WNBA Playoff Bracket 2023: Full Schedule and Matchups For Entire Postseason

The WNBA prepared to close the curtain on the 2023 regular season Sunday.

While none of the playoff spots were up for grabs heading into the final day, plenty of variables around the seeding of the eight-team playoff field remained. Not even the first-place Las Vegas Aces were safe since the New York Liberty could've overtaken them.

With everything now set, here's a look at the full postseason schedule.

First-Round Playoff Matchups

No. 1 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Chicago Sky

• Game 1: Chicago at Las Vegas, Sept. 13 (10 p.m. ET) 
• Game 2: Chicago at Las Vegas, Sept. 17 (3 p.m. ET) 
• Game 3: Las Vegas at Chicago, Sept. 20 (10 p.m. ET)

No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 7 Washington Mystics

• Game 1: Washington at New York, Sept. 15 (7:30 p.m. ET) 
• Game 2: Washington at New York, Sept. 19 (7 p.m. ET) 
• Game 3: New York at Washington, Sept. 22 (8 p.m. ET)

No. 3 Connecticut Sun vs. No. 6 Minnesota Lynx

• Game 1: Minnesota at Connecticut, Sept. 13 (8 p.m. ET) 
• Game 2: Minnesota at Connecticut, Sept. 17 (1 p.m. ET) 
• Game 3: Connecticut at Minnesota, Sept. 20 (8 p.m. ET)

No. 4 Dallas Wings vs. No. 5 Atlanta Dream

• Game 1: Atlanta at Dallas, Sept. 15 (9:30 p.m. ET) 
• Game 2: Atlanta at Dallas, Sept. 19 (9 p.m. ET) 
• Game 3: Dallas at Atlanta, Sept. 22 (10 p.m. ET)

Semifinals and WNBA Finals Schedule

Semifinals

• Game 1: Sept. 24 
• Game 2: Sept. 26 
• Game 3: Sept. 29 
• Game 4: Oct. 1 
• Game 5: Oct. 3

WNBA Finals

• Game 1 Oct. 8 
• Game 2: Oct. 11 
• Game 3: Oct. 15 
• Game 4: Oct. 18 
• Game 5: Oct. 20

Full schedule via Sports Media Watch

The WNBA playoff format lends itself to potential upsets. In a best-of-three series, a higher-seeded team can find itself in serious trouble if it drops the first game, and it would have to hit the road for the winner-take-all Game 3.

But the 2022 playoffs saw little in the way of chaos, and this year might tell a similar story when two teams are so clearly head and shoulders better than the other six.

The Aces have looked a little more vulnerable without Candace Parker, who underwent foot surgery in July. But their star quartet of A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young still boasts plenty of firepower.

Wilson in particular has answered the call with Parker out of the lineup. The reigning league MVP has averaged 24.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks since CP3 first went down.

The Liberty, meanwhile, have moved past the adjustment phase following a winter that saw them add two former MVPs (Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones) and one of the league's greatest point guards (Courtney Vandersloot).

Entering Sunday, New York had the WNBA's best net rating (13.4) since the All-Star break, per WNBA.com. Sandy Brondello's squad has come a long away already from where it was when it started the year 6-3.

From the moment the biggest dominoes of the offseason fell, fans eagerly anticipated a possible Finals matchup between Las Vegas and New York. All roads still point to that outcome.

It will be interesting to see if the Connecticut Sun play the role of spoiler.

Most expected the Sun to take a step backward after losing their best player (Jones) and watching Curt Miller leave to coach the Los Angeles Sparks.

Instead, Alyssa Thomas has thrived after succeeding Jones as the franchise cornerstone. She was setting career highs in points (15.7), rebounds (10.0) and assists (8.0) prior to Sunday's finale.

The Sun's slightly increased reliance on three-point shooting could pay dividends in the playoffs too. Connecticut might have reached the 2022 WNBA Finals, but losing to the Aces in four games exposed how the team wasn't going to get over the top while continuing to lean on Miller's more post-heavy offense.

Per WNBA.com, only 17.7 percent of the Sun's points came from beyond the arc, which was the lowest in the 2022 playoff field. Las Vegas, on the other hand, got 34.2 percent of its offense from deep.

Stephanie White has changed the team's offensive identity a bit while retaining the defensive grit that fueled the success of the Miller era.

The Sun probably don't have the pieces top to bottom to overcome both the Aces and Liberty, assuming their path to a title would run through both teams. They claimed only one of their seven matchups against the pair.

Now unburdened by the expectations it carried in years past, maybe Connecticut can play with a level of freedom in a projected semifinals encounter with New York.