WNBA Playoffs 2024: What to Expect and Key Matchups

The much-ballyhooed 2024 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) regular season is over. And it’s on with the playoffs. For the first time in decades, people are clearly aware of the goings-on with the league. Sports fans the world over are taking notice of the games, with actual game attendance and TV viewership blowing sky-high. 

From the WNBA opening in 1996, this year’s game attendance has been its highest ever, and TV viewership is up 183% from last season as well. In the largest attended game in WNBA history so far, 20,711 fans attended the Indiana Fever’s regular season final game last week against the Washington Mystics, a clear manifestation of the upward trend of the league’s popularity. 

Nielsen statistics have reported that the WNBA averaged 1.2 million viewers across ESPN’s platforms this season, which showed an amazing 170% increase compared to the previous year. In fact, the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game last July averaged 3.442 million viewers according to Nielsen. This is the largest audience ever for a WNBA All-Star game, topping the previous high of 1.441M recorded in the 2003 all-star game – by a whopping 139%! 

All these have been made possible with the arrival of exciting new rookies led by Caitlyn Clark and Angel Reese. Both Caitlyn and Angel have been ripping records, and drawing in legions of new fans into the WNBA stadiums. Caitlyn has been establishing records in scoring and assists. Angel, on the other hand, has been lording it over the rebounds. Caitlyn, in particular, has been a key factor in the huge upsurge of interest in professional women’s basketball. 

According to Fox Sports mogul, Michael Mulvihill, WNBA regular season TV viewership made a huge spike this year. However, with the overall upward trend, Caitlyn’s games averaged 1.178M views, while the other games would log an average of .394M. That difference of 199% clearly validates Caitlyn’s ability to bring in the crowds. 

With the record-breaking fan numbers in the regular season, expectations are high that the playoffs should be able to sustain the same excitement and thrills. Caitlyn has a new nickname, The Reality – which is a dig at Diana Taurasi’s “Reality is coming” statement. She and the long-languishing Indiana Fever will be making their postseason debut, with viewership expected to rise even higher. This could be the most-watched postseason ever in the history of the WNBA. 

The regular season’s end has whittled down the race to the last eight, with the teams seeded regardless of conference. We just witnessed a down-the-wire sprint to the finish in this nail-biter regular season, with the steady Atlanta Dream nosing out the hot-as-nails Washington Mystics and the plummeting Chicago Sky for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs. And with that, here’s how the 2024 playoff bracket shaped up to be:

• No. 1 New York Liberty vs. No. 8 Atlanta Dream
• No. 2 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 7 Phoenix Mercury
• No. 3 Connecticut Sun vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever
• No. 4 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 5 Seattle Storm

The top seeds Liberty, led by 3-pt Lady Curry, Sabrina Ionescu, and top inside operator Breanna Stewart, are expected to take the 3-game series against the Rhynne Howard/Tina Charles-led Atlanta Dream (8th seed). The inside-outside threat of the 2 Brees, coupled with the years of experience and the deeper support base, should be enough to tide the heavily-favored Liberty through.

Napheesa Collier will lead a balanced Minnesota Lynx (2nd seed) attack against the sentimental faves, the Phoenix Mercury (7th seed). The Mercury will be led by the proverbial GOAT of the league, Diana Taurasi, with fellow Olympian, Britney Griner. While the Mercury may have the star power and experience, the Lynx trumps this with youth and speed. The Lynx should be able to take this series unless the Mercury veterans conjure a youth potion in time. 

Alyssa Thomas leads the 3rd seeds Connecticut Suns against a dangerous and hungry Indiana Fever team (6th seed) led by rookie sensation, Caitlyn Clark. For the new WNBA fans, most of whom were lured in by Caitlyn, this will be the series to watch. Once again, the Fever find themselves the underdogs, but with big upset intentions. Thomas will rely on DeWanna Bonner to lead a balanced offense for the Suns, while Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston provide back-up support for Clark. This should be a toss-up worth watching. 

For the final match-up, the defending back-to-back champs Las Vegas Aces (4th seed) will lock horns with the Seattle Storm (5th seed). Likely season MVP A’ja Wilson leads a loaded Aces team against the Storm troopers led by Jewell Loyd. Aside from A’ja, 3 other Aces saw action in the recently-concluded successful campaign in the Paris Olympics: Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum. A’ja and her cohorts should bring the Aces to the semis this post season. They are in contention to be the league’s first-ever 3-peat champs.

There you have it, sports fans. The rejuvenated, invigorated WNBA is now more prominent in the sports map. With the Caitlyn phenomenon upon us, and the new storylines blossoming, there is simply nowhere else to go for the league but up. Come, watch and enjoy. Who knows, by watching, you, your sister, or your neighbor may find the inspiration to be the next Caitlyn Clark in this new reborn WNBA. 

For a closer look, just click on the pics. Cover photo courtesy of the New York Post. Other photos courtesy of X.com, theScore.com, Rocky Mountain Outlook, KTNV, the Seattle Times, FanSided and the WNBA.