The 2024 WNBA playoffs have arrived, and the month-long sprint to crown a new champion begins on Sunday, when all four first-round matchups will begin. Those best-of-three series, in which the lower seed can force a deciding Game 3 at home, will either produce extreme drama or be over before we can blink. From there, we move to a pair of best-of-five semifinal series and another best-of-five showdown in the Finals.
The bracket is set, the schedule is out and teams know the path they have to take to lift the trophy. Which of them has the best chance to do so? Before the action gets underway, here are CBS Sports' final power rankings of the season, the annual pre-playoffs edition.
New York Liberty
The Liberty sort of stumbled to the finish line by losing two of their last three games, but that shouldn't overshadow their body of work this summer. They have been the best team in the league all season long, and finished with the best offensive rating (107.0), third-best defensive rating (95.3) and best net rating (plus-11.7). They boast an All-Star starting five led by one of the two best players in the world in Breanna Stewart and have homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. They are the team to beat.
Minnesota Lynx
What a season for the Lynx, who won the Commissioner's Cup championship and went 14-2 after the Olympics to grab the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. They may not have the star power of some other contenders, but as Coach of the Year frontrunner Cheryl Reeve put it earlier this month, the players "believe in each other and they believe in our collective." The Lynx finished second in defense (94.8 defensive rating) and led the league in 3-point shooting (38.0%). Plus, the Liberty and Aces are both on the other side of the bracket, which is a boost for their chances to get to the Finals.
Las Vegas Aces
For much of the season, the Aces were in disarray. Candace Parker retired, Chelsea Gray missed the first month and struggled to find a rhythm upon her return and head coach Becky Hammon repeatedly called out their lack of effort on the defensive end. While some of their warts cannot be totally ignored, they certainly look like a contender heading into the playoffs. They won nine of their last 10 to close the season, have the best player in the world in A'ja Wilson and know what it takes to win it all. The quest for a threepeat is back on in earnest.
Connecticut Sun
The Sun started the season 13-1, but went just 15-11 the rest of the way. They were also 4-9 against their fellow top-five teams and 24-3 against everyone else. An offseason trade to acquire Marina Mabrey did not juice their offense as much as they may have hoped, and they took fewer 3-pointers than any other playoff team. And yet, no one will want to see them in the playoffs. They are big, they are physical, they are experienced and they had the best defensive rating in the league (94.1). They are, in short, absolute hell to play against, and that will always give them a chance.
Seattle Storm
The Storm "won" the offseason by signing Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith in free agency, but the team never quite meshed in the way they may have hoped. Ironically, that was in large part due to a very poor season by franchise stalwart Jewell Loyd. They finished seventh in the league in offensive rating (102.1) and last in 3-point percentage (28.8), which was the worst full season mark by any team since the 2021 Fever, who won only six games. Much like the Sun, their inability to score on a consistent basis is a major reason they struggled against fellow top-five teams (4-10) despite boasting a strong defense. It's hard to write them off given their talent and experience, but they have a tough path that starts with the back-to-back champion Aces.
Indiana Fever
The Fever are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, thanks largely to No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark, who put together one of the best rookie seasons of all time. After the Olympic break, they really started to click, and had the best offensive rating in the league (109.6) by a wide margin in that span. Their ability to go on incredible scoring binges is matched only by their inability to stop anyone on the other end. Their 106.5 defensive rating post-Olympics is the worst of any playoff team.
Phoenix Mercury
A winter filled with so much promise ultimately gave way to a rather disappointing season. The Mercury showed some flashes of brilliance on the offensive end, but were far too inconsistent and finished ninth in the league in defensive rating (105.4). It also doesn't help that Kahleah Copper may not be 100% heading into the playoffs due to a back injury that forced her to miss games down the stretch. There is a lot of talent on this team, enough to make them dangerous in a short series, but it's hard to see them making any sort of playoff run.
Atlanta Dream
It is a borderline miracle that the Dream are even in the playoffs considering how rocky their season was at times. They lost 15 of 18 heading into the Olympics and then had another stretch where they lost eight of 10 after the break. In fact, they were minutes away from being eliminated a week ago. Now that they're healthy, they aren't as bad as their record might indicate, but they don't have enough offense to make any noise in the playoffs. In fact, it would be a surprise if they even win a game against the Liberty.