2000 Los Angeles Sparks season

Last updated

2000 Los Angeles Sparks season
Coach Michael Cooper
Arena Great Western Forum
Attendance6,563 per game
Results
Record284 (.875)
Place1st (Western)
Playoff finishLost Conference Finals (2-0) to Houston Comets

The 2000 WNBA season was the fourth season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The team set a 28-4 record, the best in league history, but they were unable to go for the WNBA Finals, losing in the conference finals in a sweep to the Houston Comets.

Contents

Offseason

Gordana Grubin was picked up by the Indiana Fever, while Nina Bjedov was selected by the Seattle Storm in the 2000 WNBA Expansion Draft.

WNBA draft

RoundPickPlayerNationalityCollege/School/Team
115Nicole Kubik (G)Flag of the United States.svg  United States Nebraska
231Paige Sauer (C)Flag of the United States.svg  United States Connecticut
347Marte Alexander (C)Flag of the United States.svg  United States Arizona
463Nicky McCrimmon (G)Flag of the United States.svg  United States USC

Regular season

Season standings

Western Conference WLPCTConf.GB
Los Angeles Sparks x284.87517–4
Houston Comets x275.84417–41.0
Sacramento Monarchs x2111.65613–87.0
Phoenix Mercury x2012.62511–108.0
Utah Starzz o1814.56313–810.0
Minnesota Lynx o1517.4695–1613.0
Portland Fire o1022.3134–1718.0
Seattle Storm o626.1884–1722.0

Season schedule

DateOpponentScoreResultRecord
May 31 Utah 69-62Win1-0
June 3@ Minnesota 82-75Win2-0
June 6 Portland 70-57Win3-0
June 10 Phoenix 76-57Win4-0
June 11@ Sacramento 68-75Loss4-1
June 13@ Seattle 59-69Loss4-2
June 17@ Portland 94-81Win5-2
June 18 Charlotte 70-62Win6-2
June 20 Houston 90-84Win7-2
June 23@ Miami 68-54Win8-2
June 25@ New York 72-67Win9-2
June 26@ Washington 74-72Win10-2
June 28@ Indiana 82-73Win11-2
July 1 Cleveland 75-67Win12-2
July 2 Detroit 85-63Win13-2
July 5@ Sacramento 76-61Win14-2
July 6 Washington 79-70Win15-2
July 9 Utah 92-72Win16-2
July 11 Portland 77-80Loss16-3
July 14 Houston 63-58Win17-3
July 15 Minnesota 58-57Win18-3
July 20 New York 82-66Win19-3
July 21@ Phoenix 74-68Win20-3
July 23 Sacramento 73-68Win21-3
July 25 Orlando 78-63Win22-3
July 27 Seattle 76-63Win23-3
July 29@ Houston 84-74Win24-3
July 31@ Minnesota 73-66Win25-3
August 2@ Detroit 84-81Win26-3
August 5@ Phoenix 77-63Win27-3
August 8@ Seattle 60-52Win28-3
August 9@ Utah 77-89Loss28-4

Playoffs

GameDateOpponentScoreResultRecord
Western Conference Semifinals
1August 11@ Phoenix 86-71Win1-0
2August 13 Phoenix 101-76Win2-0
Western Conference Finals
1August 17@ Houston 56-77Loss2-1
2August 20 Houston 69-74Loss2-2

Player stats

PlayerGPREBASTSTLBLKPTS
Lisa Leslie32306603174570
Mwadi Mabika32179985818394
DeLisha Milton-Jones32194684429378
Tamecka Dixon31105964010338
Ukari Figgs3255127213215
Allison Feaster328533232202
Clarisse Machanguana317218134110
Nicky McCrimmon323265298101
Vedrana Grgin-Fonseca1823123149
La'Keshia Frett252467640
Paige Sauer121632120

[1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Sparks</span> Womens basketball team

The Los Angeles 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 founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sparks have the distinction of not being affiliated with an NBA counterpart, even though the market is shared with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. As of 2023, the Sparks are the most recent franchise to win back-to-back titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alana Beard</span> American professional womens basketball player

Alana Monique Beard is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, she was drafted second overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2004 WNBA draft. She signed on with the Los Angeles Sparks as a free agent in 2012. Beard was the 2017 and 2018 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. However, she was injured next season, only contributing a few points for the Sparks. Beard announced her retirement from the WNBA on January 23, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candace Parker</span> American basketball player

Candace Nicole Parker nicknamed "Ace", is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks and two seasons with the Chicago Sky, winning a championship with each team.

The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is made up of six teams.

The 2001 WNBA season was the fifth season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks won their first WNBA Finals.

The 2002 WNBA season was the sixth season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks ended the season winning the WNBA Finals for the second straight year. As of 2012, this is the last WNBA team to win back to back championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Gators women's basketball</span>

The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home games at the O'Connell Center located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Kelly Rae Finley, following the resignation of Cameron Newbauer. The Gators have appeared in 15 NCAA tournaments, with a record of 12-15.

The 2003 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2003 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Detroit Shock, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Detroit's first title.

The 2002 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2002 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' second title.

The WNBA on NBC is the branding used for presentations of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) games produced NBC Sports and broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 WNBA Championship</span> Womens basketball series

The 2001 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2001 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Charlotte Sting, fourth-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' first title.

The USC Trojans women's basketball team, or the Women of Troy, is the collegiate women's basketball team that represents the University of Southern California, in the Pac-12 Conference. The team rose to prominence in 1976, at which time scholarships became available to female basketball players. They were the first Division I team to give these scholarships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea Gray</span> American basketball player (born 1992)

Chelsea Nichelle Gray is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was the eleventh pick in the 2014 WNBA draft. She missed the 2014 WNBA season due to injury, but she made her debut with the Sun in the 2015 WNBA season. Gray won her first title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She won her second title with the Las Vegas Aces in the 2022 WNBA Finals, where she was named Finals MVP.

The 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 14 when the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings and concluded on September 18, with a Seattle Storm defeat of the Chicago Sky.

The 2016 WNBA season is the 20th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 15. The Sparks finished with a record of 26–8, second in the Western Conference, and advanced to the WNBA Finals, which they won, three games to two, against the Minnesota Lynx. It was the team's first title since 2002.

The 2016 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2016 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx held home court advantage in the Finals, but lost three games to two to the second-seeded Los Angeles Sparks. The series followed a 2–2–1 format, and eschewed from the previous tradition of having the Western Conference champion face the Eastern Conference champion. Instead, in the 2016 season, the top eight teams qualified for the playoffs, regardless of conference. Both WNBA Finals teams were from the Western Conference. The Sparks won a semifinal series against the Chicago Sky to determine one of the Finals berths; the first-seeded Lynx defeated the Phoenix Mercury to earn the other. Candace Parker was named the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP. Renee Brown, outgoing Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations of the WNBA, issued statements following games 4 and 5 saying the referees had made an error in each game. Nevertheless, the Sparks won the series 3 games to 2.

The 2017 WNBA season is the 21st season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Sparks are the defending WNBA champions. The season tipped off on May 13. The Sparks finished 26–8 with the number 2 seed in the league and advanced all the way to the Finals for the second season in a row, setting up a rematch with the Minnesota Lynx, but would lose this time in 5 games, failing to win back-to-back championships.

The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 20.

The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season will tip off on July 25, 2020, versus the Phoenix Mercury.

The 2021 WNBA season was the 25th season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 14, 2021 versus the Dallas Wings.

References

  1. "2000 Los Angeles Sparks Stats".