The 2018 WNBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2018 season. The Seattle Storm won the team's third WNBA title, sweeping the Washington Mystics 3–0 in the best-of-five WNBA Finals.
Format
Following the WNBA regular season, the top eight teams in the overall league standings, without regard to conference alignment, qualified for the playoffs and were seeded 1 to 8. Seedings were based strictly on regular-season record. The team with the best record received the #1 seed, the team with the next best record received the #2 seed, and so on. The top two seeds earned double byes (i.e., advanced directly to the semifinals), while the next two seeds received first-round byes.
These seedings were used to create a bracket that determines the matchups throughout the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs consisted of two matchups based on the seedings (5-8 and 6-7). The two winners advanced to the second round with a matchup between the number 3 seed and the lower of the advancing seeds and another matchup between the number 4 seed and the other first round winner. The winners of the first two rounds advanced to the semifinals, where the lower-ranked seed of the winners faces the number 1 seed, with the other remaining team facing the number 2 seed.
The first two rounds were single-elimination games played on the higher ranking seed's home court. The semifinals and WNBA Finals are best-of-five series played in a 2-2-1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage (better record) hosts games 1, 2, and 5 while their opponent hosts games 3 and 4.
Tiebreak procedures
Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams. Better winning percentage against all teams with .500 or better record at the end of the season. Better point differential in games net result of total points scored less total points allowed head-to-head. Better point differential net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents. Coin toss (or draw of lots, if at least 3 teams are still tied after the first 4 tiebreakers fail).
Playoff qualifying
Playoffs and Finals
Bracket
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.
First Round
Mercury vs. Wings
The first matchup of the first round saw #5 seed Phoenix Mercury host the #8 seed Dallas Wings. The Mercury won their last 4 regular season games, all at home, to finish the season with a 20–14 record. The Wings won their last 2 regular season games to make the playoffs and finish with a 15–19 record. These two games snapped a 9-game losing streak. The Wings made the playoffs by 1 game over the Las Vegas Aces and are the only team in the playoffs with a below .500 regular season record. Phoenix won the regular season series 2–1, with the home team winning 2 out of the 3 matchups.
The game was evenly poised headed into halftime, with the Mercury making a three-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 53–49 in their favor. However, the Mercury opened up a double-digit lead in the third quarter, when they made six three point field goals. Diana Taurasi of the Mercury improved to 12–0 in single elimination games in her career with the win.
Sparks vs. Lynx
The second matchup of the first round saw #6 seed Los Angeles Sparks host the #7 seed Minnesota Lynx. The Sparks lost 4 of their last 5 regular season games, to finish the season with a 19–15 record. The Lynx lost three of their last four regular-season games to finish the season with an 18–16 record. This was a rematch of the 2016 WNBA Finals, which the Lynx won 3–2. The Sparks won the regular season series between the teams 3–1, with the home team winning 3 of the 4 matchups. This will mark the 4th straight year these teams have met in the playoffs, with the last two being in the WNBA Finals.
In Lindsay Whalen's final WNBA game, the Lynx game up short, losing 68–75. The Sparks held a three-point lead at halftime and never looked back. With 1:56 remaining Maya Moore missed consecutive free throws, and Chelsea Gray sank a jumper at the other end to make the lead 5 points.
