The WNBA Playoffs' fateful eighth meets its fantastic fourth with a trip to the Finals on the line.
The New York Liberty's first round showing in the 2026 WNBA Playoffs was a dream come true. Now, they can't let the Dream come true if they're to reach the Finals for the third time in four seasons.
A pair of sweepers are set to do battle on the WNBA's semifinal stage, as the Liberty faces the Atlanta Dream in a battle of Eastern Conference powers. The winner of this series, which gets underway on Sunday afternoon in the Peach State, will take on the victor of a Western war between Golden State and Las Vegas on the other side of the bracket in the second-ever best-of-seven Finals.
What To Know
Who: (4) Atlanta Dream (30-14) vs. (8) New York Liberty (26-18)
What: 2026 WNBA Playoffs, Semifinal Round (best-of-five)
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA/Barclays Center, New York, NY
Schedule
| Date | Game | Time (ET), TV |
| Friday, October 2 | Game 1 (@ Atlanta) | 2 p.m., ABC |
| Monday, October 5 | Game 2 (@ Atlanta) | 7:30 p.m., ESPN |
| Friday, October 9 | Game 3 (@ New York) | 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 |
| Sunday, October 11 | Game 4 (@ New York) (If Necessary) | 2 or 4 p.m., ABC |
| Wednesday, October 14 | Game 5 (@ Atlanta) (If Necessary) | 7:30 or 8 p.m., ESPN |
How We Got Here
A Dreamy Drought is Over
This is new ground for this iteration of Dream basketball: the Allisha Gray/Rhyne Howard era finally erased one of the most glaring items on its to-do list by earning the franchise's first form of postseason advancement since 2016 with a 2-0 series victory over the Washington Mystics.
Wire-to-wire dominance so nice, we had to see it twice ✌️
Experience our series sweep over Washington again, then grab a ticket to meet us at State Farm Arena for Game 1 of the SEMIFINALS 🅰️: https://t.co/2NbzPT715o https://t.co/3V6o0X5WqX
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 3, 2026
The tenured Georgians lived up to their star billings in the speedy set, which was won by a total margin of 33 points: Howard had 26 points in last weekend's victorious opener at State Farm Arena (won by a 92-77 final) while Gray put in 22 to seal the deal on Wednesday, which saw the Dream pull away to form a 93-75 margin.
Atlanta made quick work of the young Mystics to the tune of Jordin Canada dishing out a combined 21 assists and Howard taking away seven steals. The respective averages of 10.5 and 3.5 led all first-round playoff participants. Atlanta handled business on both sides of the ball, as the 41 turnovers they forced were the most taken in a two-game opening round set since the WNBA switched to its current playoff format in 2022.
An Eight With Destiny
The Liberty likewise created a postseason landmark in its postseason prologue, summarily sweeping the top-ranked Minnesota Lynx. With the vanquishing of its 2024 Finals foe, New York became the first eighth seed to defeat a No. 1 under the current format.
Locked in for Round 2, Game 1 🫡
WE ALL WE GOT, WE ALL WE NEED 🗣️ https://t.co/EZNhBq51bw
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) October 3, 2026
The Stew York Groove remains one of the most viral dances in Brooklyn, as Breanna Stewart set the tone with a 34-point, 12-rebound, six-assist showing in the debut at Target Center. It was the first box score of its kind in WNBA playoff history, one that Leonie Fiebich was more than happy to complement with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. New York won the game 91-75 after outscoring Minnesota by 20 in the second half.
Stewart then played all 40 minutes of the victorious closer on Atlantic Avenue, an 87-71 finale that never placed the Liberty on the wrong end of the scoreboard. The three-time champion shared the Game 2 scoring lead with Jonquel Jones: the 2024 WNBA Finals MVP earned the 22nd double-double of her WNBA playoff career (21 points, 13 rebounds), tying her with Sylvia Fowles for the fourth-most all-time.
Recent History
This will be the third playoff series between the Dream and Liberty, one that serves as a rubber match: an Atlanta team led by Angel McCoughtry helped secure a 2-0 sweep in the 2010 conference finals while New York took belated revenge in 2024's opening round with a similar two-game takedown en route to the championship.
More recently, Atlanta won twice in the three-game regular season series, one that concluded with a late couple at Barclays Center during the final hours of the tour. The Liberty took a 104-90 decision on June 11 in Atlanta thanks in part to dueling 19-point efforts from Stewart and the now-injured Satou Sabally.
