Teams fight for 44 games in a regular season (until 2024, the regular season length was 40 games per team). These games include matches against sides within the conference and interconference. Depending on the results, the best-performing sides take higher rankings, allowing them a possible smooth sailing postseason.
These seedings play an important role in the WNBA playoffs, determining matchups and home-court advantage. If teams have different win records, the seedings are straightforward. But when two or more teams finish the regular season with identical records, how does the league decide who gets which seed? This is where the tiebreaker system comes into play.
In this article, we will understand the WNBA tiebreaker system for playoff seedings and the different parameters that affect the rankings.
Official WNBA Tiebreaker Criteria
With 44 games against 12 different opponents (from the 2025 season), it is quite possible for two or even three teams to share the same win-loss record. In this scenario, a set of rules determines the final rankings in sequence.
The rules are applied for every team with a similar record, and the parameter sequence is followed only if the previous one doesn’t resolve the tie.
The first ranking criterion is the head-to-head record. If the tied teams played each other during the season, whoever won more of those games gets the edge. This is also known as season series records. So, the teams with a better season series record get a higher ranking. If the head-to-head record fails to resolve the tie, the team’s record against teams with a .500 and above win percentage is checked. The team with the better win rate in those matchups wins the tiebreaker.
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Even then, if the situation remains tied, the point differential in head-to-head matchups comes into the picture. For the games the tied teams played against each other, the team with the higher net difference takes a higher ranking.
The fourth stage of the tiebreaker is overall point differential, where the previous criteria are expanded to overall season scores. If all four stages fail to clear the ambiguity, the outcome of a coin flip decides the winner. There are very rare occasions where a coin flip decides the winner of any tiebreaker.
Did WNBA Tiebreakers Change Playoff Outcomes In Past?
As much as the season rankings are straightforward, there is a clear way to resolve the tiebreakers. The fairness and established rules make it ambiguity-free, and franchises can work accordingly throughout the season. The following are some examples where the tiebreaker rules played a crucial role.
2016: Seattle Storm vs. Phoenix Mercury
The Seattle franchise advanced to the postseason behind its 2-1 head-to-head record against the Mercury team. The teams look to control the season series with their possible rivals early in the season and gain an advantage at the end of the regular season.
2020: Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm
Clinching top spot always has its perks, and two teams in the 2020 season were in for the same. The Aces and Storm finished with an 18–4 record. The Aces earned the top seed because they won both games against Seattle in the regular season. That simple advantage gave them home-court advantage and a more straightforward path through the playoffs.
2022: Multiple Tight Races
The 2022 season had two tiebreakers – one for the top position and the other for the mid-table standings. At the top, the Las Vegas Aces and Chicago Sky had a 26–10 record. But the Aces had a better head-to-head record, giving them the top spot in the standings. The defending champions started the playoff run from the second position. Another tiebreaker was for the fourth spot between the Storm and the Mystics. The Seattle franchise grabbed the No. 4 seed based on head-to-head results (2–1). These small margins shaped who had a home-court edge in the series.
2023: Three-way Tie Among Atlanta, Minnesota, and Washington
All three teams ended up with 19–21 records. The Dream emerged with the No. 5 seed because they had the best head-to-head mark (5–2) against the Lynx and Mystics. The Lynx went 3–3 and took the No. 6 seed, while the Mystics dropped to No. 7 with a 2–5 mark. This directly affected the order of matchups in the first round.
Everyone wants to see top teams in the playoffs, fighting for the ultimate championship. The tiebreaker rule simply provides the better team out of two or three sides with equal win-ratio.