The series is played between the winners of the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. At the conclusion of the championship round, the winner of the WNBA Finals is presented the championship trophy. The WNBA Finals has been played at the conclusion of every WNBA season in history, the first being held in 1997.
Since 2005, the winner of the WNBA Finals has been determined through a 2–2–1 format. The first, second, and fifth games of the series are played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season.
History
WNBA Playoffs
WNBA franchise post-season droughts
The WNBA Finals were originally a single championship game to decide the WNBA champion. However, in 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA Finals were turned into a best-of-three games series. In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a best-of-five format. This finale series was known as the WNBA Championship from 1997 to 2001, before changing to reflect its NBA counterpart.
WNBA Championship Series
Year Champions Result Opponent Finals MVP
1997 Houston Comets 65–51 New York Liberty Cynthia Cooper
1998 Houston Comets 2–1 Phoenix Mercury Cynthia Cooper
1999 Houston Comets 2–1 New York Liberty Cynthia Cooper
2000 Houston Comets 2–0 New York Liberty Cynthia Cooper
2001 Los Angeles Sparks 2–0 Charlotte Sting Lisa Leslie
2002 Los Angeles Sparks 2–0 New York Liberty Lisa Leslie
2003 Detroit Shock 2–1 Los Angeles Sparks Ruth Riley
2004 Seattle Storm 2–1 Connecticut Sun Betty Lennox
2005 Sacramento Monarchs 3–1 Connecticut Sun Yolanda Griffith
2006 Detroit Shock 3–2 Sacramento Monarchs Deanna Nolan
2007 Phoenix Mercury 3–2 Detroit Shock Cappie Pondexter
2008 Detroit Shock 3–0 San Antonio Silver Stars Katie Smith
2009 Phoenix Mercury 3–2 Indiana Fever Diana Taurasi
2010 Seattle Storm 3–0 Atlanta Dream Lauren Jackson
2011 Minnesota Lynx 3–0 Atlanta Dream Seimone Augustus
Highlights
The 2003 Finals was best known for rekindling a heated rivalry between the two teams' head coaches, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Michael Cooper and former Detroit Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer. Both coaches were fierce NBA competitors who played in the NBA Finals against each other in 1988 and 1989.
In 2001, the #4 seed Charlotte Sting was the lowest seed ever to make the WNBA Finals.
2006 marked the first time that a #1 seed did not participate in the WNBA Finals. Detroit and Sacramento were both 2 seeds.
The New York Liberty have the most Finals appearances (4) without winning a championship.
The Detroit Shock are the 3rd team to win multiple championships (following Houston and Los Angeles respectively). However, they are the first team to win non-consecutive championships.
2006 marked the first time that the team with the best point-differential in the regular-season didn't win the WNBA Finals or even advance to the WNBA finals. The Connecticut Sun had the best point differential in '06 but was ousted by the Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Detroit Shock hosted the three largest crowds in Finals History (22,076 in Game 3 of 2003 WNBA Finals, 19,671 in Game 5 of 2006 WNBA Finals and 22,076 in Game 5 of the 2007 WNBA Finals)
Only two Eastern Conference franchises have won the WNBA Finals: the 1997 Houston Comets (who moved to the Western Conference the following year) and the Detroit Shock.
The 2007 game-five win by the Phoenix Mercury marked the first time in WNBA history that a team won the Finals while playing on their opponent's home court.
In 2008 the San Antonio Silver Stars became the first team in the history of the WNBA Finals to be swept in a five game series losing to the Detroit Shock.
The 2009 Finals series saw around a 60% increase in viewership from the previous season's series.
The 2011 WNBA Finals was the first coached by two women.
Finals appearances
WNBA franchise post-season droughts
Statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual game wins and losses.
Finals Team Wins Losses Pct. Years Won Years Lost
4 Houston Comets 2 4 0 1.000 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
4 Detroit Shock 3 3 1 .750 2003, 2006, 2008 2007
4 New York Liberty 0 4 .000 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002
3 Los Angeles Sparks 2 1 .667 2001, 2002 2003
3 Phoenix Mercury 2 1 .667 2007, 2009 1998
2 Atlanta Dream 0 2 .000 2010, 2011
2 Seattle Storm 2 0 1.000 2004, 2010
2 Sacramento Monarchs 4 1 1 .500 2005 2006
2 Connecticut Sun 0 2 .000 2004, 2005
1 Indiana Fever 0 1 .000 2009
1 Minnesota Lynx 1 0 1.000 2011
1 San Antonio Silver Stars 0 1 .000 2008
1 Charlotte Sting 1 0 1 .000 2001
1Folded following 2006 season
2Folded following 2008 season
3Relocated to Tulsa following 2009 season
4Folded following 2009 season
Active franchises with no Finals appearances
Chicago Sky - founded in 2006
Washington Mystics - founded in 1998
Records
Finals records
Milestone Player Team Date Information
Points, individual Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream October 5, 2011 38 points
Rebounds, individual Taj McWilliams-Franklin Connecticut Sun September 15, 2005 16 rebounds
Assists, individual Nikki Teasley Los Angeles Sparks August 29, 2002 11 assists
Steals, individual Kristin Haynie Sacramento Monarchs August 30, 2006 5 steals
Blocks, individual Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks September 1, 2001 7 blocks
Points, team N/A Phoenix Mercury September 29, 2009 120 points vs. Indiana (OT)
Rebounds, team N/A Detroit Shock September 8, 2007 50 rebounds vs. Phoenix
Assists, team N/A Los Angeles Sparks September 1, 2001 24 assists vs. Charlotte
Steals, team N/A Connecticut Sun October 8, 2004 15 steals vs. Seattle
Blocks, team N/A Minnesota Lynx October 2, 2011 11 blocks vs. Atlanta
Career wins, coach Van Chancellor Houston Comets 1997-2000 4 wins
Margin of victory N/A Los Angeles Sparks
Phoenix Mercury September 1, 2001
September 8, 2007 28-point win (82-54) over Charlotte
28-point win (98-70) over Detroit
Attendance, one game N/A Detroit Shock September 16, 2003
September 16, 2007 22,076
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