Valkyries Postseason Picture: Magic Number to Clinch is 1

Kalyb Champion

The Golden State Valkyries’ magic number to clinch a spot in the 2026 WNBA playoffs is down to one game, meaning they will confirm their place in the postseason with a Valkyries win, or a loss by the Portland Fire. The Fire face the Storm in Seattle on Friday and the Mercury in Phoenix on Sunday, all before the Valkyries’ next matchup against the Dallas Wings at Chase Center on Monday. Golden State is currently in second place in the WNBA standings, having won five straight games and only trails the first-place Minnesota Lynx by three games. They have surpassed their win total from their historic inaugural season and are currently at 24 wins. Two teams have already clinched their spot in the 2026 WNBA playoffs, the Minnesota Lynx and the Las Vegas Aces.

Standings Watch:

  1. Minnesota Lynx 28-7 (Valkyries 3.0 games behind)
  2. Golden State Valkyries (24-9)
  3. Las Vegas Aces 24-11 (Valkyries 1.5 games ahead)
  4. Atlanta Dream 21-12 (Valkyries 3.0 games ahead)
  5. Indiana Fever 21-12 (Valkyries 3.0 games ahead)


Notable Season Series Standings:
Valkyries TRAIL season series vs. Minnesota Lynx 0-2 (2 games remaining)
Valkyries LOST season series vs. Las Vegas Aces 0-3 (0 games remaining)
Valkyries WON season series vs. Indiana Fever 2-1 (0 games remaining)

WNBA Tiebreaker scenarios:

IF TWO TEAMS FINISH WITH THE SAME RECORD

  1. Whichever team has the better head-to-head win percentage finishes higher.
  2. Whichever team has a better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record gets the edge.
  3. If the teams are still tied after tiebreakers 1 and 2, whichever team has a better point differential in head-to-head games gets the edge.
  4. If the teams are still tied after tiebreakers 1-3, whichever team has a better total point differential for the regular season gets the edge.

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