The 2026 WNBA playoffs have arrived as eight teams compete for the vaunted title.
The Las Vegas Aces are looking for their fourth title in the past five seasons while the other seven squads have eyes on knocking off the defending champions.
Five teams have made strong cases this season to take home the crown but there can only be one winner.
Here are the five contenders heading into the playoffs with reasons why they can win.
Minnesota Lynx
The Lynx have been searching for their first title in the Napheesa Collier era, and this year’s team has reason to believe it can break through.
Minnesota went the full five games against the New York Liberty in the 2024 WNBA Finals but lost to New York. Last season, they made it to the semifinals before exiting in four games to the Phoenix Mercury.
The Lynx went through a lot of change in the off-season as the likes of Bridget Carleton, Alanna Smith, Natisha Hiedeman, Jessica Shepard and DiJonai Carrington departed.
But the addition of Natasha Howard in free agency and drafting of point guard Olivia Miles with the second-overall pick have paid off in spades.
Miles has been a game changer for the Lynx. She averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game in the regular season as a rookie and has helped transform the Lynx offence, especially with Collier missing the majority of the season recovering from off-season ankle surgery.
Collier’s health will continue to be a storyline as playoff action ramps up. She has been productive since returning, averaging 16.8 points with 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists, and if Minnesota is going to claim their first WNBA title since 2017, Collier has to be at full strength.
They will face the Liberty in the opening round of the playoffs.
Reasons why they’ll win: The Lynx have star power and one of the best coaches in the game in Cheryl Reeves.
Golden State Valkyries
The Valkyries have elevated from expansion team to legitimate contender in a little more than a year.
The Valkyries surprised everyone by making the playoffs in their inaugural year in 2025, which ended in a two-game sweep by the Lynx.
This time around, Golden State isn’t surprising anyone as they go into the playoffs as the second seed after finishing with a 32-12 record in the regular season and will take on the Dallas Wings.
Unlike other contenders, the Valkyries don’t rely on superstar players game in and game out for production.
Despite sitting 14th in points per game at 82.2, Golden State leads the league in made 3s (459) and turn over the ball the least at 11.5 turnovers per game.
Free-agent addition Gabby Williams has been a big part of the team’s success this season. The 30-year-old forward averaged a career-high 14.4 points this season along with 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Reigning Most Improved Player Veronica Burton has continued her evolution as a key piece in Golden State, averaging a career-high 12.2 points with 3.6 points and 5.7 assists.
Reasons why they’ll win: Golden State is a defensive juggernaut that relies on balance with head coach Natalie Nakase, a running favourite to be coach of the year, at the helm.
Las Vegas Aces
The Aces have blossomed into a modern-day dynasty, winning three of the past four WNBA titles.
Las Vegas is in prime position to compete for a fourth crown and will go as far as the trio of A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray will carry them.
Wilson’s health will be closely monitored. She sat out of the FIBA World Cup with a lingering back injury that caused the star centre to miss some games.
Despite the injury, Wilson is a frontrunner to capture a fifth career WNBA MVP award as she led the league in points per game (26.2) and blocks (1.9) and fifth in rebounds (9.4).
Young also continues to up her game every season she’s been in the WNBA. The guard averaged a career-high 18.9 points and 6.8 assists in 2026.
Reasons why they’ll win: They’re the defending champions and they have the best player in the world in Wilson.
Atlanta Dream
The trio of Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese led the Dream to fourth in the WNBA standings with a shot at their first title in franchise history a realistic possibility.
After being bought out by the Phoenix Mercury in late August for the chance to chase a third WNBA championship, forward DeWanna Bonner signed in Atlanta as a veteran presence for a team that doesn’t have a lot of title experience outside of guard Jordin Canada, who won two rings with the Seattle Storm.
The addition of Reese in the off-season was a huge get for the Dream. Reese continues to be a double-double machine, averaging a career-high 16.4 points along with a league-leading 12.1 rebounds in 2026.
Gray (19.0 PPG) and Howard (17.7 also averaged career-highs in points per game this season.
The Dream have been bounced from the first round of the playoffs in three straight years and the team is on the cusp of finding the next level as they prepare to face the Washington Mystics in the opening round.
Reasons why they’ll win: Howard, Gray and Reese elevate in the playoffs and their depth outside the starting five doesn’t let them down.
Indiana Fever
Last year, the Fever took the Aces to the brink in the semifinals before losing in five games to the eventual champions and that was without Caitlin Clark.
This time around, Indiana will face Las Vegas again in the playoffs with a healthy Clark and the guard turned in a career season, averaging 22.3 points per game and finished second in the WNBA in assists per game at 8.3.
Indiana boasts two of the top five scorers in the WNBA in Kelsey Mitchell and Clark. Mitchell is second behind only Wilson in points per game, averaging a career-high 24.7, while Clark is third.
Centre Aliyah Boston is also having a career season offensively, averaging 16.1 points along with 8.0 rebounds.
Reasons why they’ll win: The trio of Mitchell, Clark and Boston stays healthy and the offence keeps flowing.
