What Indiana Fever’s Loss to Washington Mystics Means for WNBA Playoff Picture

There is still a lot to be decided about the WNBA playoffs over the course of the rest of the regular season.

Sep 20, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) dribbles the ball while Washington Mystics center Lauren Betts (51) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The WNBA regular season is nearing a close, but there is still much to be determined when it comes to playoff seeding—as several teams are bunched together in the standings.

Two of those teams are the Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics, who played Sunday. The Mystics won the game in resounding fashion behind standout performances from Shakira Austin and Kiki Iriafen up front.

As a result, the current playoff picture shifted a bit. The Fever had a chance to tie the Atlanta Dream with a win and beating the Mystics would have given Indiana the tiebreaker over Atlanta. Instead, the Fever sit alone in fifth, one game behind the Dream, and one game ahead of the New York Liberty, Mystics, and Dallas Wings.

2 games left in the WNBA season and the standings are… wild.

WNBA playoffs are going to be cinema pic.twitter.com/nsIwDKWhEA

— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) September 20, 2026

If the season ended today, the Fever would face the Dream in the first round, with Atlanta having home-court advantage in the best-of-three series.

The Fever take on the league-leading Minnesota Lynx next, but the Lynx hold just a one-game lead over the Golden State Valkyries. The defending champion Las Vegas Aces are in third place.

And as mentioned, seeds 6-8 could still fluctuate greatly before we know who the top teams will match up with.

What Are the Tiebreakers?

Given the bunched nature of the standings, it stands to reason that some of the playoff teams could finish with the same record.

If that is the case, the tiebreakers are as follows:

Better record in head-to-head games, better winning percentage against teams that finish .500 or better at the end of the season, best point differential in head-to-head matchups, and best point differential overall—in that order.

WNBA five-way tie scenario:

DAL wins out (at PHX, at SEA)
NYL wins out (vs ATL x2)
WAS wins out (vs CON, vs CHI)
ATL loses out (at NYL x2)
IND goes 1-1 vs MIN https://t.co/Famm8oNeTy

— Drake (@DrakeKeeler) September 20, 2026

Many of the playoff teams play each other to finish the season. The Fever and Lynx play twice to close things out, while the Dream and Liberty also play each other twice. The other four playoff teams have only games against non-playoff teams to wind down the regular season.

It appears the complete playoff picture will not take shape until the final day of the regular season. The eight postseason teams are set, but the seeding and resulting matchups remain up in the air.

It bodes well for the quality of basketball WNBA fans will see when the postseason does indeed tip-off, as a look at the current snapshot makes it abundantly clear that the league is full of parity between the teams contending for the title.