As a result, all eight playoff teams, seeded according to overall regular season record regardless of conference (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5), will begin postseason play in the first round.
The Liberty entered the post-season as the top overall seed after finishing two games ahead of the Minnesota Lynx during the regular season.
The Dream mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, winning 20–14, but they were too far behind and the Liberty won game one by fourteen points.
The Liberty had four players score in double figures, and were led by Leonie Fiebich with twenty-one points.
Breanna Stewart was not far behind with twenty, Sabrina Ionescu added seventeen, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored ten.
The Dream only had two players in double figures, led by Rhyne Howard with fourteen, and Tina Charles added twelve.
The Liberty came out strong after the break and won the third quarter 22–16 to take a two-point lead into the final frame.
Jonquel Jones added twenty points and Breanna Stewart rounded out the double-digit scorers with thirteen.
Minnesota finished two games out of first place during the regular season, and defeated eventual first seed New York on September 15.
Kayla McBride scored twenty points, Bridget Carleton added twelve, and Myisha Hines-Allen finished with ten from the bench.
Phoenix also had four players score in double digits and were led by Natasha Cloud with thirty-three points.
Diana Taurasi scored twenty-one, Kahleah Copper added sixteen, and Brittney Griner had ten points.
However, their run did not last long, as the Lynx came back to win quarter two 28–22 and take a two point lead into halftime.
However, the most lopsided quarter was the fourth, which Connecticut won 25–12 to win Game One by a twenty-four point margin.
DeWanna Bonner was not far behind with twenty-two points, DiJonai Carrington scored fourteen, and ended with twelve.
The Fever also had four players score in double digits and were led by Kelsey Mitchell with twenty-one points.
Thomas added ten rebound and thirteen assists to record her fourth playoff triple-double.
Scoring picked up slightly in the second quarter and the Sun won the second frame 24–20, and took a seven-point lead into halftime.
Facing elimination and a nine-point defect, the Fever won the final frame, but only 29–26, which was not enough to win the game.
The final first round series saw the fourth-seed Las Vegas Aces play the fifth-seed Seattle Storm.
Las Vegas had four players score in double figures, led by A'ja Wilson with twenty-one points.
Seattle also had four players score in double figures and were led by Skylar Diggins-Smith with sixteen points.
The lower scoring continued after the half, with the Storm winning the third quarter 19–17 and cutting the overall lead to five points.
Their comeback stalled in the low-scoring fourth quarter, where the Liberty prevailed 16–15 and took Game one by ten points.
The Liberty had three players finish in double figures, and were led by Breanna Stewart with thirty-four points.
The Liberty had four players score in double figures and were led by Sabrina Ionescu with twenty-four points.
The Aces took a slight three-point lead into halftime and the game appeared poised on a knife's edge.
The Liberty only had three players score in double figures, and were led by Breanna Stewart with nineteen points.
The third quarter was a low scoring affair with the Aces coming out on top 13–12 and headed into the fourth trailing by two with their season on the line.
The Sun returned from the half and upped their defensive game, only allowing thirteen points in the third quarter, and won 25–13.