2013 WNBA season

Last updated

2013 WNBA season
League Women's National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
DurationMay 24 – October 10, 2013
Number of games34
Number of teams12
Total attendance1,536,259
Average attendance7,531
TV partner(s) ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV
Top draft pick Flag of the United States.svg Brittney Griner
Picked by Phoenix Mercury
Season MVP Flag of the United States.svg 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 Flag of the United States.svg Maya Moore (Minnesota)
WNBA seasons

The 2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 24 and conclued on September 15, and playoffs started on September 19 and 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]

Contents

Draft

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.

Media coverage

About 70+ games were aired on ESPN2, ABC and NBA TV. WNBA LiveAccess will offer complement - approximately 190 live games. [3]

Regular season

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.

Standings

# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB GP
1z-Chicago Sky 2410.706-34
2x-Atlanta Dream 1717.500734
3x-Washington Mystics 1717.500734
4x-Indiana Fever 1618.471834
5e-New York Liberty 1123.3241334
6e-Connecticut Sun 1024.2941434
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB GP
1z-Minnesota Lynx 268.765-34
2x-Los Angeles Sparks 2410.706234
3x-Phoenix Mercury 1915.559734
4x-Seattle Storm 1717.500934
5e-San Antonio Silver Stars 1222.3531434
6e-Tulsa Shock 1123.3241534

Playoffs

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 AtlantaWashington 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.

Conference semifinals
Best-of-3
Conference finals
Best-of-3
WNBA Finals
Best-of-5
         
E1 Chicago 0
E4 Indiana 2
E4 Indiana 0
Eastern Conference
E2 Atlanta 2
E2 Atlanta 2
E3 Washington 1
E2 Atlanta 0
W1 Minnesota 3
W1 Minnesota 2
W4 Seattle 0
W1 Minnesota 2
Western Conference
W3 Phoenix 0
W2 Los Angeles 1
W3 Phoenix 2

Awards

Reference: [6]

Individual

AwardWinnerTeamPositionVotes/Statistic
Most Valuable Player (MVP) Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks Forward10 out of 39 [7]
Finals MVP Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx Forward
Rookie of the Year Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky ForwardUnanimous
Most Improved Player Shavonte Zellous Indiana Fever Guard30 out of 39
Defensive Player of the Year Sylvia Fowles Chicago SkyCenter21 out of 29
Sixth Woman of the Year Riquna Williams Tulsa Shock Guard17 out of 39
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award (co-winners) Swin Cash Chicago SkyForward7 out of 39
Tamika Catchings Indiana FeverForward
Peak Performers Scoring Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Guard/Forward21.5 PPG
ReboundingSylvia FowlesChicago SkyCenter11.5 RPG
Assists Danielle Robinson San Antonio Silver Stars Guard6.7 APG
Coach of the Year Mike Thibault Washington Mystics Coach11 of 39

Team

AwardForwardForwardForward/centerGuardGuard
All-WNBA First Team Maya Moore Candace Parker Sylvia Fowles Diana Taurasi Lindsay Whalen
Second Team Tamika Catchings Elena Delle Donne Tina Charles Seimone Augustus Angel McCoughtry
All-Defensive First Team Tamika Catchings Angel McCoughtry Sylvia Fowles Armintie Herrington Tanisha Wright
Second Team Rebekkah Brunson Glory Johnson Erika de Souza Briann January Jia Perkins
Danielle Robinson
All-Rookie Team Elena Delle Donne Kelsey Bone Brittney Griner Alex Bentley Skylar Diggins

Players of the Week

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.

Week endingEastern ConferenceWestern Conference
PlayerTeamPlayerTeam
June 2 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
June 9 Ivory Latta Washington Mystics Rebekkah Brunson Minnesota Lynx
June 16Angel McCoughtry (3)Atlanta Dream Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
June 23 Glory Johnson Tulsa Shock
June 30 Elena Delle Donne (2) Chicago Sky Diana Taurasi (2)Phoenix Mercury
July 7Candace Parker (3)Los Angeles Sparks
July 14 Sylvia Fowles
July 21 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever Liz Cambage Tulsa Shock
July 28Ivory Latta (2)Washington Mystics Tina Thompson Seattle Storm
August 4 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun Liz Cambage (2)Tulsa Shock
August 11Elena Delle Donne (3)Chicago Sky Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
August 18Sylvia Fowles (2) Kristi Toliver Los Angeles Sparks
August 25Elena Delle Donne (4)Maya Moore (2)Minnesota Lynx
September 1Tamika Catchings (2)Indiana FeverTina Thompson (2)Seattle Storm
September 8Angel McCoughtry (4)Atlanta Dream Riquna Williams Tulsa Shock
September 15Ivory Latta (3)Washington MysticsTina Thompson (3)Seattle Storm

Players of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

MonthEastern ConferenceWestern Conference
PlayerTeamPlayerTeam
June Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
July Sylvia Fowles (3) Chicago Sky Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
August Maya Moore (2) Minnesota Lynx
September

Rookies of the Month

The following player was named the Rookie of the Month for each month.

MonthPlayerTeam
June Elena Delle Donne (4) Chicago Sky
July
August
September

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

See also

References

  1. "2013 WNBA Schedule and Results - Women's National Basketball Association - ESPN". Espn.go.com. May 14, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  2. WNBA's 15th Season Delivers Increased Attendance and TV Viewership
  3. "Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  4. Honing in on the fall
  5. How the Minnesota Lynx swept the Phoenix Mercury to advance to the 2013 WNBA Finals
  6. "2013 WNBA Season Awards - WNBA". www.wnba.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  7. "Sparks' Candace Parker Named 2013 WNBA Most Valuable Player". WNBA . September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2024.