When the WNBA playoffs come around every postseason and seeding takes form, there’s typically a simple story behind why each team landed where they did.
Finishing the regular season at the top of the WNBA standings once again, the Minnesota Lynx secured the No. 1 seed in the playoffs after a 33-11 season. Conversely, just making their way into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, the New York Liberty look to make a statement after a 26-18 regular season full of ups and downs.
Although they appear to be at polar opposites in terms of seeding, the Liberty know what it takes to defeat the Lynx, going 2-1 against Minnesota during the regular season and taking it to the Lynx in the opening game of the playoffs.
From this alone, we see that their seeds tell one story, but their seasons tell another.
A Start, a Slide and a Surge
If there was one word to describe the Liberty’s regular season, it would be unpredictable.
Starting the season with a rocky 3-4 start of the season without Sabrina Ionescu, New York turned things around by winning eight straight games that included an undefeated run in the Commissioner’s Cup. This Commissioner’s Cup run was historic as New York took a defining 93-85 win over the Las Vegas Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship led by elite efforts from Stewart and Ionescu with north of 25 points each, making the Liberty the first team in WNBA history to win multiple Commissioner’s Cup Championships.
Then came the slide.
In the midst of its success in the Commissioner’s Cup, New York went 2-8 following its eight-game winning streak, sending the Liberty back down the league standings and leaving their eventual playoff position far from certain.
However, New York found its groove again just before the All-Star break, winning 13 of 17 games and putting it back into the conversation for a higher seed in the standings. Instead, consecutive losses to the Atlanta Dream to close the regular season left the Liberty with a record of 26-18 and locked into the No. 8 seed.
Through all of those swings, Stewart remained one of New York’s greatest constants. She averaged 20.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game during the regular season. The ability of Stewart to consistently impact the game on both ends of the floor gave New York a reliable presence through each stretch of its season.
Ultimately, the Liberty’s final seed doesn’t exactly reflect how the season looked at every point along the way.
A Season at the Summit
In comparison to New York’s regular season, Minnesota is quite the opposite. Although both teams sustained extended absences from their star players—in Minnesota’s case, with Napheesa Collier—the Lynx had one new addition that made all the difference in a season that began with uncertainty: Olivia Miles.
The No. 2 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, Miles was an immediate game changer for the Lynx amid what remained of Collier’s recovery. An instant superstar making her way into MVP conversations early, Miles averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game, all while coming just short of 50-40-90 shooting.
Once Collier returned, the Lynx had to find a new rhythm with two players capable of leading Minnesota on both ends in very different ways. For Miles, that meant learning how to play alongside one of the league’s best in Collier while continuing to grow into her own role as a rookie. From the elevated role that Miles took on in just her rookie season and major contributions from Kayla McBride, Natasha Howard, and Courtney Williams all season long, Minnesota eventually secured the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season after finishing 33-11.
Contrary to what we saw from the Liberty in the regular season, consistency has been one of the biggest strengths for the Lynx. In times when New York would experience a losing streak followed by a winning streak, Minnesota spent most of their time at the top, with just a few hiccups throughout the season. That said, the Lynx lost four of their final six regular season games, raising concerns as to how far they can go in the postseason.
Despite the few late-season struggles, Minnesota still finished with the league’s best record and secured home-court advantage for the first round.
Overall, the difference between the Lynx and the Liberty is not that one faced adversity and the other did not. Instead, it is how often that adversity appeared throughout the season. New York experienced its highs and lows throughout the entire regular season, while Minnesota spent most of its season at the top before encountering some challenges down the stretch.
And now, those two very different journeys have led them to the same place.
Why No. 1 vs. No. 8 Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story
On paper, a seven-seed difference separates these two teams, but their 2-1 regular season series and the familiarity between these two teams show that the gap may not be as simple as the standings suggest. New York has already proven it can challenge Minnesota with a series-changing win in Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round series, while the Lynx are trying to fight back and prove why they earned the No. 1 seed.
Both teams also have the pieces to make a run beyond the first round, making this series an important first test of what they can accomplish in the postseason.
The seeds may tell one story, but the seasons tell another. Now, those two paths meet, and only one can advance.
Can Stewart and the Liberty push Miles, Collier, and the Lynx to their limits and upset the No. 1 seed in the first round? We’re about to find out in the next chapter of the growing rivalry between New York and Minnesota.
