2000 WNBA Championship

Last updated

2000 WNBA Finals
2000 WNBA Finals logo.png
TeamCoachWins
Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2
New York Liberty Richie Adubato 0
DatesAugust 24-26
MVP Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets)
Hall of Famers Comets:
Cynthia Cooper (2010)
Sheryl Swoopes (2016)
Tina Thompson (2018)
Liberty:
Becky Hammon (2023)
Rebecca Lobo (2017; did not play)
Teresa Weatherspoon (2019)
Coaches:
Van Chancellor (2007)
Eastern finals New York defeated Cleveland, 2–1
Western finals Houston defeated Los Angeles, 2–0
  1999 WNBA Finals 2001  

The 2000 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2000 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, first-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's fourth title.

Contents

The Comets made their fourth appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Liberty also made their third Finals appearance.

Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had won a WNBA championship (19971999).

The Comets had a 27–5 record (.844), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (20–12). It did not matter, however, as the Comets swept the Liberty.

Road to the finals

Houston CometsNew York Liberty
27–5 (.844)
2nd West, 2nd overall
Regular season 20–12 (.562)
1st East, 4th overall
Defeated the (3) Sacramento Monarchs, 2–0Conference SemifinalsDefeated the (4) Washington Mystics, 2–0
Defeated the (1) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0Conference FinalsDefeated the (2) Cleveland Rockers, 2–1


Regular season series

The Comets and the Liberty split the regular season series:

May 29
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 21, 2000)
New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 84
July 23
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 22, 2000)
Houston Comets 64, New York Liberty 69

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

August 24
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)
Houston Comets 59, New York Liberty 52
Scoring by half:29–22, 30–39
Pts: Cooper (20)
Rebs: Swoopes, Thompson (8)
Asts: Cooper (5)
Pts: Phillips (24)
Rebs: Phillips (15)
Asts: Weatherspoon (5)
Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 19,563
Referees:
  • Sally Bell
  • Dennis DeMayo
  • Gary Zielinski

Game 2

NBC
August 26
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)
New York Liberty 73, Houston Comets 79 (OT)
Scoring by half: 25–27, 39–37  Overtime: 9–15
Pts: Phillips (20)
Rebs: Phillips (7)
Asts: Weatherspoon (8)
Pts: Swoopes (31)
Rebs: Thompson (8)
Asts: Cooper (7)
Compaq Center, Houston
Attendance: 16,285
Referees:
  • June Corteau
  • Courtney Kirkland
  • Michael Price

Rosters

2000 Houston Comets Finals roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
F 4 Flag of Brazil.svg Arcain, Janeth 5' 11" (1.8m)147 lb (67kg) Brazil
G 14 Flag of the United States.svg Cooper, Cynthia 5' 10" (1.78m)150 lb (68kg) USC
F 23 Flag of the United States.svg Jackson, Tammy 6' 2" (1.88m)190 lb (86kg) Florida
C 00 Flag of the United States.svg Johnson, Tiffani 6' 4" (1.93m)195 lb (88kg) Tennessee
G 3 Flag of the United States.svg Kelley-Gibson, Jawann 5' 9" (1.75m)137 lb (62kg) Maryland
C 40 Flag of the United States.svg Lamb, Monica 6' 5" (1.96m)206 lb (93kg) USC
G 21 Flag of the United States.svg Rizzotti, Jennifer 5' 6" (1.68m)146 lb (66kg) Connecticut
F 22 Flag of the United States.svg Swoopes, Sheryl 6' 0" (1.83m)145 lb (66kg) Texas Tech
F 7 Flag of the United States.svg Thompson, Tina 6' 2" (1.88m)178 lb (81kg) USC
F 13 Flag of Spain.svg Valdemoro, Amaya 6' 1" (1.85m)160 lb (73kg) Spain
G 4 Flag of the United States.svg Washington, Coquese 5' 6" (1.68m)138 lb (63kg) Notre Dame
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Van Chancellor (Mississippi State)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Cook
Flag of the United States.svg Alisa Scott

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
2000 New York Liberty Finals roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
G 22 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Bibby, Jessica 5' 7" (1.7m)139 lb (63kg) Australia
F 13 Flag of Spain.svg Ferragut, Marina 6' 3" (1.91m)190 lb (86kg) Spain
C Flag of Ukraine.svg Firsova, Olga 6' 8" (2.03m)215 lb (98kg) Kansas State
F 42 Flag of the United States.svg Francis, Desiree 5' 10" (1.78m)193 lb (88kg) Iowa State
G 25 Flag of the United States.svg Hammon, Becky 5' 6" (1.68m)136 lb (62kg) Colorado State
G 55 Flag of the United States.svg Johnson, Vickie 5' 9" (1.75m)150 lb (68kg) Louisiana Tech
C 50 Flag of the United States.svg Lobo, Rebecca  Cruz Roja.svg6' 4" (1.93m)185 lb (84kg) Connecticut
F 24 Flag of the United States.svg Phillips, Tari 6' 1" (1.85m)200 lb (91kg) University of Central Florida
F 3 Flag of the United States.svg Robinson, Crystal 5' 10" (1.78m)175 lb (79kg) Southeastern Oklahoma State University
G 11 Flag of the United States.svg Weatherspoon, Teresa 5' 8" (1.73m)161 lb (73kg) Louisiana Tech
F 44 Flag of the United States.svg Whitmore, Tamika 6' 2" (1.88m)190 lb (86kg) Memphis
F 23 Flag of the United States.svg Wicks, Sue 6' 3" (1.91m)174 lb (79kg) Rutgers
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Richie Adubato (William Paterson)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Pat Coyle (Rutgers)
Flag of the United States.svg Jeff House

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured