Don’t miss the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Don’t miss the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Eight teams remain alive in the hunt for the most coveted title in women’s basketball.
Fans of the W, it is time to lock in. The 2025 WNBA Playoffs will tip off on Sunday, Sept. 14, with tons of excitement guaranteed over the next month of postseason action. Eight teams are in the hunt to take home the title, including the defending champion New York Liberty, top overall seed the Minnesota Lynx, and more. The tournament will get underway at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 14 and will run through Friday, Oct. 17, depending on how long the Championship Series goes. The playoffs will air across the ESPN family of networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC. If you are looking for a live TV streaming service with the best mix of channels and price, we recommend streaming the WNBA postseason with a subscription to Sling TV.
How to watch the 2025 WNBA Playoffs
- When: Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025 through Friday, Oct. 17, 2025
- TV: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2
- Stream: Watch with a subscription to Sling TV and ESPN Unlimited
- From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.
Everything you need to know to stream 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Why we recommend Sling TV to watch 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Sling TV has long been one of our top choices for watching sports, thanks to its everyday low price and mix of channels — especially in larger markets. At just $46 per month, you can sign up for either the Sling Orange or Blue base plans, depending on which channel lineup makes the most sense for your viewing needs. In this case, Sling Orange would be your best bet to watch the 2025 WNBA Playoffs, since it is airing on the ESPN family of networks. Of course, you could always get Sling Orange and Sling Blue for just $61 monthly and have access to all of the streamer’s base package channels.
However, customers who don’t need a full month of Sling service can sign up to watch via Sling’s new Passes. Sling’s Day Pass will allow you to sign up for its Orange plan for one day for just $5, one weekend for $10, and one week for $15.
That means you can pay just $5 to watch any game of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs with Sling TV, which is far less than you’ll be asked to pay at other streaming services. That lower price and heightened flexibility are why we recommend Sling TV most highly for watching the entire 2025 WNBA Playoffs
Keep in mind that while ABC — which will be broadcasting some of the games during the postseason — is only available on Sling in eight markets around the country, every sporting event that airs on the channel is simulcast on ESPN3, which is covered in multiple programming packages on the streamer. However, if you live in one of the markets below, you will also have the benefit of streaming the channel proper.
- Chicago
- Fresno
- Houston
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Raleigh-Durham
- San Francisco
Sling TV
Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.
You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.
Can you watch 2025 WNBA Playoffs for free?
If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch one specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.
Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.
The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.
If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial and gives you the best channel options.
What are all of the streamers you can use to watch the 2025 WNBA Playoffs?
Fortunately for hoops fans, there are six different streaming services that will stream the game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed Sling and the free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.
Ahead of the fall sports season, the worldwide leader in sports launched a first-of-its-kind streaming service. The new standalone ESPN direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service is the home to everything available on ESPN’s linear channels — including the 2025 WNBA Playoffs — as well as everything that was previously found on ESPN+. The Unlimited tier of the service runs $30 per month, but is available in various bundles to make it even more affordable.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| ABC | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| ESPN | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
| ESPN2 | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | |
Watch a preview of the WNBA Playoffs
What is the WNBA Playoffs First Round schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup | Network(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Sept. 14 | 1 p.m. | Golden State Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx – Game 1 | ESPN |
| 3 p.m. | Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream – Game 1 | ABC | |
| 5 p.m. | New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury – Game 1 | ESPN | |
| 10 p.m. | Seattle Storm vs. Las Vegas Aces – Game 1 | ESPN | |
| Tuesday, Sept. 16 | 7:30 p.m. | Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana Fever – Game 2 | ESPN |
| 9:30 p.m. | Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm – Game 2 | ESPN | |
| Wednesday, Sept. 17 | 8 p.m. | Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty – Game 2 | ESPN |
| 10 p.m. | Minnesota Lynx vs. Golden State Valkyries – Game 2 | ESPN | |
| Thursday, Sept. 18 | TBD | Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream – Game 3 (if nec.) | ESPN2 |
| TBD | Seattle Storm vs. Las Vegas Aces – Game 3 (if nec.) | ESPN2 | |
| Friday, Sept. 19 | TBD | Golden State Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx – Game 3 (if nec.) | ESPN2 |
| TBD | New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury – Game 3 (if nec.) | ESPN2 |
How to watch 2025 WNBA Playoffs from anywhere
If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the game as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action no matter where you are in the world with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming like DIRECTV in order to stream the game with a VPN.

ExpressVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get a month of service for as little as $5. ExpressVPN is the most-trusted VPN on the market and comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries, best-in-class encryption, 24-hour live support, and the best speeds available.
While ExpressVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.
- Most Secure: NordVPN | Starting at $3.09 per month
- Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
- Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available
