The Minnesota Lynx have become the first team to clinch a WNBA playoff berth, standing at 27-7 and holding the best record in the league by four games.
At the other end, the Seattle Storm have been eliminated from playoff contention at 6-28, the only team mathematically out with the regular season still running.
How does the West look?
Minnesota lead the Western Conference on a winning percentage of .794. The Golden State Valkyries are second at 23-9 and the Las Vegas Aces third at 22-11.
The Dallas Wings sit fourth at 19-14, with a clear gap to Portland Fire at 13-19. Los Angeles and Phoenix are both on twelve wins.
| Team | Record | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Lynx | 27-7 | Western |
| Golden State Valkyries | 23-9 | Western |
| Las Vegas Aces | 22-11 | Western |
| Indiana Fever | 20-12 | Eastern |
| New York Liberty | 20-13 | Eastern |
Who leads the WNBA in 2026?
The Minnesota Lynx hold the best record in the WNBA at 27 wins and 7 losses as of 10 August 2026, and are the first team to clinch a playoff berth. The Golden State Valkyries are second in the Western Conference at 23-9 and the Las Vegas Aces third at 22-11. In the Eastern Conference the Indiana Fever lead on a winning percentage of .625 at 20-12, from the Washington Mystics and Atlanta Dream, both 19-12, and the New York Liberty at 20-13. The Seattle Storm have been eliminated from contention at 6-28. The season features two expansion franchises, the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire, which stand at 10-21 and 13-19 respectively.
The East is far tighter
Four teams are separated by less than two percentage points. Indiana lead on .625 at 20-12, from Washington and Atlanta, both 19-12 on .613, and New York at 20-13 on .606.
Any of the four could finish top. Below them the drop is steep: the Chicago Sky are 12-20 and the Connecticut Sun 8-23.
How are the expansion teams doing?
The two new franchises have found the going hard in their first season. The Portland Fire are 13-19 and the Toronto Tempo 10-21, though both sit above teams with longer histories.
Portland are ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury in the West, and Toronto above Connecticut in the East. Neither is in playoff position.
What clinching this early means
Securing a berth with a month of the regular season remaining gives Minnesota room to manage minutes for their starters, an advantage in a league where the schedule is compressed and rosters are small.
Seattle’s elimination at the same point runs the other way. At 6-28 they have the worst record in the league by six games, and the remaining fixtures now function as evaluation for next season.
The league expanded to fifteen teams this season with the addition of Toronto and Portland, the first expansion in more than fifteen years.
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Sources for this report
The Redline News Desk
The Redline News desk files and edits world reporting. Every story carries the sources it was built from, and corrections are published on the story itself.
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