2016 WNBA season

Last updated

2016 WNBA season
League Women's National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
DurationMay 14 – October 6, 2016
Number of games34
Number of teams12
Total attendance1,561,530 [1]
Average attendance7,655 [1]
TV partner(s) ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV
Top draft pick Flag of the United States.svg Breanna Stewart
Picked by Seattle Storm
Season MVP Flag of the United States.svg Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles)
Eastern champions New York Liberty
  Eastern runners-up Chicago Sky
Western champions Minnesota Lynx
  Western runners-up Los Angeles Sparks
Finals champions Los Angeles Sparks
  Runners-up Minnesota Lynx
Finals MVP Candace Parker
WNBA seasons

The 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 14 when the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings and concluded on September 18, with a Seattle Storm defeat of the Chicago Sky.

Contents

The playoffs began on September 21, with a new playoff format. To increase the level of competition, instead of the top 4 seeds from each conference advancing, the 8 teams with the best overall records, regardless of conference, advanced.

The top two teams, in this case the Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks, each received a double bye to the semi-final round. The number 3 and number 4 seeds, in this case the New York Liberty and the Chicago Sky, received one bye to the second round. The playoffs began with the number 5 seed Indiana Fever facing the number 8 seed Phoenix Mercury and the number 6 seed Atlanta Dream facing the number 7 seed, the Seattle Storm. The winners of those single elimination games, Phoenix and Atlanta, advanced to a second round of single elimination. The teams were reseeded so that the team with the worse overall record played the number 3 seed and the next worse record played the number 4 seed.

The second round of playoffs saw battles between Phoenix and New York in the first game and Chicago and Atlanta in the second game. The winners, Phoenix and Chicago respectively, went on to compete with the top two teams in the league, Los Angeles and Minnesota. Minnesota swept the Phoenix Mercury in 3 games. Los Angeles faced Chicago in 4 games, winning 2 at home, losing the third, and capitalizing on the fourth.

The finals was a Western Conference showdown between the defending champions, the Minnesota Lynx, and the Los Angeles Sparks. It was the Sparks' first finals appearance since 2003, and they were seeking their first win since 2002. Los Angeles won the first game 78–76 on a buzzer beater from forward Alana Beard. Minnesota bounced back to drop the Sparks 79–60 in game 2. Back at home in Los Angeles, the Sparks clinched game 3 with the final score of 92–75, to get to one win away from the title. However, despite home court advantage, the Lynx stormed back to win game 4 at Staples Center, 85–79. In front of a sold out crowd in Minneapolis, the Sparks shocked the Lynx with a 77–76 victory in game five on October 20. The 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player and Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike had the game-winning shot from an offensive rebound to put the Sparks ahead with 3.1 seconds remaining. It was the Los Angeles Sparks third title in franchise history.

The league took a hiatus for much of August, allowing for the participation of its players in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

2016 WNBA draft

Seattle Storm selected Breanna Stewart first in the 2016 WNBA Draft at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (round 1 on ESPN2, rounds 2 and 3 on ESPNU). [2]

Team standings

Source: [3]

Eastern Conference
Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
3 - New York Liberty 2113.618—10–711–611–5
4 - Chicago Sky 1816.529311–67–108–8
5 - Indiana Fever 1717.50048–99–88–8
6 - Atlanta Dream 1717.500411–66–119–7
e - Connecticut Sun 1420.41278–96–114–12
e - Washington Mystics 1321.38285–128–98–8
Western Conference
Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 - Minnesota Lynx 286.824—15–213–415–1
2 - Los Angeles Sparks 268.765214–312–511–5
7 - Seattle Storm 1618.4711210–76–117–9
8 - Phoenix Mercury 1618.4711211–65–126–10
e - Dallas Wings 1123.324176–115–128–8
e - San Antonio Stars 727.206214–133–141–15

Notes

# – Playoff seed
e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

See also: 2016 WNBA Finals
First round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 21)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 24 and 25)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 28 – Oct. 6)		 WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Oct. 9 – 20)
1 Minnesota Lynx 1139682
3 New York Liberty 948 Phoenix Mercury 958667
5 Indiana Fever 788 Phoenix Mercury 1011 Minnesota Lynx 7679758576
8 Phoenix Mercury 892 Los Angeles Sparks 7860927977
2 Los Angeles Sparks 95996695
4 Chicago Sky 1084 Chicago Sky 75847075
6 Atlanta Dream 946 Atlanta Dream 98
7 Seattle Storm 85

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Notable occurrences

On March 15, the WNBA announced a new league-wide sponsor, Verizon Wireless. The Verizon logo appeared on all jerseys except those of the Stars and Sun, and Verizon received significant branding in arenas, on jerseys, and in telecasts via commercials. Verizon also sponsored the WNBA Playoffs, WNBA Finals, WNBA Tip-Off, WNBA Draft, and WNBA Inspiring Women Luncheon. [4]

