2018 WNBA Playoffs Bracket and Officials

Officials for the Playoffs || Standings at End of Regular Season

Finals Schedule

Game 1 — Seattle 89, Washington 76
Game 2 — Seattle 75, Washington 73
Game 3 — Seattle 98, Washington 82

Playoffs Schedule

			LOCAL	ET	TV
First Round
Tue.	Aug. 21	Phoenix 101, Dallas 83
Tue.	Aug. 21	Los Angeles 75, Minnesota 68
Second Round
Thu.	Aug. 23	Washington 96, Los Angeles 64
Thu.	Aug. 23	Phoenix 96, Connecticut 86
Semifinals
Seattle vs. Phoenix
Sun.	Aug. 26	Seattle 91, Phoenix 87
Tue.	Aug. 28	Seattle 91, Phoenix 87 OT
Fri.	Aug. 31	Phoenix 86, Seattle 66
Sun.	Sep. 2	Phoenix 86, Seattle 84
Tue.	Sep. 4	Seattle 94, Phoenix 94
Atlanta vs. Washington
Sun.	Aug. 26	Washington 87, Atlanta 84
Tue.	Aug. 28	Atlanta 78, Washington 75
Fri.	Aug. 31	Atlanta 81, Washington 76
Sun.	Sep. 2	Washington 97, Atlanta 76
Tue.	Sep. 4	Washington 86, Atlanta 81

Schedule subject to change

Playoff Format (per WNBA.com)

Effective with the 2016 season, the WNBA implemented changes to playoff seeding and qualification procedures as well as the postseason format.  Under the new postseason structure, the eight teams with the highest winning percentages regardless of conference qualify for the playoffs and are seeded based on their record.

Additional features of the reconfigured playoff structure are as follows:

• The number of playoff rounds increased from three to four.  The top two seeds receive a bye to the semifinals (third round), and the third and fourth seeds receive a bye to the second round.

• Teams will be re-seeded after each postseason round.

• The first and second rounds are single elimination.  In the first round, the No. 5 seed hosts the No. 8 seed and the No. 6 seed hosts the No. 7 seed.  In the second round, the No. 3 seed hosts the lowest-seeded first-round winner and the No. 4 seed hosts the other first-round winner.

• The semifinals feature a best-of-five format, with the No. 1 overall seed playing the lowest remaining seed and the No. 2 overall seed meeting the remaining team.  The Nos. 1 and 2 seeds will host Games 1, 2 and 5, and the lower-seeded teams will host Games 3 and 4 in their respective series.  The WNBA Finals remain best-of-five and follow the same 2-2-1 format

2018 Playoffs Officials

Sixteen referees earned spots to officiate in the 2018 WNBA Playoffs.

According to the WNBA, officials for the postseason are selected by the WNBA Referee Operations management team based on three specific criteria throughout the season:

• WNBA Referee Operations’ graded rankings
• Play-calling accuracy
• Team feedback.

Officials will be evaluated after each round of the playoffs to determine future advancement in the 2018 postseason.

Individual game assignments for referees are posted at NBA.com/official at approximately 9 a.m. ET each game day.  Each game crew consists of three on-court officials and one on-site alternate.

The referees:

• Isaac Barnett (2 WNBA seasons)
• Tiffany Bird (5)
• Eric Brewton (17)
• Tiara Cruse (5)
• Cheryl Flores (6)
• Maj Forsberg (10)
• Janetta Graham (7)
• Tim Greene (8)
• Roy Gulbeyan (20)
• Byron Jarrett (11)
• Brenda Pantoja (7)
• Michael Price (19)
• Billy Smith (8)
• Jeffrey Smith (17)
• Kurt Walker (19)
• Jeff Wooten (7)

Standings at End of Regular Season

	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	PPG	OPP PPG	DIFF	STRK	L10
x –Seattle Storm	26	8	.765	–	13-4	13-4	87.2	79.7	+7.6	W3	8-2
x –Atlanta Dream	23	11	.676	3	13-4	10-7	81.8	79.5	+2.3	W1	8-2
x –Washington Mystics	22	12	.647	4	12-5	10-7	82.0	79.0	+3.1	L1	8-2
x –Connecticut Sun	21	13	.618	5	13-4	8-9	87.6	81.7	+5.9	W4	9-1
x –Phoenix Mercury	20	14	.588	6	9-8	11-6	85.8	83.2	+2.5	W4	5-5
x –Los Angeles Sparks	19	15	.559	7	11-6	8-9	78.9	77.0	+1.9	L2	5-5
x –Minnesota Lynx	18	16	.529	8	9-8	9-8	78.9	78.3	+0.7	W1	4-6
x –Dallas Wings	15	19	.441	11	10-7	5-12	86.6	85.4	+1.3	L1	1-9
e –Las Vegas Aces	14	20	.412	12	8-9	6-11	81.9	84.4	-2.5	L2	3-7
e –Chicago Sky	13	21	.382	13	7-10	6-11	83.8	90.1	-6.3	L1	5-5
e –New York Liberty	7	27	.206	19	4-13	3-14	77.7	84.8	-7.1	L13	0-10
e –Indiana Fever	6	28	.176	20	2-15	4-13	76.4	85.7	-9.3	W1	3-7

• W: Wins
• L: Losses
• PCT: Winning Percentage
• GB: Games Back
• HOME: Home Record
• AWAY: Away Record
• PPG: Points Per Game
• OPP PPG: Opponent Points Per Game
• DIFF: Average Point Differential
• STRK: Current Streak