Top WNBA teams punch playoff tickets

Buckets on a stick.

Atlanta & Phoenix join the WNBA playoff party

The 2025 WNBA playoff picture is halfway set, as No. 3 Atlanta and No. 4 Phoenix joined No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Las Vegas in clinching postseason berths this weekend.

• The Lynx will officially enter the playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed, claiming home-court advantage after back-to-back weekend wins.

• “We have a scenario now that if we win our home games, we win a WNBA championship,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said after Saturday’s 94-70 drubbing of Connecticut. “It doesn't mean that it’s easy. But anything that you can get to be an advantage in your favor, we needed to be able to secure that.”

Big picture: With just nine days left in the regular season, five teams remain in the running for the last four postseason tickets: No. 5 New York, No. 6 Golden State, No. 7 Indiana, No. 8 Seattle, and No. 9 Los Angeles.

• The Sparks now sit 2.5 games below the cutoff line after Monday’s key 91-85 win over Seattle — though they’ll have to get past top contenders Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Phoenix to secure a trip to the playoffs.

• “I was watching the film today and we’re a totally different team in terms of how we play and who’s healthy now,” said LA coach Lynne Roberts after last night’s victory. (Watch full highlights)

Up next: The Sparks will try to cap the Dream’s two-game winning streak tomorrow at 7:30 PM ET (League Pass), while the Lynx coast into Thursday’s 10 PM ET clash with the Aces (Prime).

It’s crunch time for injury-plagued New York

2024 WNBA champions New York Liberty blew their first shot at clinching a playoff berth on Saturday, falling to No. 4 Phoenix 80-63 while injured guard Sabrina Ionescu and center Nyara Sabally watched from the sidelines.

• The Mercury took aim at the No. 5 Liberty’s spotty defense, scoring 26 points off of 19 turnovers while registering 17 of the game’s final 20 points.

• “This is obviously a learning opportunity, but we’re kind of running out of opportunities for growth at this point,” star forward Breanna Stewart said after the loss. “We need to just actually be better.” (Watch full highlights)

The game plan: New York will have another chance to secure their destiny with tonight’s visit to No. 6 Golden State, as the injury-plagued Liberty look to climb the WNBA standings and claim home-court advantage for their first playoff series.

• “This is not championship-level basketball,” Stewart added. “We need to get there, and that starts with the mindset and then putting it onto the court.”

• However, the Liberty face a Valkyries team on the upswing, coming off a three-game winning streak in their history-making campaign to clinch an inaugural postseason berth.

• “The trust level that we have right now is pretty much unmatched,” said Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase. “I can only go based on my first year, so it’s pretty f—ing cool.”

Tune in: The Libs tip off against the Valks tonight at 10 PM ET, live on League Pass.

Kansas City punches 1st NWSL playoff ticket

No. 1 Kansas City tightened their grip this weekend, becoming the first NWSL team to clinch a postseason berth with Saturday’s 2-0 win over No. 10 North Carolina.

• The victory marked the Current’s their sixth straight shutout, extending their lead in the NWSL standings to 14 points while remaining unbeaten at home.

• “Our goal is to come out as a group and be the best that we can possibly be every game we play,” said KC head coach Vlatko Andonovski afterwards. “We celebrate tonight, we rest tomorrow, and we get ready for the next one.” (Watch full highlights)

Moving pieces: While KC reaches new heights, the rest of the league raises more questions than answers, with No. 4 Orlando and No. 5 Seattle on multiple-game winless streaks while No. 6 Portland managed just one win in their last five matches.

• On the flip side, No. 9 Angel City is making a concerted effort, extending their unbeaten run to four games with Monday’s 2-1 win over Bay FC — while star Alyssa Thompson sat out amid mounting midseason transfer rumors.

• “This group, the way they play and how they can grow together, I’m so proud of them today,” said LA head coach Alexander Straus. “Because it’s not been easy with all these things, the speculation and stuff.”

Ludmila fuels Chicago’s unbeaten streak

Despite hovering near the bottom of the table, No. 13 Chicago has quietly become the NWSL team to beat, racking up a five-game unbeaten streak behind a handful of dramatic draws — including Sunday’s 1-1 result against No. 2 Washington.

• All five of the Stars’ recent points were earned off comebacks, as striker Ludmila showed out with five goals in three matches, including an August 22nd sub-10 minute hat trick to pull level with the No. 10 Courage.

• “I think we’d be doing a disservice to the league if we laid down just because we’re in last place and felt sorry for ourselves,” said Chicago defender Sam Staab.

Shifting sidelines: Chicago will look to extend their streak under incoming interim manager Anders Jacobson, who oversaw his first match this weekend while the team awaits the arrival of new boss Martin Sjögren.

• “It’ll be a lot of him getting to know us, and us getting to know him in this next week or so,” Staab said of the team’s temporary coach. “This league moves fast. Everything happens fast.”

Naomi Osaka ousts Coco Gauff from US Open

Naomi Osaka’s comeback tour continued on Monday, as the world No. 24 tennis star took down No. 3 Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-2 in the US Open’s Round of 16 to reach her first major quarterfinal since 2021.

• “I’m a little sensitive and I don’t want to cry, but honestly, I just had so much fun out here,” Osaka said after the upset victory. “I was in the stands like two months after I gave birth to my daughter, watching Coco. I just really wanted an opportunity to come out here and play.” (Watch full highlights)

• Osaka will next face No. 13 Karolina Muchova, after most recently ousting the Czechia national from the 2025 Australian Open’s Round of 64.

Big picture: Already a two-time US Open champion, Osaka has been eyeing a deep tournament run since returning from pregnancy in 2024 — and she managed to take advantage of Gauff’s fluctuating form to achieve her goal.

• “It’s disappointing,” Gauff said after the loss. “For sure it was not the level that I wanted to bring, but it is a step in the right direction, I feel. I maybe was a little bit empty — she forced me to earn every point out there today.”

Tune in: The US Open quarterfinals continue through Wednesday, live on ESPN.

Team USA keeps Rugby World Cup dreams alive

The US still has a shot at a Rugby World Cup run, with Saturday’s dramatic 31-31 draw against Australia putting all the pressure on this weekend’s pool-stage finale.

• After falling to host nation — and world No. 1 — England in the tournament’s record-breaking opener, the now-No. 8 Women’s Eagles kept their knockout stage dreams alive by pulling level with the No. 7 Wallaroos.

• “The mood is disappointment because we were so close,” said star US outside center Ilona Maher. “But also excitement because there is more to play for in that we’re not going home just yet. We’re definitely proud of the fight.” (Watch full highlights)

Slim margins: With England guaranteed to finish atop Pool A, the US needs a win over Samoa while scoring at least four tries (AKA a bonus point), plus an Australian loss to England without a bonus point and positive score differential to advance.

Tune in: The US takes on Samoa to close out the Rugby World Cup group stage this Saturday at 8:30 AM ET, live on Paramount+.

Quote of the day

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark
chiding her former Iowa teammates for wearing Valkyries gear to Golden State’s Sunday matchup with Indiana.