Playoff positioning headlines the final month of WNBA regular-season action

The GIST: All-Star Weekend? Check. Trade deadline? Check. Now it’s full steam ahead to the most important item on the WNBA calendar: the playoffs. With exactly one month left of the regular season, postseason positioning is all that matters. Now the fun really begins.

⚙️ How it works: Most pro sports leagues decide playoff berths by way of divisional or conference standings, but the W does things a little differently: Eight of the league’s 13 teams will qualify for the three-round postseason regardless of conference. And things almost always come down to the wire.

👀 Crowded standings have 10 teams vying for eight spots: Though technically all 13 teams are still in contention for the playoffs, in reality, it’s a tightly-contested 10-horse race. It’s led by last year’s runners-up, the league-best Minnesota Lynx, who have been virtually untouchable this season, especially when now-injured MVP frontrunner Napheesa Collier is in the lineup.

• From there, it’s utter chaos, ranging from the 20-win defending champ NY Liberty in second to the 14-win Washington Mystics in 10th. Outside of Minny, all nine teams are one win away from matching the team ahead of them. Simply too close to call.

• Adding further intrigue, the top four spots, currently held by the Lynx, Liberty, Atlanta Dream, and Phoenix Mercury, respectively, are extra coveted: They provide home court advantage in the first round. The stakes couldn’t be higher.