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2016 WNBA playoffs

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2016 WNBA Playoffs
DatesSeptember 21 - October 20, 2016
Final positions
ChampionsLos Angeles Sparks (Finals champion)
Higher seed finalistMinnesota Lynx (Coach: Cheryl Reeve)
Lower seed finalistLos Angeles Sparks (Coach: Brian Agler)
Tournament statistics
Attendance8,719 per game
← 2015
2017 →

The 2016 WNBA Playoffs is the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2016 season.

Format

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The WNBA changed its playoff format in 2016.[1] Following the WNBA regular season, eight teams in the entire league qualified for the playoffs and were seeded one to eight.

Regular season records determined the seedings of the teams. The team with the best record received seed one, the team with the next best record received seed two, and so on. The top two seeds get double byes, while the next two seeds get first-round byes.

These seedings were used to create a bracket that determines the match-ups throughout the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs consisted of two match-ups based on the seedings (5-8 and 6-7). The two winners advanced to the second round with a match-up between the number 3 seed and the lower of the advancing seeds and another match-up between the number 4 seed and the other first round winner. The winners of the first two rounds advanced to the semifinals, where the lower ranked seed of the winners faced the number 1 seed, while the other remaining team faced the number 2 seed.

The first two rounds are single elimination games played on the higher ranking seed's home court. The semifinals and WNBA Finals are best-of-five series played in a 2-2-1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage (better record) hosts games 1, 2, and 5 while their opponent hosts games 3 and 4.

Tiebreak procedures

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  1. Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams.
  2. Better winning percentage against teams within conference (for Finals only: better record against teams in # the opposite conference).
  3. Better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record at the end of the season.
  4. Better point differential in games involving tied teams.
  5. Coin toss (or draw of lots, if at least 3 teams are still tied after the first 4 tiebreakers fail).

Playoff qualifying

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Seed Team Record Clinched
Playoff berth Bye to Semis Top Record
1 Minnesota Lynx 28–6 July 25 September 6 September 12
2 Los Angeles Sparks 26–8 July 25 September 6 —
3 New York Liberty 21–13 September 7 — —
4 Chicago Sky 18–16 September 10 — —
5 Indiana Fever 17–17[a] September 10 — —
6 Atlanta Dream 17–17[a] September 10 — —
7 Seattle Storm 16–18[b] September 11 — —
8 Phoenix Mercury 16–18[b] September 14 — —
Notes
  1. ^ a b Indiana Fever clinched #5 seed over Atlanta Dream based on a 2–1 regular season series record.
  2. ^ a b Seattle Storm clinched #7 seed over Phoenix Mercury based on a 2–1 regular season series record.

Bracket

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See also: 2016 WNBA Finals
First round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 24 and 25)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 28 – Oct. 6)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Oct. 9 – 20)
1Minnesota Lynx1139682
3New York Liberty948Phoenix Mercury958667
5Indiana Fever788Phoenix Mercury1011Minnesota Lynx7679758576
8Phoenix Mercury892Los Angeles Sparks7860927977
2Los Angeles Sparks95996695
4Chicago Sky1084Chicago Sky75847075
6Atlanta Dream946Atlanta Dream98
7Seattle Storm85

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

First round

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All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

(5) Indiana Fever vs. (8) Phoenix Mercury

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September 21
6:00 PM
Phoenix Mercury 89, Indiana Fever 78
Scoring by quarter: 18-18, 17-20, 24-19, 30-21
Pts: Taurasi 20
Rebs: Griner 9
Asts: Taylor 4		 Pts: Coleman & Catchings 13
Rebs: Catchings 10
Asts: January 9
Phoenix wins series 1-0
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 6,282
Referees: Tom Nunez, Byron Jarrett, Maj Forsberg

(6) Atlanta Dream vs. (7) Seattle Storm

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September 21
8:00 PM
Seattle Storm 85, Atlanta Dream 94
Scoring by quarter: 18–19, 27–18, 21–29, 19-28
Pts: Loyd 24
Rebs: Steward & Langhorne 7
Asts: Bird 7		 Pts: McCoughtry 37
Rebs: Williams 16
Asts: McCoughtry & Clarendon 7
Atlanta wins series 1-0
Hank McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 2,553
Referees: Eric Brewton, Amy Bonner, Jeff Wooten

Second round

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All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

(3) New York Liberty vs. (8) Phoenix Mercury

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September 24
7:00 PM
Phoenix Mercury 101, New York Liberty 94
Scoring by quarter: 25-25, 27–16, 16–26, 33-27
Pts: Taurasi 30
Rebs: Griner 10
Asts: Griner 5		 Pts: Wright 21
Rebs: Charles 9
Asts: Wright & Charles 5
Phoenix wins series 1-0
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Attendance: 10,227
Referees: Michael Price, Jeff Smith, Tom Mauer, Cheryl Flores

(4) Chicago Sky vs. (6) Atlanta Dream

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September 25
12:00 PM
Atlanta Dream 98, Chicago Sky 108
Scoring by quarter: 25-37, 25–19, 20–31, 28-21
Pts: Hayes 30
Rebs: Williams 9
Asts: McCoughtry 9		 Pts: Vandersloot 21
Rebs: Breland 16
Asts: Vandersloot 13
Chicago wins series 1-0
Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 3,922
Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Sue Blauch, Kurt Walker

Semifinals

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All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (8) Phoenix Mercury

