2004 WNBA season

Last updated

2004 WNBA season
League Women's National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
DurationMay 20 - October 12, 2004
Number of games34p
Number of teams13
Total attendance1,903,427
Average attendance8,613
TV partner(s) ABC, ESPN, Oxygen, NBATV
2004 WNBA Draft
Top draft pick Flag of the United States.svg Diana Taurasi
Picked by Phoenix Mercury
Regular season
Season MVP Flag of the United States.svg Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles)
Playoffs
Eastern champions Connecticut Sun
  Eastern runners-up New York Liberty
Western champions Seattle Storm
  Western runners-up Sacramento Monarchs
Finals
Champions Seattle Storm
  Runners-up Connecticut Sun
Finals MVP Flag of the United States.svg Betty Lennox (Seattle)
WNBA seasons

The 2004 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's eighth season. The league had one fewer team than in 2003 as the Cleveland Rockers folded after the 2003 season. The season ended with the Seattle Storm winning their first WNBA Championship, as their head coach Anne Donovan became the first female coach to win a WNBA championship.

Contents

Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft

On January 6, 2004, the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft was held. This draft re-assigned players from the Cleveland Rockers who folded after the end of 2003 WNBA season. [1] The remaining thirteen teams in the WNBA each selected one player from the 2003 Rockers roster in the one-round draft. [2] Teams drafted in inverse order of their 2003 regular season finish. [1]

The top four picks were:

PickPlayerNationalityNew TeamRef.
1 Penny Taylor Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Phoenix Mercury [3]
2 Chasity Melvin Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Washington Mystics
3 LaToya Thomas San Antonio Silver Stars
4 Ann Wauters Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium New York Liberty

Regular season

Standings

Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Connecticut Sun x1816.529–10–78–914–6
New York Liberty x1816.529–11–67–1010–10
Detroit Shock x1717.5001.08–99–811–9
Washington Mystics x1717.5001.011–66–119–11
Charlotte Sting o1618.4712.010–76–118–12
Indiana Fever o1519.4413.010–75–128–12

Western Conference

Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Los Angeles Sparks x259.735–15–210–716–6
Seattle Storm x2014.5885.013–47–1013–9
Minnesota Lynx x1816.5297.011–67–1012–10
Sacramento Monarchs x1816.5297.010–78–912–10
Phoenix Mercury o1717.5008.010–77–1011–11
Houston Comets o1321.38212.09–84–137–15
San Antonio Silver Stars o925.26516.06–113–146–16

Playoffs

Conference semifinals
Best-of-3		Conference finals
Best-of-3 		WNBA Finals
Best-of-3
         
E1 Connecticut 2
E4 Washington 1
E1 Connecticut 2
Eastern Conference
E2 New York 0
E2 New York 2
E3 Detroit 1
E1 Connecticut 1
W2 Seattle 2
W1 Los Angeles 1
W4 Sacramento 2
W4 Sacramento 1
Western Conference
W2 Seattle 2
W2 Seattle 2
W3 Minnesota 0

Awards

Reference: [4]

Individual

AwardWinnerTeam
Most Valuable Player (MVP) Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks
Finals MVP Betty Lennox Seattle Storm
Defensive Player of the Year Lisa LeslieLos Angeles Sparks
Most Improved Player
(co-winners)		 Kelly Miller Indiana Fever
Wendy Palmer Connecticut Sun
Peak Performers Scoring Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm
ReboundingLisa LeslieLos Angeles Sparks
Rookie of the Year Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Teresa Edwards Minnesota Lynx
Coach of the Year Suzie McConnell Serio Minnesota Lynx

Team

AwardPlayerTeam
All-WNBA First Team Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm
Tina Thompson Houston Comets
Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks
Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
Sue Bird Seattle Storm
Second Team Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever
Swin Cash Detroit Shock
Yolanda Griffith Sacramento Monarchs
Nikki Teasley Los Angeles Sparks
Nykesha Sales Connecticut Sun

Players of the Week

Week endingPlayerTeam
May 30 Tina Thompson Houston Comets
June 6 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever
June 13 Swin Cash Detroit Shock
June 20Tamika Catchings (2)Indiana Fever
June 27 Nykesha Sales Connecticut Sun
July 4 Anna DeForge Phoenix Mercury
July 11Swin Cash (2)Detroit Shock
July 18 Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm
July 25Lauren Jackson (2)Seattle Storm
August 1Tina Thompson (2)Houston Comets
September 7 Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks
September 13 Alana Beard Washington Mystics
September 20 Adrienne Goodson San Antonio Silver Stars

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

References

  1. 1 2 "Darling goes to Lynx in dispersal draft". ESPN . January 6, 2004. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  2. ↑ "2004 WNBA Dispersal Draft Recap". WNBA. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  3. ↑ "2004 Dispersal Draft Preview". WNBA. January 5, 2004. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  4. ↑ "2004 WNBA Season Awards - WNBA". www.wnba.com. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
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