The final month of the WNBA regular season has arrived, which means it’s officially time for the playoff push. Each team has fewer than 12 games remaining, and 10 of the league’s 13 teams are within reach of a playoff spot. And while the Minnesota Lynx — who officially clinched a playoff spot Tuesday — have opened up a huge lead in the race for the No. 1 seed, every other seed remains up for grabs. 

There were no games on Monday, but the action will return in a serious way Tuesday night with a huge five-game slate. All of the contests, including another playoff rematch between the Lynx and New York Liberty, have playoff implications. 

WNBA Power Rankings: A’ja Wilson, Jewell Loyd fueling Aces’ late-season turnaround

Jack Maloney

WNBA Power Rankings: A'ja Wilson, Jewell Loyd fueling Aces' late-season turnaround

As a reminder, the top eight teams make the playoffs, regardless of conference standings. From there, they are placed into a standard eight-team bracket. The first round of the playoffs is a best-of-three, while the semifinals are a best-of-five and the Finals, as of this season, are a best-of-seven. 

The regular season will conclude on Sept. 11 and the playoffs begin on Sept. 14. The last possible Finals date is Oct. 19. 

StandingsMinnesota Lynx (28-5) — Clinched playoff berthAtlanta Dream (22-12)New York Liberty (21-13)Phoenix Mercury (20-13)Las Vegas Aces (21-14)Indiana Fever (19-16)Golden State Valkyries (18-16)Seattle Storm (17-18)Los Angeles Sparks (16-18)Washington Mystics (16-18)Dallas Wings (9-26)Chicago Sky (8-25)Connecticut Sun (6-27)

Note: Two-team ties are decided first by head-to-head record and then, if necessary, better record against .500+ teams. Ties between more than two teams are determined by combined head-to-head record against the other teams. 

Lynx running away with No. 1 seed

The Lynx pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback Saturday to beat the Liberty for the third time this season. Once again, they did so without Napheesa Collier. The MVP frontrunner went down with a sprained ankle on Aug. 2 and was expected to miss at least two weeks. The Lynx’s big lead in the race for the No. 1 seed will allow them to give Collier all the time she needs to recover. They’ve now won six games in a row and have a 6½-game lead over the second-place Dream.   

Aces join the battle for No. 2 2. Atlanta Dream (22-12)3. New York Liberty (21-13)4. Phoenix Mercury (20-13)5. Las Vegas Aces (21-14)

The Aces’ remarkable turnaround continued Sunday with their seventh consecutive win, and they are now firmly in the battle for the No. 2 seed. The Dream and Mercury both got big wins themselves Sunday, while the Liberty lost to the Lynx on Saturday to fall down to third. The reigning champs desperately need Breanna Stewart back. 

Fever use historic comeback to jump back into sixth6. Indiana Fever (19-16)7. Golden State Valkyries (18-16)

The Fever looked like they would lose their third in a row to a lottery-bound opponent on Sunday until they pulled off a 21-point comeback — the largest in franchise history — to beat the Sun in overtime. Meanwhile, the Valkyries’ four-game winning streak was snapped by the Dream. Those two results meant the Fever jumped back into sixth. 

Battle for final spot gets more interesting8. Seattle Storm (17-18)9. Los Angeles Sparks (16-18)10. Washington Mystics (16-18)

The Storm lost another nail-biter Sunday and have now dropped seven of their last eight games. The Mystics, meanwhile, have suddenly won three of their last four after beating the Sparks on Sunday. All of a sudden, just ½ a game separates these three teams in the battle for the final playoff spot. 

Lottery bound11. Dallas Wings (9-26)12. Chicago Sky (8-25)13. Connecticut Sun (6-27)

This season has been a disaster for all three of these teams. The Sky have been beset by injuries, the Wings’ offseason moves didn’t pan out and the Sun were never going to be good after their offseason departures. All of them are lottery bound, but only the Wings control their own pick. 

The Sky owe their first to the Lynx, while the Sun owe the Sky swap rights to their first rounder. The Sky also own Mercury’s first rounder, so the Sky will get the more favorable of the Sun/Mercury picks, while the Sun will get the least favorable of those selections.Â