Longest WNBA Playoff Droughts, Active & All Time

Which WNBA teams own the longest playoff droughts in league history?

Both the Sky and Sparks failed to make the WNBA playoffs this season. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The field for the 2025 WNBA playoffs is officially set, leaving five teams—the Sparks, Wings, Sky, Mystics and Sun—out of the race for a championship this year.

Thanks to the WNBA postseason format, which sees eight teams make the playoffs each year, most teams don't have to wait long before returning to the postseason. Prior to the addition of the expansion Valkyries this year, two thirds of the league made the playoffs each season. Due to this, only four teams in the league have not made the postseason in either of the last two seasons.

While WNBA teams can typically round into playoff contention pretty quickly, some franchises have endured longer postseason droughts. Here's a look at the longest active and all-time WNBA playoff droughts.

Longest Active WNBA Playoff Drought

The Sparks own the WNBA's longest active playoff drought. They have not made the postseason since 2020, when they lost in the second round to the Sun, and have changed head coaches three times since that last appearance.

Los Angeles did take positive steps this season, rebounding from an 8–23 campaign in 2024 to finish just outside the playoffs at ninth in the league standings. After starting this year 4–11, the Sparks made a valiant effort to get back in the playoff race until the final week of the regular season. They will look to finally break through for a playoff berth next season.

Longest WNBA Playoff Droughts All-Time

The Sky and Fever are tied for the longest playoff droughts in WNBA history, with both teams going seven straight seasons without a postseason appearance at points. After Chicago was founded in 2006, it took them a while to get going as they didn't make the postseason until 2013. For the Fever, they went from 2017 to '23 without making the playoffs. They finally returned in 2024 largely thanks to a historic rookie season from Caitlin Clark.

After the Sky and Fever, both the Mercury and Lynx are second with six-year playoff droughts. Phoenix didn't make the postseason from 2001 to '06, while the Lynx didn't from 2005 to '10. On the other side, the Storm and Mystics haven't gone more than two consecutive seasons without a postseason appearance, the shortest marks for any franchise's longest playoff drought in WNBA history.

When Did Every WNBA Team Last Make the playoffs?

Team	Most Recent Playoff Appearance Before 2025 Season
Minnesota Lynx	2024
Atlanta Dream	2024
Las Vegas Aces	2024
Phoenix Mercury	2024
New York Liberty	2024
Indiana Fever	2024
Seattle Storm	2024
Los Angeles Sparks	2020
Washington Mystics	2023
Connecticut Sun	2024
Chicago Sky	2023
Dallas Wings	2023

Note: The Valkyries are not included in the above table because they are an expansion franchise.

As seen above, every team outside of the Sparks have made the postseason in at least one of the last three seasons. Even the league's worst teams this season like the Sky and Wings have made the playoffs as recently as 2023.

---

More WNBA on Sports Illustrated

feed