The New York Liberty and Dallas Wings both advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 WNBA playoffs on Tuesday. They did so in markedly different fashion, however. In the first game of the doubleheader, the Liberty outlasted the Washington Mystics in an chaotic overtime thriller, 90-85. The Wings, on the other hand, cruised to the biggest win in franchise playoff history, beating the Atlanta Dream, 101-74.
After last season’s format change, there are no longer any byes in the playoffs. The eight teams are placed in a standard bracket, with No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5. The first-round series is best-of-three, while the semifinals and Finals are both best-of-five.
One important note is that the first round is played under a 2-1 format, which means the higher seed has Games 1 and 2 at home, while the lower seed has the deciding Game 3 at home, if necessary. The semis and Finals are both 2-2-1, with the higher seed having Games 1, 2 and 5, if necessary, at home.
Playoff bracket
Series hubs
First-round schedule, scores (best-of-three)
All games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC are streaming on fubo (try for free).
Wednesday, Sept. 13 — Game 1s
- Sun 90, Lynx 60 (Sun lead 1-0)
- Aces 87, Sky 59 (Aces lead 1-0)
Friday, Sept. 15 — Game 1s
- Liberty 90, Mystics 75 (Liberty lead 1-0)
- Wings 94, Dream 82 (Wings lead 1-0)
Sunday, Sept. 17 — Game 2s
- Lynx 82, Sun 75 (Series tied 1-1)
- Aces 92, Sky 70 (Aces win series 2-0)
Tuesday, Sept. 19 — Game 2s
- Liberty 90, Mystics 85 — OT (Liberty win series 2-0)
- Wings 101, Dream 74 (Wings win series 2-0)
Wednesday, Sept. 20 — Game 3
- Connecticut Sun at Minnesota Lynx, 8 p.m. ET — ESPN
Semifinals
Sunday, Sept. 24 — Game 1s
- TBD at TBD, 1 p.m. ET — ESPN
- TBD at Las Vegas Aces, 5 p.m. ET — ESPN2
Tuesday, Sept. 26 — Game 2s
- TBD at TBD, 8 p.m. ET — ESPN2
- TBD at Las Vegas Aces, 10 p.m. ET — ESPN2
Friday, Sept. 29 — Game 3s
- TBD at TBD, 8 p.m. ET — ESPN2
- Las Vegas Aces at TBD, 10 p.m. ET — ESPN2
Sunday, Oct. 1 — Game 4s (If necessary)
- TBD at TBD, 3 p.m. ET — ABC
- Las Vegas Aces at TBD, 9 p.m. ET — ESPN
Tuesday, Oct. 3 — Game 5s (If necessary)
- TBD at TBD, 8 p.m. ET — ESPNU
- TBD at Las Vegas Aces, 10 p.m. ET — ESPNU
Finals
Sunday, Oct. 8 — Game 1
- TBD at TBD, 3 p.m. ET — ABC
Wednesday, Oct. 11 — Game 2
- TBD at TBD, 8 p.m. ET — ESPN
Sunday, Oct. 15 — Game 3
- TBD at TBD, 3 p.m. ET — ABC
Wednesday, Oct. 18 — Game 4 (If necessary)
- TBD at TBD, 8 p.m. ET — ESPN
Friday, Oct. 20 — Game 5 (If necessary)
- TBD at TBD, 8 p.m. ET — ESPN
Championship odds
Odds entering the first round as of Sept. 12.
- Aces: -160
- Liberty: +130
- Sun: +2000
- Wings: +3000
- Mystics: +3500
- Dream: +15000
- Lynx: +20000
- Sky: +25000
