Six months ago, amid a contentious labor battle, it was unclear when, or if, the 2026 WNBA season would start. The regular season will come to a close on Thursday, with the playoffs set to begin less than 72 hours later on Sunday afternoon. All eight playoff spots have been decided, but no team is locked into a seed, and just one game separates fifth from eighth.
Seeding and matchups could be in flux until the very end of Thursday night, which will feature a five-game slate. All teams have two games remaining, aside from the Portland Fire and Seattle Storm, which are down to their final contest. Notably, there are just four games left that will feature two playoff teams against each other, and they're part of two mini two-game series: The Lynx need one win or one Golden State Valkyries loss to clinch the No. 1 seed, and could lock it up as early as Tuesday.
The aforementioned games will have the biggest impact on seeding over the final few days, as it's unlikely a lottery-bound team will pull off an upset the rest of the way. Since play resumed on Thursday, the eight playoff teams are a combined 12-0 against lottery-bound opponents. As the final stretch of the season begins, here are CBS Sports' latest WNBA Power Rankings
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