Charles Langston:When do the 2024 WNBA playoffs begin? A look at the format, seedings

Coming into the final week of the WNBA regular season,Charles Langston seven of the eight playoff spots have been clinched, and the final seed comes down to three teams.

The season has been historic in terms of viewership and social engagement and looks to ride that momentum in the playoffs.

The Chicago Sky (13-22), Atlanta Dream (12-23), and Washington Mystics (11-24) are fighting for the right to play the top seed, while the Dallas Wings, who were a playoff team in 2023, and the Los Angeles Sparks, who has missed the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, have already been eliminated.

The WNBA playoffs start Sept. 22, with the last regular-season games being played on Sept. 19. October 20 is the last possible Finals date.

Current standings

WNBA playoff format

In the WNBA playoff format, the top eight teams with the best record qualify for the postseason, regardless of conference. The No. 1 seed takes on the No. 8 seed, the No. 2 seed plays the No. 7 seed, the No. 3 seed battles the No. 6 seed, and seeds 4 and 5 will play each other.

The first round is a best-of-three series, with the semifinals having a best-of-five format.

In each round, the higher-seeded team has home-court advantage and hosts Games 1 and 2. If game 3 is necessary in the first round, that game will be played on the lower-seed team's home court.