August 14 | Olympic Break |
| August 20 | Trade Deadline |
| September 19 | Regular Season Ends |
| September 22 | Playoffs Begin |
| October 20 | Last Possible Finals Date |
2024 WNBA Playoff Schedule
The official release of the 2024 WNBA Playoff dates is not confirmed yet. The league has confirmed that September 22nd, 2024 is the start of the playoffs. They have also confirmed October 20th, 2024 is the last possible date in the finals. You may see some of the dates change based on formal confirmations within the playoff windows. We based the current timings in between the schedule bookends on the 2023 WNBA Playoff schedule.
What TV Networks will Air the 2024 WNBA Playoffs
The ESPN family of networks will show the playoffs again this year. We’ll see a mix of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ABC for the coverage. We can expect ESPN and ABC to split the coverage of the 2024 WNBA Finals this postseason.
2024 WNBA Playoffs – 1st Round
| MATCHUP | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Seed 1 vs. Seed 8 | Sept 22/23 | TBD | TBD |
| Seed 2 vs. Seed 7 | Sept 22/23 | TBD | TBD |
| Seed 3 vs. Seed 6 | Sept 22/23 | TBD | TBD |
| Seed 4 vs. Seed 5 | Sept 22/23 | TBD | TBD |
2024 WNBA Playoffs – Semifinals
| MATCHUP | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Winner of 1-8 vs. Winner of 4-5 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Winner of 2-7 vs. Winner of 3-6 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
2024 WNBA Playoff Schedule – Finals
Please note the times are notional. Once confirmed by the WNBA we’ll update those and the dates for games 2 through 6.
| MATCHUP | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Winner of 1-4-5-8 vs. Winner of 2-3-6-7 | Oct 8-20 | TBD | ESPN/ABC |
| GAME | DATE | TIME (ET) | TV |
| Game 1 | Oct 8 | 8:30 PM | ESPN/ABC |
| Game 2 | TBD | 8:00 PM | ESPN/ABC |
| Game 3 | TBD | 8:30 PM | ESPN/ABC |
| Game 4 | TBD | 8:30 PM | ESPN/ABC |
| Game 5* | TBD | 8:30 PM | ESPN/ABC |
| Game 6* | TBD | 8:30 PM | ESPN/ABC |
| Game 7* | Oct 20 | 8:00 PM | ESPN/ABC |
