2026 WNBA Playoff Semifinals: Expert Predictions for Liberty-Dream and Aces-Valkyries

The semifinals of the 2026 WNBA playoffs have arrived. Only four teams remain alive in the hunt for this season's championship, and they'll all be in action on Sunday when the semis start with a doubleheader featuring the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces against the Golden State Valkyries . The Atlanta Dream  follow versus the No. 8 seed New York Liberty , who pulled off a major upset to be here.

The rest of the best-of-five semifinals will follow the same pattern, with doubleheaders followed by off-days. Game 2 of both series will take place on Wednesday, with both Game 3s on Friday. If necessary, the Game 4s will be on Oct. 11, followed by Game 5s on Oct. 14.

Here is a closer look at Sunday's schedule:

- No. 8 New York Liberty at No. 4 Atlanta Dream, 2 p.m. ET -- ABC/ fubo - No. 3 Las Vegas Aces at No. 2 Golden State Valkyries, 4 p.m. ET -- ABC/ fubo

Before the semifinals begin, here are the teams our experts expect to advance:

No. 4 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 8 New York Liberty

Lindsay Gibbs

Jack Maloney ATL vs. NY Liberty Liberty

Gibbs: Liberty in 5

Watching the Liberty in the first-round series against the Minnesota Lynx, I felt the same way I feel when I wipe the smudge off my glasses: oh right, *this* is what things are supposed to look like! For essentially the first time, the Liberty have looked like the championship contenders they were at the start of the season.

Now, Atlanta is a much harder matchup for New York than Minnesota was, because the Dream have a lot of size and athleticism. The Dream won the season series 2-1 over the Liberty, with the final two games being fairly easy Atlanta wins to close out the regular season. But I'm hesitant to look too much into those -- in the second one, Breanna Stewart sat out and the Dream had much more to play for.

The X-factor for this series will be Leonie Fiebich. She had one point combined in those back-to-back losses to the Dream. She is going to need to hit a couple of 3-pointers a game to open things up for New York. This is going to be a really physical, fun series, but the Liberty have the best player on the court in Breanna Stewart and the championship experience to come through in the clutch.

Maloney: Liberty in 4

I picked the Liberty to win the title before the season, and against the Lynx , they finally looked like they could actually do it. Maybe they'll make me look like a sucker for believing in them again, but I can't help it. I'm back in. They've always had the talent, even without Satou Sabally , and the championship experience; against the Lynx, they had a newfound level of focus and cohesion.

The Liberty won't be able to bully the Dream, but they're still the biggest team in the league and seemed willing to lean into that advantage in the first round. If they can match the Dream's level of physicality and aggression and make this matchup about skill, they have much more of that on the offensive end. The Dream shot 33.7% on jumpers this season, the worst mark of any playoff team, and among playoff teams, their 0.925 points per possession in the halfcourt was better only than the Valkyries.

Plus, I just don't want to pick against a healthy Breanna Stewart again.

No. 2 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 3 Las Vegas Aces

Lindsay Gibbs

Jack Maloney GSV vs. LV Aces Aces

Gibbs: Aces in 4

I picked against the Aces in the first round, but I didn't feel great about it. So now, despite the fact that I still have concerns heading into the semifinals -- notably their lack of depth, in particular the absence of NaLyssa Smith -- I can't bring myself to pick against them for a second straight series.

It won't be an easy series, though. The Valkyries faced a lot more adversity against the Wings than I expected, but I actually think that will help them in the semifinals. They had to dig deep, withstand streaky scorers, make adjustments and figure out a way to win when they weren't playing their best. Golden State lost all three of its regular-season matchups against the Aces, but notably, all three games occurred in May and June, so well before Smith was out for the season. The Valkyries have grown since then.

But the thing about the Aces? They have A'ja Wilson. In the first round against the Fever, Wilson averaged 32 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2 blocks per game, shooting 64.6% from the field and 66.7% from 3-point range. That is comically incredible basketball. The Valkyries will get one of the first two games at Ballhalla, but the Aces will win it in four to get back to the Finals for the fifth time in the last seven years, and we will be treated to another showdown of Wilson and Stewart in their primes. Sign me up.

Maloney: Aces in 4

Neither of these teams was particularly convincing in the first round. The Valkyries needed a miraculous second-half comeback in Game 3 of their matchup with the Wings , while the Aces nearly blew a double-digit lead in the second half of their own Game 3 against the Fever .

This was the semifinal matchup I expected when I filled out my bracket before the playoffs, and at that time, I had the Aces. Nothing I saw in the first round convinced me to change my mind.

The Valkyries' defense can hit heights no other team can match, but their offensive swings are far too wild, as we saw in Game 3. Regularly going on extended scoring droughts is not a recipe for success against an Aces team with A'ja Wilson , Jackie Young and Chlesa Gray, three of the most consistent offensive players in the league.

And as great as the Valkyries' defense is, their thin frontcourt has no answer for Wilson, who did whatever she wanted in the regular-season series, which the Aces won, 3-0. The Vakyries' heavy 3-point rate always gives them a chance, but I'm not betting against the Aces' core and their championship mettle.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/2026-wnba-playoff-predictions-liberty-dream-aces-valkyries/)._