Canada and in-season newcomer DeWanna Bonner led the late revenge tour with a combined 36 on Sept. 21 (a 95-84 Dream victory) before Gray had 24 in a rematch two nights later. The 18-point win in the final game helped Atlanta lock up the last seed that guarantees homecourt advantage in the opening playoff round. Stewart did not play in the latter game, which saw Atlanta take full control with a 23-7 advantage in the second period.
Atlantan to Watch: Angel Reese
The Dream's long-sought bracket advancement had to best most euphoric for Gray and Howard but it also featured the long-awaited maiden postseason voyage of Reese.
The W's reigning rebounding queen pulled in 19 over the two games against the Mystics, which partly masked a 4-of-15 shooting showing in Game 1. Reese recovered well enough to go 4-of-8 in Game 2 and posted the best net rating among Dream participants thanks to a sterling defensive performance headlined by three rejections. Much like how Atlanta was the prefect place for Reese to settle upon once the Chicago Sky put her on the trade block, lengthy New York is the ideal opponent to stifle her skillset:
Featuring the talents of post threats like Jones, Stewart, and Han Xu (questionable for Game 1 due to an illness), the Liberty was the only team to win the rebounding battle against the Dream three times this season and they flipped the script in the Minnesota series by winning the points in the paint battle (outscoring Minnesota by 24 over the final six periods in that department). Reese passed her first test against up-and-comer Kiki Iriafen but the Liberty boast multiple experienced threats that could provide at least some rare sweating on the over bets centered on her board output.
New Yorker to Watch: Sabrina Ionescu
It has literally been a painful year for Ionescu, as a preseason injury was the prelude to the tough shooting season since her sophomore tour (and unofficial rookie year considering how brief her debut was). Despite such struggles, Ionescu in the clutch has continued to stand as a new metropolitan tradition.
Ionescu began to get her groove back in the Minnesota series: the resurrection began quietly enough with 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting in Game 1, but she tied with Stewart for a game-best six assists. A seven-field goal showing, including 4-of-10 from three, energized the already raucous Brooklyn crowd and granted Ionescu some of her trademark swagger back. It was her best success rate since an Aug. 11 loss to Indiana but Ionescu's defense was likewise strong: among players that averaged 20 minutes in the debut round, Ionescu placed ninth in rating as part of the charge that kept a Minnesota backcourt attack led by Olivia Miles in check.
The task gets no easier in part two, as Ionescu will do backcourt battle with Canada, the potential hypothetical MVP of all first round showcases. But, as head coach Chris DeMarco noted amidst her recent struggles, Ionescu almost always carries a vital part of the Liberty's success on her shoulders: the Liberty is 11-6 when she hits at least five from the field this season and that rate improves to 7-2 when she sinks at least three threes. Defensively, they're a perfect 8-0 when her defensive rating is at double digits.
They Said It
"According to my new film session, they're first in wing steals. Basically, they're jumping the passing lanes and and really trying to get it off that first action. So we just need to make sure that we're smarter with our push-aheads. If we see somebody kind of creeping up or whatever the case may be, maybe it's a back door, maybe it's a dribble and swinging through the middle type of situation. Obviously, they have active guards, and really they're trying to get the ball back because they want to play in transition more ... [Against Minnesota], I think that we were locked in on the game plan. I think that we we went through it yesterday just to to kind of close that page. We we did our job. We wanted to contain [Olivia] Miles and and know where [Kayla] McBride was at all times and and really play fast. I'm proud of the group, that we did that."—Stewart on what she learned from recent film study
Prediction
Both combatants in this series trod intriguing ground: the Dream proved it could finally get over the first round hump after seemingly countless broken hearts while the Liberty re-gained its swagger after championship aspirations gave way to rollercoaster campaign. It's safe to say that both can officially look on this season with at least a quantum of pride ... though they're both aware that they have the firepower to do more.
While each team is well-stocked from top-to-bottom, setting the stage for capable x-factors, it feels like this series will come down to which headliners go the extra level. What New York has accomplished in this postseason has been an impressive recovery considering their struggles in establishing lasting momentum but Atlanta's lasting consistency, particularly the multi-faceted skillset of the speedy Canada and a determined Reese's recent surge, makes them a tough team to beat.
Dream in 5
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
