The 2024 WNBA regular season concluded Thursday night, and the playoffs are scheduled to begin Sunday, September 22. The New York Liberty (+150) are the betting favorites to win the 2024 WNBA Championship on FanDuel. The next two teams by order of odds are the Las Vegas Aces (+250) and Minnesota Lynx (+350). Breanna Stewart (+270) of the Liberty is the slight betting favorite to win the 2024 WNBA Finals MVP over the Aces' A'ja Wilson (+320) and Lynx's Napheesa Collier (+400).
The first-round bracket for the WNBA playoffs is composed of:
- No. 8 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 1 New York Liberty
- No. 7 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 2 Minnesota Lynx
- No. 6 Indiana Fever vs. No. 3 Connecticut Sun
- No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Las Vegas Aces
Stewart is already a two-time WNBA Champion, winning those titles with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020. She also won WNBA Finals MVP. She's a two-time WNBA MVP (2018 & 2023) and six-time WNBA All-Star. Last year, Stewart and the Liberty lost in the WNBA Finals to the Las Vegas Aces, 1-3.
The Aces' are back-to-back WNBA Champions (2022 & 2023) and Wilson won WNBA Finals MVP in 2023. She's a two-time WNBA MVP (2020 & 2022) and a six-time WNBA All-Star.
Previewing Breanna Stewart, Liberty in the 2024 WNBA playoffs
The Liberty are 3-1 against Atlanta this season. The most recent matchup was the regular season finale on Thursday, which saw the Dream edge out a 78-67 win. So, Atlanta's only win was after the Liberty took their foot off the gas pedal to close the season. In this best-of-three series, the Liberty have home-court advantage in Games 1 and 2. In Game 3, if necessary, the Dream has home court. Stewart averaged 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game against the Dream.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello spoke to her team's focus entering the series via Bridget Reilly of the New York Post.
“We can’t let all the hard work of getting the No. 1 seed and playing well, come out and we don’t play in the right way,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said after the loss. “We need to make sure we’re staying together through the good and the bad execution. That’s on us. When you’re not playing for anything — we talk about it — don’t get complacent.
“I wasn’t happy with the way we played,” Brondello said. “I mean, 46 points in the paint, you’re not going to win many games regardless that [this game] didn’t matter. We just got to take a little more pride in our defense and physicality and then go from there.”
The WNBA semifinals begin on Sunday, September 29, and the Finals are scheduled for Thursday, October 10.
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