Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) makes a jumpshot in the final minutes of the fourth quarter against Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaun (13) and forward Monique Billings (25) at Chase Center on Sept. 6, 2025

The final day of the 2025 WNBA regular season mimicked a game of musical chairs.

Eight teams had punched their tickets to the playoffs coming in, but only three teams had locked in their playoff seeding entering Thursday's slate -- meaning a lot was at stake.

The Golden State Valkyries controlled their own destiny, needing a win over the No. 1 overall seed Minnesota Lynx to lock in the No. 7 seed. The Valkyries weren't up to the challenge, suffering a 72-53 loss at Target Center to end the season on a three-game skid. With the loss, the Valkyries drop to the No. 8 seed and, to add insult to injury, set up a first-round matchup against the Lynx, who they lost to four times in the regular season.

The Las Vegas Aces also held their future in their hands. With their win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday, which marks their 16th consecutive win of the season, the Aces moved up to the No. 2 seed to face the No. 7 Seattle Storm in the first-round. The Aces are 2-2 against the Storm.

Here's how the standings shake out after those key matchups:

WNBA first-round matchups bracket

  • No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 8 Golden State Valkyries
  • No. 2 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 7 Seattle Storm
  • No. 3 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever
  • No. 4 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 5 New York Liberty

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Valkyries fall in playoff standings, Aces rise: WNBA Playoffs bracket locked in

Reporting by Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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