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🏀 WNBA Playoffs · Semifinals

The Final Four: four teams, two tickets to the Finals

The best-of-five semifinals tip Sunday, October 4. On one side, the champion machine against the expansion darling; on the other, the hottest Cinderella run the WNBA has ever seen. Winners reach the Finals on October 17.

**Veronica Burton**Golden State Valkyries

Golden State Valkyries vs. Las Vegas Aces

The Aces are chasing a repeat, and they look the part. Facing elimination against Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and the No. 6 Indiana Fever, Las Vegas closed the series with a 94–83 Game 3 behind 77 combined points from A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young.

Across from them is the best story in the sport. The Valkyries — a second-year expansion team — trailed the No. 7 Dallas Wings by 16 in the third quarter of a deciding Game 3, then ripped off a 40–20 run to win 77–73 and claim the franchise’s first-ever playoff series. Natalie Nakase’s group has nothing to lose and a building that will be deafening.

New York Liberty vs. Atlanta Dream

The Liberty just did something no team had ever done: as the No. 8 seed, they swept the No. 1 overall Minnesota Lynx, winning both games by 16. Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu turned a play-in team into a giant-killer, and now the lowest seed left is two series from a title.

The Dream are dangerous in their own right, back in the semifinals for the first time since 2018 after dispatching the No. 5 Washington Mystics by 15 and 18. Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray give Atlanta the perimeter firepower to trade punches with anyone.

The schedule

Game 1	Sun Oct 4	Liberty at Dream · 2:00 PM ET · ABC Aces at Valkyries · 4:00 PM ET · NBC
Game 2	Wed Oct 7	Liberty at Dream · 7:30 PM ET · ESPN Aces at Valkyries · 9:30 PM ET · Peacock/NBCSN
Game 3	Fri Oct 9	Both series · ESPN2
Game 4*	Sun Oct 11	If necessary
Game 5*	Wed Oct 14	If necessary

* Games 4–5 are played only if the series is still undecided. All times ET. The Finals open October 17.

See the full live playoff schedule →

Photos via Wikimedia Commons, reused under their Creative Commons licenses: A'ja Wilson by John Mac (CC BY-SA 2.0); Veronica Burton by John Mac (CC BY-SA 4.0); Breanna Stewart by User:Zafer (CC BY-SA 4.0); Rhyne Howard by Gamecock Central (CC BY-SA 2.0).