WNBA playoffs tip off Sunday with possible work stoppage looming
The longest regular season in WNBA history leads right into Sunday’s first playoff games with all eight teams in action. The league is still riding a wave of record viewership and attendance, but some dark labor clouds are on the horizon.
There is nothing but sunshine lately in San Francisco, where the expansion Golden State Valkyries are in the tournament. The team sold out all 22 home games this season, establishing a new benchmark for attendance and total fans. They have become the latest symbol of the league’s growth and popularity.
What are the 2025 playoff matchups?
The Valkyries face an uphill climb in the first round. The Minnesota Lynx, the top seed with MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, await. They beat Golden State in the regular season finale on Thursday by 19 points. The rematch is a best-of-three series, and coach Natalie Nakase has that underdog vibe.
“I think all of our players have that type of mentality, you know? I think they like to be doubted,” Nakase said. “They like to prove people wrong. And I think that’s what’s connected us, too. I think that’s kind of the beauty of our season is that we’ve kind of been connecting on all different levels of past experiences, past trauma, past everything.”
The Lynx-Valkyries matchup is the first game of an ABC/ESPN quadruple header Sunday, featuring all eight playoff teams. The Indiana Fever, without superstar Caitlin Clark after a season-ending injury, will take on the Atlanta Dream at 3 p.m. ET. That game will be followed by the defending champion New York Liberty and the Phoenix Mercury. The nightcap features the hottest team in the league, the Las Vegas Aces, hosting the Seattle Storm.
The Aces wrapped up their regular season Thursday by winning their 16th consecutive game. They won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. As MVP candidate A’ja Wilson starts to peak at the right time, she believes they will be tough to beat.
“It speaks volumes as to how our offense is running,” Wilson said. “Obviously, we love to keep the ball popping, and that’s something that Becky harps on a lot. It’s something that we probably struggled with in the first half of the season, which was just ball movement, player movement.”
Will there be a lockout when the playoffs end?
There has been no movement when it comes to negotiations between the players’ union and the league regarding a new collective bargaining agreement. The impending deadline of Oct. 31 is just two weeks after Game 7 of the WNBA Finals. If no deal is reached by that time, there could be a work stoppage in the form of an owner lockout. That scenario threatens to undo all the positive momentum the league has produced in the last two record-breaking seasons.
“The headline is ‘lockout!’ and ultimately the goal for everyone is to get a good deal done,” WNBA Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike told ESPN. “Hopefully, it gets done in the time that makes sense. I don’t think anyone wants to see a lockout. That’s not something that we’re advocating for. We just want to make sure that this is a deal that’s done the right way and using whatever time it takes for us to be able to have both sides agree on something.”
What is the biggest roadblock to a deal?
Revenue sharing seems to be the biggest roadblock. The players’ union believes they should receive a percentage of league revenue that grows each year. They also want a dramatically increased salary cap and larger base salaries, which are currently capped at $249,244 per season. Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum heard the fan support during the All-Star break and believes that will help the players’ cause.
“That awareness piece,” Plum said. “Maybe someone tuned in today that hasn’t seen a WNBA game before or is not super familiar with the climate that is going on and where salaries are at. I know we’re gaining a lot of fans, and it’s extremely important that we educate them on what we’re asking for, why we’re asking for it, where it’s at now, and where it could be.”
That fan support will certainly be there during the playoffs. If the looming deadline doesn’t spur action, the league will head into the offseason with an uncertain future.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
