WNBA resumes September 17 with tight top-seed race and injury concerns heading into playoffs

The WNBA resumes play Thursday, September 17, after a two-week shutdown for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Berlin. Eight teams have clinched playoff spots with each team holding four remaining regular-season games. The first round of the best-of-three playoffs begins Sunday, September 27, with the top four finishers hosting the first round. The playoff field is set, but the final seeding remains fluid. The Minnesota Lynx lead at 31-9 and have held first place for most of the season, but lost their last two games before the break. Golden State sits two games behind at 29-11 and has won four straight. The teams split their first two meetings, with Minnesota winning in mid-August and Golden State taking the rematch a week later. Las Vegas is third at 27-13, followed by Atlanta and Indiana, both at 26-14 and one game behind Las Vegas. New York, Washington, and Dallas are all 24-16, separated from playoff contention by a single game. The top seed opens the playoffs against the eighth seed. Minnesota's first game back is Friday, September 18, at home against the New York Liberty. The Liberty beat the Lynx by double digits in early July, one of only two times all season Minnesota has lost by 10 or more points. That victory came before Napheesa Collier's first game of the year after surgery on both ankles kept her sidelined until July 22. The Lynx lost Bridget Carleton, Natisha Hiedeman, DiJonai Carrington, and Alanna Smith in free agency before the season. Rookie Olivia Miles has averaged 19.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. Coach Cheryl Reeve's team closes the regular season with two consecutive games against the Indiana Fever. Dallas carries a four-game winning streak into the final four games, though none of its last four opponents made the playoffs. The Wings host the Los Angeles Sparks on September 17, then play Phoenix on September 19 and again September 21 before finishing at Seattle on September 23. Dallas beat Phoenix by 15 points in June in their only meeting. The playoff berth is the Wings' first in three seasons. Coach Jose Fernandez is in his first year. Smith played 12 minutes for Australia in its World Cup opener against Puerto Rico on September 4, posting 10 points and eight rebounds while going 4-of-5 from the field. She limped off after a defensive rebound in the second quarter. Smith sat at the end of the bench in a hoodie for the second half of Australia's 70-54 victory. FIBA rules did not allow Australia to replace Smith on the roster. Basketball Australia ruled Smith out for the rest of the tournament on September 9. No timetable has been announced for Smith's return to the Wings. Smith shared the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year award with A'ja Wilson while playing for Minnesota and signed a three-year contract worth roughly 3.75 million dollars with Dallas this offseason. She has averaged 6.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 32 games, with 18 starts. Her first season in Dallas has included a broken nose in the preseason, a stint in the concussion protocol in late June, and a right leg injury that cost her games in July. Opals coach Sandy Brondello said, "I don't have a status report on Alanna. Obviously we're praying that she'll be okay. She's such a big part of what we do, and she had played great in the 12 minutes that she did play." Seattle's Ezi Magbegor tore her ACL at the World Cup tournament and is out for the rest of the season. The 8-32 Storm will face Las Vegas twice in four days, on September 17 and again September 20, before a home game against Los Angeles and a road finale in Phoenix. All three of Las Vegas's non-Seattle opponents have been eliminated from playoff contention. The MVP race carries implications for the final stretch. A'ja Wilson has won MVP four times, in 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025. No player has won MVP three years in a row. Going into the break, Wilson was averaging 26.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, leading the league in scoring. Team USA named Washington's Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron as replacements. Indiana hosts the Washington Mystics on Sunday, September 20. The Fever and Mystics split their first two meetings by two points apiece: Washington won 104-102 over Indiana in overtime, and Indiana won 78-76 over Washington. After the Indiana game, Washington plays only teams already eliminated from playoff contention. Kelsey Mitchell set a WNBA record in August with her 21st straight 20-point game, scoring 37 points in a 91-85 loss to Dallas and going 15-of-15 at the free-throw line. Washington starts Thursday at Chicago, which lost its last three games before the break. Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen are coming back from the World Cup for Chicago's game against Washington. Team USA beat France 97-79 in the World Cup final on September 13 for its fifth straight title and 12th overall. A combined 70 current and former WNBA players appeared in the World Cup tournament. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced September 4 that she will retire effective December 31. The search for her replacement is expected to begin this month. Indiana's Sophie Cunningham has already said the next commissioner must unite everybody.