The bracket no longer has a blank where the Wings' first-round opponent used to sit.
Dallas will open the WNBA playoffs on the road against the Golden State Valkyries, ESPN's team schedule and game listing confirm. Game 1 is Sunday, Sept. 27, at 9 p.m. on USA Network at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Wings enter as the No. 7 seed at 27-17.
Golden State holds the No. 2 seed after the final regular-season shuffle, matching the playoff pairing ESPN's Alexa Philippou posted overnight: Minnesota-New York, Golden State-Dallas, Las Vegas-Indiana, Atlanta-Washington, with every Game 1 on Sunday.
That closes the question left open after Wednesday's finale. The seed was locked. The opponent was not.
What Sunday starts
A best-of-three against a top-two club is the hardest first-round draw the bracket can hand a seven-seed. Road Game 1 puts the burden on Dallas to steal a night in San Francisco before the series shifts back to Arlington.
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported after the regular-season finale that College Park Center would host Game 2 of the opening round, with tickets already on sale for the home date.
The cadence is familiar even if the opponent just became specific: survive the road opener, bring a split home, and put the season in front of the College Park crowd if a third game is required. Fall into an 0-2 hole and the first home playoff night never becomes a series-changer.
How the Wings got here
Wednesday's 103-91 win at Seattle closed the regular season and completed a franchise-first sweep of the Storm, the Associated Press reported via CBS Sports. Paige Bueckers scored 25 points with seven assists. Jessica Shepard finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists for her sixth triple-double.
Arike Ogunbowale added 23 points. The club finished 27-17, fourth in the West, after a 17-win jump from last season's 10-win team - a single-season turnaround the AP described as a WNBA record.
