The WNBA's playoff format has changed several times in the league's history. FromIn 1997 to 1998, a [[Playoff format#Single elimination|single championship game]] was held to decide the champion. In 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA Finalsfinals were turned into a [[best-of-three series]]. The finale series was known as the '''WNBA Championship''' from 1997 to 2001, before changing to '''WNBA Finals''' to reflect its [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] [[NBA Finals|counterpart]]. In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a [[best-of-five]] format. In 2016, the WNBA began seeding teams #1 through #8 regardless of conference making it possible for two Eastern Conference or two Western Conference teams to meet in the Finals. In 2025, the WNBA Finals will become a [[best-of-seven series]] and a homecourt system of 2–2–1–1–1 similar to the NBA Finals, where the team with homecourt advantage hosts games 1 and 2, and if necessary, games 5 and 7.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-10 |title=WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV Expand to Best-of-Seven Format Beginning in 2025 |url=https://www.wnba.com/webview/news/wnba-finals-format-expansion-2025 |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=www.wnba.com}}</ref>
