2015 WNBA season

Last updated

2015 WNBA season
League Women's National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
DurationJune 5 – October 14, 2015
Number of games34
Number of teams12
Total attendance1,465,432
Average attendance7,183
TV partner(s) ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV
Top draft pick Flag of the United States.svg Jewell Loyd
Picked by Seattle Storm
Season MVP Flag of the United States.svg Elena Delle Donne (Chicago)
Eastern champions Indiana Fever
  Eastern runners-up New York Liberty
Western champions Minnesota Lynx
  Western runners-up Phoenix Mercury
Finals champions Minnesota Lynx
  Runners-up Indiana Fever
Finals MVP Flag of the United States.svg Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota)
WNBA seasons

The 2015 WNBA season was the 19th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season started on June 5 and concluded on September 13 and playoffs started on September 17 and concluded on October 14. [1]

Contents

The Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 69–52 in game five of the Finals on October 14 to clinch a third WNBA title in five years. [2] [3] [4] [5]

TV and Internet coverage

Games aired on ESPN (1 regular season game), ESPN2 (10 regular season games), ABC (All-Star Game) and NBA TV (47 regular season games).

Notable occurrences

2015 WNBA draft

On August 21, 2014, the 2015 WNBA Draft Lottery took place. The Seattle Storm, who had a league-worst record of 12–22 last season, won the draft lottery and had the right to pick first in the 2015 draft. In the draft, held on April 16, the Storm made Jewell Loyd of Notre Dame the top pick.

Team standings

Source: [7]

Eastern Conference
Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
x - New York Liberty 2311.676–12–511–613–9
x - Chicago Sky 2113.618213–48–914–8
x - Indiana Fever 2014.588311–69–813–9
x - Washington Mystics 1816.529511–67–1010–12
e - Atlanta Dream 1519.44189–86–1110–12
e - Connecticut Sun 1519.44188–97–106–16
Western Conference
Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
z - Minnesota Lynx 2212.647–13–49–816–6
x - Phoenix Mercury 2014.588213–47–1015–7
x - Tulsa Shock 1816.529412–56–1111–11
x - Los Angeles Sparks 1420.41289–85–1210–12
e - Seattle Storm 1024.294128–92–158–14
e - San Antonio Stars 826.235147–101–166–16

Notes

z – Clinched Conference
x – Clinched playoff spot
e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

Conference Semi-Finals:
Best-of-3 		Conference Finals:
Best-of-3 		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-5
         
E1 New York 2
E4 Washington 1
E1 New York 1
Eastern Conference
E3 Indiana 2
E2 Chicago 1
E3 Indiana 2
E3 Indiana 2
W1 Minnesota 3
W1 Minnesota 2
W4 Los Angeles 1
W1 Minnesota 2
Western Conference
W2 Phoenix 0
W2 Phoenix 2
W3 Tulsa 0

Season award winners

Player of the Week award

For games
played beginning		Eastern ConferenceWestern Conference
PlayerTeamPlayerTeam
June 5, 2015 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky DeWanna Bonner Phoenix Mercury
June 15, 2015Elena Delle Donne (2) Skylar Diggins Tulsa Shock
June 22, 2015Elena Delle Donne (3) Lindsay Whalen Minnesota Lynx
June 29, 2015 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks
July 6, 2015 Cappie Pondexter Chicago Sky Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
July 13, 2015 Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore (2)
July 20, 2015Tina Charles (2)Maya Moore (3)
August 3, 2015Elena Delle Donne (4)Chicago Sky Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury
August 10, 2015 Epiphanny Prince New York LibertyMaya Moore (4)Minnesota Lynx
August 17, 2015Elena Delle Donne (5)Chicago Sky Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
August 24, 2015Epiphanny Prince (2)New York Liberty Odyssey Sims Tulsa Shock
August 31, 2015 Courtney Vandersloot Chicago SkyCandace Parker (2)Los Angeles Sparks
September 7, 2015 Kelsey Bone Connecticut Sun Monique Currie Phoenix Mercury

Player of the Month award

For games playedEastern ConferenceWestern Conference
PlayerTeamPlayerTeam
June 2015 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky Skylar Diggins Tulsa Shock
July 2015 Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
August 2015 Epiphanny Prince New York Liberty Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks

Rookie of the Month award

For games playedPlayerTeam
June 2015 Natalie Achonwa Indiana Fever
July 2015 Jewell Loyd Seattle Storm
August 2015 Kiah Stokes New York Liberty

Postseason awards

AwardWinnerPositionTeamVotes/Statistic
Most Valuable Player Award Elena Delle Donne Forward / Guard Chicago Sky 38 out of 39 [8]
Finals MVP Award Sylvia Fowles Center Minnesota Lynx
Rookie of the Year Award Jewell Loyd Guard Seattle Storm 21 out of 39
Most Improved Player Award Kelsey Bone Center Connecticut Sun 14 out of 39
Defensive Player of the Year Award Brittney Griner Center Phoenix Mercury 33 out of 39
Sixth Woman of the Year Award Allie Quigley Guard Chicago Sky 24 out of 39
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award DeLisha Milton-Jones Forward Atlanta Dream 11 out of 39
Peak Performer: Points Elena Delle Donne Forward / Guard Chicago Sky 23.4 PPG
Peak Performer: Rebounds Courtney Paris Center Tulsa Shock 9.3 RPG
Peak Performer: Assists Courtney Vandersloot Guard Chicago Sky 5.8 APG
Coach of the Year Award Bill Laimbeer Coach New York Liberty 23 out of 39
TeamGuardGuardForwardForwardCenter
All-WNBA First Team DeWanna Bonner Angel McCoughtry Elena Delle Donne Maya Moore Tina Charles
All-WNBA Second Team Epiphanny Prince Courtney Vandersloot Candace Parker Tamika Catchings Brittney Griner
All-Defensive First Team Briann January Angel McCoughtry Nneka Ogwumike Tamika Catchings Brittney Griner
All-Defensive Second Team Tanisha Wright DeWanna Bonner Sancho Lyttle Tina Charles Kiah Stokes
All-Rookie Team Jewell Loyd Brittany Boyd Ramu Tokashiki Natalie Achonwa Kiah Stokes
Ana Dabović

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

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References

  1. ↑ WNBA Announces ESPN Schedule - Hartford Courant
  2. ↑ "Minnesota Lynx capture third title in five years win in crucial Game 5". Fox Sports. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Everything comes together at right time for WNBA champion Lynx". ESPN. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Lynx capture 3rd title in 5 years with 69-52 win over Fever in Game 5". Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Big Crowd and Defense Spur Lynx to Another Title". New York Times. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  6. ↑ A Russian team paid Diana Taurasi to sit out 2015 WNBA season | SB Nation
  7. ↑ "Standings - WNBA".
  8. ↑ "Sky's Elena Delle Donne Named 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player Presented By Samsung". WNBA . September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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