The first round of the 2026 WNBA playoffs came to a close on Friday with another thriller between the Golden State Valkyries and Dallas Wings. The Valkyries fell behind by 16 points in the middle of the third quarter, but pulled off a stunning comeback to take the do-or-die Game 3 and earn the first playoff series victory in franchise history. The Valkyries will now face the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces, who outlasted the Indiana Fever in their own three-game series.
On the other side of the bracket, the New York Liberty, who knocked off the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx, will face the Atlanta Dream, who swept the Washington Mystics. The semifinals will start on Sunday with Game 1 of both series. Before the postseason continues, let's take one final look back at the first round and hand out grades for all eight teams.
By the time the playoffs rolled around, just about everyone outside of Brooklyn had given up on the Liberty, who had sunk all the way to the No. 8 seed amid another frustrating, injury-filled season. And then, all of a sudden, the team we'd been waiting for all season finally showed up. The Liberty didn't just beat the Lynx; they thoroughly embarrassed them en route to becoming the first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in a first-round series.
Their size, length and physicality was overwhelming, as they made Olivia Miles look like an actual rookie for the first time all season, and trailed for just three minutes and 23 seconds across the two games. New York was one of two teams to complete a first-round sweep, and did so while winning both games by 16. Breanna Stewart was sensational, particularly in Game 1, when she recorded the fourth 30-point, 10-rebound, five-assist playoff game in WNBA history, and she got plenty of help.
Crucially, even from Sabrina Ionescu, who has not been herself after returning from injury this season. Ionescu had 18 points and seven assists in Game 2, and shot 7 of 18 from 3-point range (38.9%) in the series. If Ionescu can be even close to her usual self, that completely changes the Liberty's fortunes.
The Liberty have the worst odds (+430, per FanDuel) to win the title, but none of the four teams still remaining had a better showing in the first round. The Dream's first-round series against the Mystics wasn't pretty, but it was never going to be given those two teams' styles. Amid an absurd amount of physicality, the Dream proved once again that they're one of the toughest teams in the league and won't go down without a fight.
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