It's easy to forget that we are a relatively young generation, WNBA That's right: As the final stretch of the 28th season approaches, the playoffs have officially begun, but saying it out loud doesn't really sound like anything new.
But compare that to other leagues across the U.S. and it quickly becomes clear: the NFL's 28th season was in 1947. Baseball history is a bit more complicated, but the NL and AL have been playing together since 1903, meaning the 28th season predates World War II.
Perhaps the most direct comparison, the NBA, entered its 28th season in 1973-74, the year blocks and steals became official statistics and games were broadcast on tape. All of this is important context to keep in mind when looking at the WNBA, which is still growing and figuring things out along the way.
The aforementioned start of the postseason will bring awareness to the WNBA's rapidly growing audience that the playoff format needs to be revamped.
Currently, all first round series are best of 3. Because there have been no charter flights to date, the first two games of the series will be played in the higher seed's arena. If a third game is needed, it will travel to the lower seed's arena and be played as a win-or-lose game.
The WNBA has tried imperfect solutions for years, with the current format starting with the 2022 season. From 2016 to 2021, a much more complicated system saw teams earn byes through the semifinals and one-off games in the early stages of the playoffs.
But the crux of the issue is that without charter flights, travel would be difficult, and at least one franchise would be at a disadvantage if the league were to adopt a best-of-three format in the first round.
This latest change has given the WNBA the opportunity for higher seeds to pull off quick sweeps and put lower-ranked teams at a big disadvantage. In that regard, higher seeds are now 8-0 since the change in 2022. All four top seeds won their first games on Sunday.
However, at the start of the 2024 season, the league finally agreed to provide all teams with charter flights to all games, a decision that came too late and likely would not have allowed the postseason format to be changed, at least not for the 2024 playoffs.
But in this case, one change should spur another: With charter flights now commonplace, the playoff format needs to change.
Indiana Fever coach Christy Sides spoke about the topic before Sunday's away game against the Connecticut Sun.
“I think we're evolving and changing,” Sides said. “I think there's some changes. Last time I was in this position, we were a one-game losing team. In this league, on any given night, you could beat anyone. It's a lot of luck. But, yeah, I agree. Now we have charter flights. We can go back and forth. I'm sure it's something they'll talk about.”
The Fever have, needless to say, been one of the stories of the season, as Caitlin Clark led them back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Additionally, the Fever averaged 17,035 fans per game and became the first franchise to ever have a season total attendance of over 300,000.
But as things stand, it's unlikely those fans will be attending playoff games.
A more common sense approach would be for the league to change the playoff format again. The easiest change would be to go to a 1-1-1 format, with the higher seed playing Games 1 and 3 at home if necessary. This would give the lower seed a chance to play in the consolation round in front of their home fans, creating a great atmosphere throughout the league.
Some of the best playoff moments are when the home crowd erupts in excitement over a big play, a buzzer-beater or a game-winning basket. Right now, half of the WNBA teams have not seen that happen in more than two years.
The WNBA is growing and evolving, which is great for the future, but one of the next changes this offseason will likely be a closer look at the postseason format.
