The NBA playoffs ended in June with the New York Knicks winning the championship for the first time in more than 50 years. Now it’s time for the WNBA to make history as the Las Vegas Aces continue their active postseason appearance streak. The Minnesota Lynx, meanwhile, has the chance to become the winningest team in league history, but they were eliminated by the New York Liberty.
If you’re fresh off the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and want to keep track of Caitlin Clark and company, 11 of the 12 players on the US Women’s Basketball Team will be competing in the playoffs this year. Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
2026 WNBA Playoffs Game Schedule
The WNBA playoffs run from September 27 to October 31. While every matchup in the NBA is a best-of-7 series, the WNBA holds a best-of-3 series in the first round, a best-of-5 series in the semifinals, and a best-of-7 series—for just the second year—in the finals, giving teams a lot less room to maneuver and recover. One bad night could mean the end of everything for your favorite team.
The first round will continue through October 2, with the New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream already advancing. After that, the semifinals will begin on October 4, and the finals start on October 17.
Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever – Series tied 1-1
Golden State Valkyrie vs. Dallas Wings – Series tied 1-1
How to Watch the Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever Playoff Game
This year’s playoff schedule is tricky. It will be split across multiple networks and streaming services, even within the same series. ABC, ESPN, Prime Video, and USA will carry the first round. ABC, NBC, NBCSN, Peacock, and ESPN will have the semifinals. NBC, USA, and Peacock will be options for the Finals. This means a single cable subscription or Live TV streamer might not be enough to watch everything.
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DirecTV: DirecTV’s MySports base pack costs $45 per month for the first six months and offers ABC, ESPN, NBC, and USA.
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Fubo: Fubo’s Sports plan costs $45.99 for the first month to watch games broadcast on ABC, ESPN, NBC, and NBCSN.
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Hulu: For $90 per month, Hulu + Live TV lets you watch games on ABC, ESPN, NBC, and USA.
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Peacock: Instead of a live TV service, you’d need to pay $10.99 per month for Peacock Premium to see the Wild Card Series games.
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Prime Video: Prime’s $14.99 monthly or $139 annual cost grants subscribers access to the three first-round games on Amazon’s platform.
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Sling: Sling’s $45.99-per-month Sling Orange plan will let you watch games on ESPN. Day Passes are also available for up to seven days. You’ll need the Orange $ Blue bundle for $60.99 to also watch games on USA.
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YouTube TV: Though the standard plan for YouTube TV costs $83 per month, you can actually now pay for the cheaper $65 Sports package to see all games on ABC, ESPN, NBC, NBCSN, and USA.
How to Watch Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever For Free
If you don’t have a streaming subscription, you may be able to catch some of the action without spending a dime by signing up for a free video streaming trial. Here are your options:
Peacock doesn’t offer a free trial, but there is a workaround. Walmart+ allows you to bundle Peacock with the subscription at no extra charge. By signing up for a $1 trial to Walmart’s service, you can also get 30 days of access to Peacock.
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Which Teams Are In the Playoffs?
Unlike other sports leagues, the WNBA doesn’t care about conferences. Out of 15 teams, eight squads make it to the playoffs, regardless of where they come from. This year, there are an even four teams from the Eastern Conference and four from the Western Conference. Here they are, listed in order of seeding:
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Minnesota Lynx -
Golden State Valkyries
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Las Vegas Aces
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Atlanta Dream
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Indiana Fever
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Washington Mystics -
Dallas Wings
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New York Liberty
Upgrade Your Streaming Experience
If you decide to watch the WNBA Playoffs, there’s still time to get a big-screen television for viewing this beautiful game. Pro tip: Turn on your TV’s motion-smoothing option for the best picture while watching sports. Just remember to turn it off before watching other TV shows and movies to avoid the awful “soap opera” effect.
About Our Expert
Jason Cohen
Senior Editor, Help & How To
Experience
As PCMag’s editor of how to content, I have to cover a wide variety of topics and also make our stories accessible to everyday users. Considering my history as a technical writer, copywriter, and all-around freelancer covering baseball, comics, and more at various outlets, I am used to making myself into an expert.
I believe tech corporations are bad, but you might as well know how to use technology in everyday life. Want more how to content delivered right to your inbox? Sign up for the tips and tricks newsletter that I curate three times a week.
My job as how-to guru means I use just about every gadget under the sun, so I can figure out how everything works. I work from a Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows 11, but also have a very large Dell Inspiron 17 3000 and Apple silicon MacBook. I have a Google Pixel 6a for personal use and use a Galaxy Z Flip 4 for additional Samsung-related testing. For iOS coverage, an iPhone 13 mini works like a charm, though it’s already becoming a little long in the tooth.
My desktop situation includes a dual monitor setup with a modest Acer monitor. I also use a Logitech vertical mouse (who can use these ThinkPad trackpads) and a Havit keyboard (my first mechanical keyboard; I love it but my wife hates it!). I’m a recent convert from wired headphones; I have Anker Soundcore Liberty Air wireless earbuds for personal use and have taken to the Sennheiser HD 450BT headphones for work.
Whenever I have a second to myself, I’m probably gaming on my Nintendo Switch 2, Steam Deck, or Xbox Series S. I also still have a bunch of classic consoles lying around as well.
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