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September 28
8:00 PM
Phoenix Mercury 95, Minnesota Lynx 113
Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 15-31, 34-36, 23–22
Pts: Taurasi 25
Rebs: Taylor 5
Asts: Dupree & Harding 5		 Pts: Moore 31
Rebs: Fowles 10
Asts: Augustus & Whalen 7
Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 9,013
Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Eric Brewton, Tiffany Bird
September 30
8:00 PM
Phoenix Mercury 86, Minnesota Lynx 96
Scoring by quarter: 24–35, 23-20, 18–22, 21–19
Pts: Taurasi 31
Rebs: Harrison 9
Asts: Taylor 5		 Pts: Moore 26
Rebs: Brunson 11
Asts: Moore 5
Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 11,923
Referees: Byron Jarrett Jeff Smith, Maj Forsberg
October 2
5:00 PM
Minnesota Lynx 82, Phoenix Mercury 67
Scoring by quarter: 18–23, 21–15, 26–15, 17–14
Pts: Moore 20
Rebs: Brunson 9
Asts: Whalen 5		 Pts: Taurasi & Bonner 12
Rebs: Griner & Harrison 7
Asts: Xargay 5
Minnesota wins series 3-0
Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ
Attendance: 9,631
Referees: Sue Blauch, Kurt Walker, Michael Price

(2) Los Angeles Sparks vs. (4) Chicago Sky

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September 28
9:00 PM
Chicago Sky 75, Los Angeles Sparks 95
Scoring by quarter: 20–22, 15-30, 26-23, 14-20
Pts: Faulkner 13
Rebs: Breland 7
Asts: Vandersloot 5		 Pts: Parker 30
Rebs: Ogwumike 10
Asts: Ogwumike 6
Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, CA
Attendance: 3,894
Referees: Michael Price, Cheryl Flores, Tom Mauer
September 30
9:00 PM
Chicago Sky 84, Los Angeles Sparks 99
Scoring by quarter: 27–28, 15-29, 17-21, 25–21
Pts: Dos Santos 15
Rebs: Breland 9
Asts: Quigley 5		 Pts: Parker, Lavender 20
Rebs: Parker 12
Asts: Parker 8
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 7,855
Referees: Eric Brewton, Amy Bonner, Billy Smith
October 2
3:00 PM
Los Angeles Sparks 66, Chicago Sky 70
Scoring by quarter: 23–14, 16–16, 8–19, 19–21
Pts: Ogwumike 22
Rebs: Parker 15
Asts: Parker 6		 Pts: Vandersloot 17
Rebs: Boyette 11
Asts: Faulkner & Vandersloot 5
Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 5,018
Referees: Maj Forsberg, Tom Nunez, Jeff Wooten
October 4
8:00 PM
Los Angeles Sparks 95, Chicago Sky 75
Scoring by quarter: 23–11, 32–20, 14–28, 26–16
Pts: Parker 29
Rebs: Ogwumike 9
Asts: Gray 7		 Pts: Pondexter 19
Rebs: Boyette 10
Asts: Young 6
Los Angeles wins series 3-1
Allstate Arena Rosemont, Illinois
Attendance: 3,841
Referees: Sue Blauch, Tiffany Bird, Roy Gulbeyan

Finals

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All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (2) Los Angeles Sparks

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Main article: 2016 WNBA Finals
October 9
3:00 PM
Los Angeles Sparks 78, Minnesota Lynx 76
Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 13–18, 22–24, 22–16
Pts: Toliver & Ogwumike 19
Rebs: Parker & Ogwumike 9
Asts: Gray 4		 Pts: three tied 18
Rebs: Fowles 13
Asts: Whalen 6
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 12,113
Referees: Maj Forsberg, Jeff Wooten, Tom Nunez
October 11
8:00 PM
Los Angeles Sparks 60, Minnesota Lynx 79
Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 11–21, 21–15, 14–25
Pts: Ogwumike 14
Rebs: Ogwumike 12
Asts: three tied 3		 Pts: Moore 21
Rebs: Fowles 15
Asts: Fowles 4
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 12,832
Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Michael Price, Billy Smith
October 14
9:00 PM
Minnesota Lynx 75, Los Angeles Sparks 92
Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 23–16, 18–22, 17–22
Pts: Fowles, Brunson 14
Rebs: Moore 7
Asts: Moore 5		 Pts: Parker 24
Rebs: Parker, Ogwumike 9
Asts: Beard 7
Galen Center, Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 8,093
Referees: Tom Mauer, Eric Brewton, Amy Bonner
October 16
8:30 PM
Minnesota Lynx 85, Los Angeles Sparks 79
Scoring by quarter: 22–20, 24–20, 19–19, 20–20
Pts: Moore 31
Rebs: Fowles 13
Asts: Augustus, Moore 5		 Pts: Gray 20
Rebs: Ogwumike 8
Asts: Beard 4
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 12,885
Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Maj Forsberg, Kurt Walker
October 20
8:00 PM
Los Angeles Sparks 77, Minnesota Lynx 76
Scoring by quarter: 17–18, 11–16, 26–21, 23–21
Pts: Parker 28
Rebs: Parker, Ogwumike 12
Asts: Beard 6		 Pts: Moore 23
Rebs: Brunson, Fowles 9
Asts: Moore 11
Los Angeles wins series 3–2
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 19,423
Referees: Amy Bonner, Eric Brewton, Thomas Nunez

References

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  1. ^ "WNBA Approves Significant Changes to Regular-Season and Playoff Formats". WNBA. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
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