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Former NBA Star Isaiah Thomas Calls For WNBA To Change Playoff Format
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- Former NBA Star Isaiah Thomas Calls For WNBA To Change Playoff Format
Former All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas would like to see the WNBA make a drastic change to its format for the first round of the playoffs.
As of this moment, the first round of the WNBA playoffs features a 1-1-1 format where the higher seed gets to host two home games. It's not until the WNBA semifinals that it shifts to a best-of-five series. The WNBA Finals, meanwhile, is a best-of-seven series just like the NBA.
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If Thomas was in charge of the WNBA, he'd make the first round a best-of-five series.
"We gotta go 5 game series in the first rd," Thomas posted on social media Wednesday night.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, during the game two of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Gainbrigde Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
This isn't an unpopular take from Thomas. In fact, there are plenty of fans begging the WNBA to change its format for the first round of the playoffs.
"WNBA gotta go to best of 5 format in the first round man," one fan wrote on X.
"I just wanna say this and don't really care who gets offended but the WNBA is ran by some absolute nimrods for still having a Best of 3 playoff series format with all these superstars in the W now," another fan said.
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Looking at the remaining playoff schedule.
The first round of the WNBA playoffs will resume this Thursday night when the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces square off. The winner of this game will book a spot in the semifinals and face either the Golden State Valkyries or Dallas Wings .
As for the other side of the bracket, the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty will begin their second-round series on Sunday.
The Dream are currently the odds-on favorites to win the WNBA Finals.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Oct 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
