The biggest WNBA comebacks and collapses, 1997 to 2026

Biggest comebacks

1. The Cleveland Rockers trailed the 1998 East race by 5 games on July 18, 1998, and won it by 2 games.
2. The Houston Comets trailed the 1997 East race by 3.5 games on July 17, 1997, and won it by 1 game.
3. The Atlanta Dream trailed the 2018 East race by 3.5 games on July 7, 2018, and won it by 1 game.
4. The Connecticut Sun trailed the 2021 Playoff Race by 3.5 games on June 19, 2021, and won it by 2 games.
5. The Atlanta Dream trailed the 2025 East race by 3.5 games on July 22, 2025, and won it by 3 games.
6. The New York Liberty trailed the 2000 East race by 3 games on June 13, 2000, and won it by 3 games.
7. The Phoenix Mercury trailed the 2007 West race by 3 games on July 20, 2007, and won it by 3 games.
8. The San Antonio Silver Stars trailed the 2008 West race by 3 games on June 3, 2008, and won it by 2 games.
9. The Chicago Sky trailed the 2013 East race by 3 games on July 2, 2013, and won it by 7 games.
10. The New York Liberty trailed the 2015 East race by 3 games on June 26, 2015, and won it by 2 games.

Biggest collapses

1. The Charlotte Sting led the 1998 East race by 5 games as late as July 18, 1998, and finished behind the Cleveland Rockers.
2. The New York Liberty led the 1997 East race by 3.5 games as late as August 4, 1997, and finished behind the Houston Comets.
3. The New York Liberty led the 2025 East race by 3.5 games as late as July 25, 2025, and finished behind the Atlanta Dream.
4. The Orlando Miracle led the 2000 East race by 3 games as late as July 9, 2000, and finished behind the New York Liberty.
5. The Atlanta Dream led the 2013 East race by 3 games as late as July 6, 2013, and finished behind the Chicago Sky.
6. The San Antonio Silver Stars led the 2007 West race by 2.5 games as late as July 21, 2007, and finished behind the Phoenix Mercury.
7. The Minnesota Lynx led the 2014 West race by 2.5 games as late as June 2, 2014, and finished behind the Phoenix Mercury.
8. The Atlanta Dream led the 2016 East race by 2.5 games as late as June 4, 2016, and finished behind the New York Liberty.
9. The Los Angeles Sparks led the 2016 West race by 2.5 games as late as July 16, 2016, and finished behind the Minnesota Lynx.
10. The Connecticut Sun led the 2018 East race by 2.5 games as late as June 12, 2018, and finished behind the Atlanta Dream.

Latest deciding day

1. With no charted days left to play, the Atlanta Dream took first place in the 2018 East race for good on August 19, 2018, having led on 34 of the race's 94 charted days.
2. With no charted days left to play, the New York Liberty took first place in the 2017 East race for good on September 3, 2017, having led on 18 of the race's 114 charted days.
3. With three charted days left to play, the Los Angeles Sparks took first place in the 2019 West race for good on September 5, 2019, having led on 21 of the race's 108 charted days.
4. With three charted days left to play, the Los Angeles Sparks took first place in the 2002 West race for good on August 10, 2002, having led on 80 of the race's 81 charted days.
5. With four charted days left to play, the Detroit Shock took first place in the 2008 East race for good on September 11, 2008, having led on 43 of the race's 122 charted days. The season's charted days include the Olympic break.
6. With five charted days left to play, the Cleveland Rockers took first place in the 1998 East race for good on August 14, 1998, having led on 15 of the race's 70 charted days.
7. With five charted days left to play, the Atlanta Dream took first place in the 2026 East race for good on September 19, 2026, having led on 87 of the race's 140 charted days. The season's charted days include the World Cup break.
8. With six charted days left to play, the San Antonio Silver Stars took first place in the 2008 West race for good on September 9, 2008, having led on 71 of the race's 122 charted days. The season's charted days include the Olympic break.
9. With seven charted days left to play, the Houston Comets took first place in the 1997 East race for good on August 17, 1997, having led on 16 of the race's 65 charted days.
10. With nine charted days left to play, the Los Angeles Sparks took first place in the 2003 West race for good on August 16, 2003, having led on 84 of the race's 96 charted days.

How these lists are ranked

Everything on this page comes from the same season files the charts draw, with standings read as each day ended. All 71 charted WNBA races from 30 finished seasons enter: every conference and playoff race from 1997 to 2026. A team's comeback or collapse is counted once per season, at its deepest, whichever of its charted races it came in.

Biggest comebacks: the deepest deficit the eventual winner faced at the end of a charted day, in games behind the club furthest ahead that day, dated to the first day it reached that depth. These are the same numbers the turning points on each race page state.

Biggest collapses: the largest lead in games over the nearest club held at the end of a charted day by a team that did not finish first, dated to the last day the team still held that full lead. A comeback and a collapse read the same race from opposite ends, so they can disagree about one season.

Latest deciding day ranks winners by how few charted days remained when they took first place for good, which is the day after the last one the winner ended behind or tied with another club: a day it only shared the top is not a day it held first place for good, so a late tie pushes the date later. Ties are broken by the deepest deficit the winner came back from, then oldest first. Races whose top two the standings cannot separate appear on none of these lists: the data cannot name a winner. Only finished seasons are ranked; every irregularity in the record is listed in the data notes.