The 2012 WNBA Playoffs was the

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

's 2012 season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a

best-of-three There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

format, and the final in a best-of-five format. The Minnesota Lynx qualified as the overall top seed, and the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

, San Antonio Silver Stars, and Seattle Storm also qualified in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. The

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established as the Orlando Miracle in ...

were the top seed in the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

, joined by the Indiana Fever,

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real e ...

, and New York Liberty.WNBA Standings
Minnesota won the Western Conference championship, and Indiana won the Eastern Conference championship. The Fever won the

2013 WNBA Finals The 2013 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2013 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Atlanta D ...

, winning three games to the Lynx's one.

Tiebreak procedures

Two-team tie

# Better record in head-to-head games. # Better winning percentage within own conference. # Better winning percentage against all teams with .500 or better record at the end of the season. # Better point differential in games head-to-head. # Coin toss.

Three or more-team tie

# Better winning percentage among all head-to-head games involving tied teams. # Better winning percentage against teams within conference (for first two rounds of playoffs) or better record against teams in the opposite conference (for Finals). # Better winning percentage against all teams with a .500 or better record at the end of the season. # Better point differential in games involving tied teams. # Coin toss.

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Playoffs and Finals

Eastern Conference

Conference Semifinals

(1) Connecticut Sun vs. (4) New York Liberty

;Regular-season series Connecticut won the regular-season series 4–1:

(2) Indiana Fever vs. (3) Atlanta Dream

;Regular-season series Indiana won the regular season series 3–2:

Conference Finals

(1) Connecticut Sun vs. (2) Indiana Fever

;Regular-season series The

won 3–1 in the regular season series:

Western Conference

Conference Semifinals

(2) Los Angeles Sparks vs. (3) San Antonio Silver Stars

;Regular-season series San Antonio won the regular-season series 3–1:

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (4) Seattle Storm

;Regular-season series Minnesota won the regular-season series 3–1:

Conference Finals

(1) Minnesota Lynx vs. (2) Los Angeles Sparks

;Regular-season series The regular season series was tied 2–2:

WNBA Finals

Minnesota Lynx vs. Indiana Fever

;Regular-season series The Minnesota Lynx won the season series 2–0:

References

{{WNBA Playoffs

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

Women's National Basketball Association Playoffs