3 WNBA teams that could get shaken up if they miss the playoffs

Winning is what it’s all about, and to win, you need to make the WNBA playoffs. And with further league expansion on the horizon and a potential CBA dispute on the line, everything feels higher stakes this season.

Bearing that in mind, let’s take a close look at three teams that could face serious consequences if they fall short of making the postseason.

After winning back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023, the Las Vegas Aces were favorites to win three in a row in 2024. A combination of fatigue and increased competition from other teams saw the Aces eliminated in the semifinals last season, but things did not seem too bad. Going into the 2025 season, the Aces were still projected to be a top team, a lock for the playoffs, and in contention to win their third title in four seasons. Yet, nothing has gone to plan for Vegas so far this year.

They are lingering at the bottom of the playoff race, struggling to maintain an even record and battling for every win they do get. 3x MVP A’ja Wilson is playing phenomenally, of course, but their other offensive options can’t get into scoring rhythm, and their defense lacks effort most nights.

Their off year isn’t just an off year, though. Due to trades already made, Las Vegas does not own its first-round draft picks for 2026 or 2027. So, if they fail to make the playoffs, they will not even be rewarded with a lottery pick in 2026. If they end up blowing up their team and still not doing well next season, they wouldn’t have their pick the following year, either. Safe to say this scenario was not expected, and could lead to more seismic changes than previously expected in the desert.

Chicago has been in a rough patch after winning their championship in 2021. It seemed like things were heading back in the right direction after they drafted both Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in 2024, and many thought they were on the path to a full rebuild. They were awarded the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft this year and then... traded it away to Washington. In return, they got Ariel Atkins, a great player, yet the move was not the type of win-now push a “rebuilding” team would usually make. It burned a little more when that No. 3 pick turned into Sonia Citron, who has played so well for the Mystics that she took a trip to the All-Star Game as a Rookie.

The Sky have not been stacking wins this season either. At the time of the trade for Atkins, Sky front office members were confident in this team’s ability to be in the playoffs. A few weeks into the season, Courtney Vandersloot tore her ACL, and they now sit in the lottery. Yet, they don’t even own their first-round pick for next season, either. That was traded away to Minnesota, meaning that the Sky look like they are headed for the lottery this season, but will not even have the chance to decide if they want to keep or trade the pick.

The Indiana Fever’s situation isn’t dire in the sense that the future of their team depends on them making the playoffs. Yet, it would be a little disappointing to have them miss the playoffs entirely, given how much they have rebuilt in the past few years. Yet, as Caitlin Clark continues to be out indefinitely with her third injury in the regular season alone, the hopes for the Fever’s success this season are not as solid as they once were.

Clark is a player who thrives in high-pressure games, and her runs in the NCAA March Madness tournaments are such a huge part of her history. Seeing her make a deep playoff run is inevitable, and it’s going to be fun. Sure, there will be disappointment if it doesn’t happen this season, but the hope surely is that she can heal up in time AND her Fever team can stay afloat while she is out to stay in a playoff position. While the repercussions of the Fever missing the playoffs would be more emotional than transactional (like the Aces and Sky), it’s still worth noting that it would qualify as a sad ending to an initially promising season.

As July leads into August, it’s go time for all three of these teams as we head into the final third of the 2025 regular season.