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September has arrived, and with it the final 11 days of the 2025 WNBA regular season. While the Minnesota Lynx have clinched the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, every other seed is still up for grabs and the battle for the final four playoff spots rages on. 

As we head into the final stretch of the summer, here's a closer look at what's still to play for:

Four teams in reach of No. 2 seed

The Las Vegas Aces have taken control of the No. 2 seed thanks to their 12-game winning streak, but they are only half a game up on the third-place Atlanta Dream and fourth-place Phoenix Mercury, who are only separated by a tiebreaker. The New York Liberty, now in fifth place, are two games back on the Aces, but do hold the tiebreaker between the clubs. 

The No. 2 seed, of course, provides home-court advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs and places that team on the opposite side of the bracket as the Lynx. For the same reason, this bunch of teams may be as desperate to avoid the 4/5 line as they are to get the No. 2 seed. No one wants to have to play the Lynx in the second round. 

Four teams for the final three spots

Over the last few weeks, the Nos. 6-8 seeds have been a revolving door. As it stands on Sept. 1, the Golden State Valkyries are in sixth, the Seattle Storm are in seventh and Indiana Fever are in eighth. Just a half-game separates these three teams, however, and there's no telling how things will shake out by the end of the season. 

The Los Angeles Sparks, meanwhile, remain on the outside looking in. They're now two games back of the eight-place Fever and 2½ games back of the Storm and Valkyries. 

While this group is more concerned with getting into the playoffs than seeding, the latter is certainly still on their minds. None of these teams will want to be the No. 8 seed and have to face the Lynx in the first round.  

Here's a quick look at some of the most important games to track this week:

  • Monday: Los Angeles Sparks at Seattle Storm, 10 p.m. ET – NBA TV
  • Tuesday: New York Liberty at Golden State Valkyries, 10 p.m. ET – League Pass
  • Tuesday: Indiana Fever at Phoenix Mercury, 10 p.m. ET – NBA TV
  • Wednesday: Los Angeles Sparks at Atlanta Dream, 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Thursday: Minnesota Lynx at Las Vegas Aces, 10 p.m. ET – Amazon Prime
  • Friday: Los Angeles Sparks at Atlanta Dream, 7:30 p.m. ET – ION
  • Friday: New York Liberty at Seattle Storm, 10 p.m. ET – ION

And now, CBS Sports' latest WNBA Power Rankings.

WNBA Power Rankings (Sept. 1, 2025)

1
Lynx
The Lynx officially clinched the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a win over the Sun on Saturday. They also set a franchise record for wins in a season with 31 and still have a chance to break the WNBA's all-time record of 34, which is currently held by the 2023 Aces. The Lynx have five games remaining and need to go 4-1.
2
Aces
The Aces' incredible late-season turnaround continued this week with two more victories to run their winning streak to 12 games. They've now clinched a playoff spot and have taken sole possession of the No. 2 seed. A'ja Wilson went off for 34 points in their huge win over the Dream and now has a league-best 11 30-point games this season, with six of them coming during the winning streak.
3
Dream
The Dream have won 10 of their last 13 games, but their two most recent defeats have both been to the Aces, who jumped them for second place this week and own the tiebreaker between the teams. The good news for the Dream is their final five games are all against the Sparks and Sun, with three of those contests coming at home. They have a real chance to run the table.
4
Mercury
The Mercury's victory over the Liberty on Saturday was one of their biggest results of the season and extended their winning streak to four games. Kahleah Copper scored 22 points and tied a career-high with five 3-pointers against the Liberty. After a frustrating start to the season, she's started to pick it up lately. During the Mercury's 6-1 hot streak, she's averaging 18.3 points and shooting 41.3% from 3-point range.
5
Storm
The Storm have really righted the ship here down the stretch. Their 21-point comeback to defeat the Lynx on the final game of a five-game road trip was extremely impressive. Now winners of five of their last six, they have a 2 ½-game cushion over the ninth-place Sparks. They hit a season-high 16 3-pointers against the Lynx and are shooting 40.7% from behind the arc during this hot streak.
6
Liberty
The Liberty just cannot stay healthy. Breanna Stewart came back this week after a month-long absence, but Sabrina Ionescu immediately went down with a re-aggravated foot injury. Stewart, Ionescu and Jonquel Jones have only played 13 games together this season. The Liberty are 11-2 in those contests and boast an astounding plus-20.7 net rating with their Big Three on the court. Without at least one of that trio they are 13-14.
7
Valkyries
The Valkyries' roller-coaster August wrapped up this week as they bounced back from a three-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak to climb into sixth place. Veronica Burton continues to lead the way offensively for the expansion group. She's now fourth in the league in assists at 5.8 per game and has more assists this season (227) than she had in her first three seasons combined (214).
8
Fever
Including the Fever, there are four teams battling for the final three playoff spots. The Fever played all of the other three this week and went 2-1 with wins over the Storm and Sparks and a loss to the Valkyries. While they dropped down to eighth place with those results, they have built a two-game lead on the ninth-place Sparks and control their own destiny to make the postseason. It remains unclear when, or if, Caitlin Clark will play again this season.
9
Sparks
The Sparks' heartbreaking loss to the Fever on Friday may have spelled the end of their playoff hopes. They're now two games back of the eighth-place Fever and have to play six games in 11 days to close the season, with four of them coming on the road and only one being against a lottery-bound opponent. It's looking like they dug themselves too deep of a hole with their 6-14 start.
10
Sun
Leila Lacan set her career-high with 22 points in a narrow loss to the Liberty, then matched it a few days later in a win over the Wings -- the Sun's fifth in their last eight games. Her late arrival may end up costing her a spot on the All-Rookie Team, but she's been one of the best first-year players this season. She's now fifth among rookies in scoring, second in assists and first in steals.
11
Mystics
The Mystics have now lost seven games in a row and were officially eliminated from playoff contention this week with a defeat to the Valkyries on Saturday. All things considered, the Mystics couldn't have asked for a better season. Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen were both excellent, they flipped Brittney Sykes for an extra first-round pick and they remained competitive long enough to have some meaningful games down the stretch while still falling into the lottery.
12
Sky
The Sky have lost four in a row and 15 of their last 17, but still remain a half-game ahead of the Wings in the race to avoid last place. Angel Reese continues to impress since returning from injury and had her fourth career 20-rebound game this week in a loss to the Mercury. In WNBA history only Sylvia Fowles (seven) and Tina Charles (five) have more such games. Reese remains the league's rebounding leader this season at 12.6 per game.
13
Wings
The Wings have now lost seven in a row and 12 of their last 13 to sink into last place. As their frustrating season comes to a close, rookie sensation Paige Bueckers channeled Steph Curry with a message to her teammates and fans: "I remember Steph Curry, before the Warriors became the Warriors, he tweeted out like, 'Just stick with us. We're going to figure it out.' That's the message... I just have this undying belief in it."