2013 WNBA season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | May 24 – October 10, 2013 |
Number of games | 34 |
Number of teams | 12 |
Total attendance | 1,536,259 |
Average attendance | 7,531 |
TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV |
Top draft pick | Brittney Griner |
Picked by | Phoenix Mercury |
Season MVP | Candace Parker Los Angeles |
Eastern champions | Atlanta Dream |
Eastern runners-up | Indiana Fever |
Western champions | Minnesota Lynx |
Western runners-up | Phoenix Mercury |
Finals champions | Minnesota Lynx |
Runners-up | Atlanta Dream |
Finals MVP | Maya Moore (Minnesota) |
The 2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 24, and playoffs concluded on October 10. [1] The Minnesota Lynx won their second league championship, defeating the Atlanta Dream three games to none in the 2013 WNBA Finals. The year represented a positive turning point for the long-struggling league. Both attendance and television viewership were up, driven by an influx of talented rookies, multiple teams reported that they were near a break-even point, and at least one franchise announced that it was profitable. [2]
The WNBA Draft lottery was held on September 26, 2012. The lottery teams were the Washington Mystics, Phoenix Mercury, Tulsa Shock and Chicago Sky. The top pick was awarded to Phoenix Mercury. Center Brittney Griner was drafted first overall by the Phoenix Mercury.
About 70+ games were aired on ESPN2, ABC and NBA TV. WNBA LiveAccess will offer complement - approximately 190 live games. [3]
The WNBA touted three exciting rookies -- Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury, Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky, and Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock—as "three to see" going into the 2013 season. [4] Griner - a tall, athletic center who had been dominant in college—was seen as such a potential game-changer that many picked the Mercury to win the WNBA championship. [5]
It was Delle Donne, however, who turned out to have the breakout season, leading the Sky to the best record in the Eastern Conference, and their first trip to the playoffs. Griner was hampered by injuries, but her Phoenix team finished third in the West, and made it to the conference finals.
The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the WNBA for the third consecutive season, behind the play of Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, and Maya Moore.
Joining the Sky in the playoffs were the defending WNBA champion Indiana Fever, who finished fourth after surviving a rash of injuries during the season; the Atlanta Dream, led by league scoring champion Angel McCoughtry; and the Washington Mystics, who were hoping to win their first playoff game since 2004.
The Los Angeles Sparks finished second in the West, behind the play of league MVP Candace Parker. They lost to Phoenix in the conference semifinals. Finally, the Seattle Storm surprised many by earning the final entry into the playoffs, allowing veteran and future hall-of-famer Tina Thompson to retire from a playoff team.
# | Eastern Conference | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
1 | z-Chicago Sky | 24 | 10 | .706 | - | 34 |
2 | x-Atlanta Dream | 17 | 17 | .500 | 7 | 34 |
3 | x-Washington Mystics | 17 | 17 | .500 | 7 | 34 |
4 | x-Indiana Fever | 16 | 18 | .471 | 8 | 34 |
5 | e-New York Liberty | 11 | 23 | .324 | 13 | 34 |
6 | e-Connecticut Sun | 10 | 24 | .294 | 14 | 34 |
# | Western Conference | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
1 | z-Minnesota Lynx | 26 | 8 | .765 | - | 34 |
2 | x-Los Angeles Sparks | 24 | 10 | .706 | 2 | 34 |
3 | x-Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 15 | .559 | 7 | 34 |
4 | x-Seattle Storm | 17 | 17 | .500 | 9 | 34 |
5 | e-San Antonio Silver Stars | 12 | 22 | .353 | 14 | 34 |
6 | e-Tulsa Shock | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15 | 34 |
The opening round of the WNBA playoffs saw a rash of road team victories. Only the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever went unbeaten on their home floors. The Chicago Sky, the top overall seed in the East, were swept by the Fever, while the Seattle Storm lost to the top-seeded Lynx in two games. In the Atlanta-Washington series, the road team won the first two games of the series, before Atlanta finally prevailed at home. Finally, in the matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks, the road teams went 3-0, with Phoenix advancing.
The conference finals were over quickly. Both the Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx swept their opponents, setting up a rematch of the 2011 WNBA Finals. In the Finals, the Lynx once again swept the Dream, becoming the second WNBA team to sweep through the playoffs since the best-of-five finals format was adopted.
The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.
The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.
Month | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
June | Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) (1/1) | Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) (1/1) | [19] |
July | Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (1/3) | Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) (1/1) | [20] |
August | Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (2/3) | Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) (1/2) | [21] |
September | Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (3/3) | Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) (2/2) | [22] |
The following players were named the Rookie of the Month.
Month | Player | Ref. |
---|---|---|
June | Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (1/4) | [23] |
July | Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (2/4) | [24] |
August | Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (3/4) | [25] |
September | Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (4/4) | [26] |
The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, and also lost the WNBA finals in 2012 and 2016.
The Chicago Sky is an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2006 season. The Sky experienced a period of success from 2013 to 2016, making four playoff appearances and playing in the 2014 WNBA Finals. They experienced a second period of success from 2019 to 2022 and won their first championship in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
Elena Delle Donne is an American former professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Delle Donne played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 2009 to 2013. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the second overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft, and led the Sky to the 2014 WNBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Phoenix Mercury. Delle Donne was traded to the Washington Mystics in 2017 and led them to their first WNBA championship in 2019.
The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real estate investors Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and former Dream player Renee Montgomery. Although the Dream share the Atlanta market with the National Basketball Association's Hawks, the Dream is not affiliated with its NBA counterpart. The Dream play at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Angel Lajuane McCoughtry is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. McCoughtry completed her college career at the University of Louisville in 2009. She was selected first overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2009 WNBA draft and was considered its franchise player during her tenure with the team. McCoughtry has also played overseas in Turkey, Slovakia, Lebanon, Hungary and Russia.
The 2011 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2011 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, swept the champions of the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Dream in three games.
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