Recapping playoff teams and their odds to win the 2022 WNBA Championship.
The field is set for the 2022 WNBA playoffs as the New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury grabbed the final two spots on Sunday. The playoffs tip off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
The WNBA removed single-elimination games from their postseason this year and no longer include byes. Instead, the top eight teams will play a three-game series in a standard bracket form, with no bracket reseeding after the first round. The best-of-three series will be hosted by the higher seed for the first two games, while the lower seed hosts Game 3. In the subsequent rounds, the teams will play in a five-game series, with the higher-seeded team hosting Games 1, 2, and 5 (if necessary) and the lower-seeded team hosting Games 3 and 4 (if necessary).
WNBA Championship odds
(From SI Sportsbook)
Las Vegas Aces +175
Chicago Sky +200
Connecticut Sun +350
Seattle Storm +550
Washington Mystics +800
Dallas Wings +3500
New York Liberty +6600
Phoenix Mercury +8000
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
The Las Vegas Aces have the number one seed coming into Wednesday after defeating the Seattle Storm 109-100 in a thrilling comeback on Sunday. The Aces finish the year tied with the Chicago Sky for the best regular season record (26-10) and will meet up with the eighth-seeded Phoenix Mercury at 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday. The Aces defeated the Sky in the season series, 2-1, edging them out for the top seed. The Aces' roster boasts a leading MVP candidate, A'Ja Wilson, and dynamic scoring guard, Kelsey Plum, who is enjoying a breakout season.
The Chicago Sky (26-10) nabbed the second seed, and the reigning champions are looking to repeat with an All-Star caliber roster and postseason experience. They will match up with the seven-seeded New York Liberty (16-20) to kick off the playoffs at 8 p.m. EST Wednesday. If the Sky repeat, they will be the first team to do so since Lisa Leslie and the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001/2002—exactly twenty years ago.
On Thursday, the No. 3 Connecticut Suns square off with the No. 6 Dallas Wings. The Connecticut Suns (25-11) have the better season record, but the Dallas Wings (18-8) beat them 2-1 in the regular season series. However, the Wings have yet to win a playoff since moving to Dallas from Tulsa, and they will be without top-scorer Arike Ogunbowale.
In perhaps the most critical home-court advantage of the series, the No. 4 Seattle Storm will host the No.5 Washington Mystics. These two teams finished the season with identical 22-14 records.
More Betting, Fantasy and WNBA:
• AFC West Future Odds
• Rams Over/Under Breakdown
• Bills Favored Over Rams
• Notre Dame Odds Breakdown
• SI Fantasy Draft Kit
• Standard 12-Team Mock Draft
• Aces’ Wilson, Plum Set Scoring Mark for WNBA Teammates