WNBA standings, playoff picture, schedule: Liberty close in on No. 1 seed; Dream's postseason hopes take hit
Liberty closing in on No. 1 seed
The New York Liberty are one step closer to securing the No. 1 seed in the WNBA playoffs after defeating the Atlanta Dream 88-81 on Tuesday night. The Liberty improved to 22-10 with the win, while the Dream fell to 14-18 and are now in danger of missing the playoffs.
New York was led by Sabrina Ionescu, who had 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Natasha Howard added 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Betnijah Laney chipped in with 16 points.
The Liberty have now won three straight games and are 7-3 in their last 10. They have a one-game lead over the Chicago Sky for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
Dream's postseason hopes take hit
The Atlanta Dream's postseason hopes took a major hit with their loss to the Liberty. The Dream are now 4-7 in their last 11 games and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Atlanta was led by Rhyne Howard, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Tiffany Hayes added 17 points, while Aari McDonald chipped in with 12 points.
The Dream are now in eighth place in the WNBA standings, just one game ahead of the ninth-place Indiana Fever. Atlanta has four games remaining in the regular season, including a matchup with the Liberty on Sunday.
Playoff picture
The top eight teams in the WNBA standings will qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams will receive a double-bye to the semifinals, while the teams seeded No. 3-6 will receive a single-bye to the second round.
The current playoff standings are as follows:
- Las Vegas Aces (24-8)
- Chicago Sky (21-11)
- New York Liberty (22-10)
- Connecticut Sun (20-12)
- Seattle Storm (19-13)
- Washington Mystics (18-14)
- Dallas Wings (15-17)
- Atlanta Dream (14-18)
- Indiana Fever (13-19)
- Minnesota Lynx (13-19)
Schedule
The regular season ends on Sunday, August 14th. The playoffs will begin on Tuesday, August 16th.
The full schedule for the remaining regular season games is as follows:
| Date | Time | Matchup |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, August 11th | 7:00 PM ET | Connecticut Sun at New York Liberty |
| Friday, August 12th | 7:00 PM ET | Seattle Storm at Chicago Sky |
| Saturday, August 13th | 3:00 PM ET | Indiana Fever at Dallas Wings |
| Saturday, August 13th | 7:00 PM ET | Atlanta Dream at Washington Mystics |
| Sunday, August 14th | 3:00 PM ET | Minnesota Lynx at Las Vegas Aces |
| Sunday, August 14th | 7:00 PM ET | New York Liberty at Atlanta Dream |
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