WNBA Announces Playoff Development That Impacts Indiana Fever

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 6:33 PM ET

The Indiana Fever took a big step toward clinching a playoff berth on Friday after they secured a hard-fought road win at Crypto.com Arena against the Los Angeles Sparks, 76-75.

The Fever inched even closer to the postseason on Saturday without even playing a game. This is after the Washington Mystics suffered a 99-62 blowout loss to the Golden State Valkyries, thereby officially eliminating Washington from playoff contention.

Mystics Out, Fever Rise

Fever reporter Tony East explained how this development significantly impacts Indiana’s playoff hopes.

“This win gives the Mystics 24 losses, meaning they A) can't catch the Fever in the standings and B) won't make the playoffs. The Fever's range for their final spot in the standings is now 2-9,” East posted on X.

The Mystics fell to 16-24 on the season following Saturday’s lopsided loss. With four games remaining in their schedule, including one against the Fever, Washington can no longer catch Indiana’s record, which currently stands at 21-18.

Moreover, the Mystics are now the fourth team that has been eliminated from the playoffs, joining the Connecticut Sun, Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings.

This only means that there are now just nine teams competing for eight playoff spots in the league. And, since the Minnesota Lynx, Las Vegas Aces and Atlanta Dream have all booked their respective places in the postseason, that leaves six teams contending for the five remaining playoff seeds.

After Friday’s win, the Fever remain sixth in the WNBA. They increased their lead over the ninth-placed Sparks to three games. At the moment, L.A. is the only team outside the Top 8 that still has a shot of securing a playoff berth.

Fever Can Finish Second, Could Fall Out at Ninth

As East pointed out in his post, Saturday’s development involving the Mystics means that the lowest the Fever can finish this season is ninth. Indiana, however, will want to avoid that at all costs because not qualifying for the playoffs in Caitlin Clark’s sophomore season — even though she’s been limited to just 13 games this year due to multiple injuries — could still be considered disastrous for the Fever.

At the same time, however, Indiana can still finish as high as second place if it wins its remaining five games. The 31-8 Lynx have secured the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, but at this point, everything else is up for grabs.

Realistically speaking, a second-place finish for the Fever seems far-fetched. However, they could aim for a top-four finish to secure home-court advantage in the postseason.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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