Indiana Fever are one win -- or one Los Angeles loss -- from clinching WNBA playoff berth
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The Indiana Fever are one win (or Los Angeles Sparks loss) from clinching a berth in the WNBA playoffs after Friday's 97-77 victory over the Chicago Sky.
Los Angeles lost to Atlanta again, 104-85, dropping the Stars to 19-22 and giving the Fever a magic number of 1. New York and Seattle are playing at 10 p.m. Friday in a game that will also have an impact on the Fever's playoff positioning.
WNBA standings
Here are the relevant teams in the standings:
5. New York (24-17): Friday at Seattle, Tuesday vs. Washington (16-26), Sept. 11 at Chicago (9-31)
6. Golden State (23-18): Saturday vs. Minnesota (32-9), Tuesday at Seattle, Sept. 11 at Minnesota
7. Indiana (22-20): Sunday at Washington, Tuesday vs. Minnesota
8. Seattle (22-20): Friday vs. New York, Tuesday vs. Golden State
9. Los Angeles (19-22): Sunday vs. Dallas, Tuesday at Phoenix (27-14), Sept. 11 vs. Las Vegas (27-14)
Here are all the possible Fever playoff scenarios at the moment:
How the Indiana Fever can be the fifth seed in the WNBA playoffs
If New York, Indiana and Seattle tie with 24 wins, the Fever win the head-to-head tiebreaker and get the fifth seed. Indiana would be 4-3, New York 3-3 and Seattle 3-3. New York will need to lose out, and Indiana and Seattle win out for this to happen. Indiana loses the head-to-head tiebreaker with New York.
How the Indiana Fever can be the sixth seed in the WNBA playoffs
- Finish with more wins than Seattle, Golden State and Los Angeles
- Tie with only Seattle and finish with more wins than Golden State and Los Angeles
- The Fever lose any tiebreakers involving Golden State and Los Angeles
How the Indiana Fever can be the seventh seed in the WNBA playoffs
- If the Fever win out, they can do no worse than seventh because they would have more wins than Los Angeles and tie with Seattle, winning the tiebreaker.
- Indiana will finish seventh if only two of the following happens: win more games than Los Angeles, win more games than Golden State, win at least the same number of games as Seattle.
How the Indiana Fever can be the eighth seed in the WNBA playoffs
Indiana will finish eighth if only one of the following happens: win more games than Los Angeles, win more games than Golden State, win at least the same number of games as Seattle.
How can the Indiana Fever miss the WNBA playoffs?
Have the same or worse record as Los Angeles and a worse record than Seattle.
What are the Fever's odds of making the WNBA playoffs?
According to the ESPN WNBA Basketball Power Index 2025, the Fever had a 92.2% chance of making the playoffs with Los Angeles at 11.1% prior to Friday's games.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever playoffs 2025: One win from clinching a berth