On March 28, the WNBA introduced new jerseys for the 2016 season. Teams no longer had white home jerseys. Teams used the away jersey from the previous year or a secondary color-based alternate jersey. The Sparks and Stars already used their secondary colors for jerseys, and thus had no significant change. The jerseys included special patches commemorating the 20th season for the league, along with the three remaining original franchises, and showed the WNBA Championships each franchise has won by displaying the trophies on the back collar. [5]

The ESPN Networks aired 14 games (1 on ESPN, 13 on ESPN2) during the regular season and all playoff games. NBATV showed 42 games across the regular season.

On June 25, Becky Hammon's jersey no. 25 was retired by the San Antonio Stars after their game against the Atlanta Dream. Her jersey was the first to be retired by the Stars.

On July 15, Lauren Jackson returned to Seattle to see her jersey retired after the Storm defeated the Mystics. Her jersey was the first to be put in the rafters by the Seattle Storm.

Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

CategoryPlayerTeamStatistic
Points per game Tina Charles New York Liberty 21.5 PPG
Rebounds per game Tina Charles New York Liberty 9.9 RPG
Assists per game Sue Bird Seattle Storm 5.8 APG
Steals per game Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever 1.8 SPG
Blocks per game Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury 3.1 BPG
Three point percentage Emma Meesseman Washington Mystics 44.8%
Free throw percentage Shenise Johnson Indiana Fever 93.8%

Season award winners

Player of the Week award

For games
in week ending		Eastern ConferenceWestern Conference
PlayerTeamPlayerTeam
May 23, 2016 Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
May 29, 2016 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
June 6, 2016 Tina Charles (2) New York Liberty Maya Moore (2) Minnesota Lynx
June 13, 2016 Emma Meesseman Washington Mystics Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks
June 20, 2016 Tina Charles (3) New York Liberty Candace Parker (2) Los Angeles Sparks
June 27, 2016 Tina Charles (4) New York Liberty Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
July 6, 2016 Tina Charles (5) New York Liberty Nneka Ogwumike (2) Los Angeles Sparks
July 11, 2016 Angel McCoughtry (2) Atlanta Dream Maya Moore (3) Minnesota Lynx
July 18, 2016 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky Nneka Ogwumike (3) Los Angeles Sparks
July 22, 2016 Tina Charles (6) New York Liberty Nneka Ogwumike (4) Los Angeles Sparks
September 6, 2016 Elena Delle Donne (2) Chicago Sky Nneka Ogwumike (5) Los Angeles Sparks
September 12, 2016 Tina Charles (7) New York Liberty Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm
September 19, 2016 Jasmine Thomas Connecticut Sun Nneka Ogwumike (6) Los Angeles Sparks

Player of the Month award

For games playedEastern ConferenceWestern Conference
PlayerTeamPlayerTeam
May 2016 Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
June 2016 Tina Charles (2) New York Liberty Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks
July 2016 Tina Charles (3) New York Liberty Nneka Ogwumike (2) Los Angeles Sparks
September 2016 Tina Charles (4) New York Liberty Maya Moore (2) Minnesota Lynx

Rookie of the Month award

For games playedPlayerTeam
May 2016 Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm
June 2016 Breanna Stewart (2) Seattle Storm
July 2016 Breanna Stewart (3) Seattle Storm
September 2016 Breanna Stewart (4) Seattle Storm

Postseason awards

AwardWinnerPositionTeamVotes/Statistic
Most Valuable Player Award Nneka Ogwumike Forward Los Angeles Sparks 31 out of 39 [6]
Finals MVP Award Candace Parker Forward Los Angeles Sparks
Rookie of the Year Award Breanna Stewart Forward Seattle Storm 38 out of 39
Most Improved Player Award Elizabeth Williams Center Atlanta Dream 14 out of 39
Defensive Player of the Year Award Sylvia Fowles Center Minnesota Lynx 19 out of 39
Sixth Woman of the Year Award Jantel Lavender Center Los Angeles Sparks 26 out of 39
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Tamika Catchings Guard Indiana Fever 29 out of 39
Peak Performer: Points Tina Charles Center New York Liberty 21.5 PPG
Peak Performer: Rebounds Tina Charles Center New York Liberty 9.9 RPG
Peak Performer: Assists Sue Bird Guard Seattle Storm 5.8 APG
Coach of the Year Award Cheryl Reeve Coach Minnesota Lynx 17 out of 39
TeamGuardGuardForwardForwardCenter
All-WNBA First Team Sue Bird Elena Delle Donne Maya Moore Nneka Ogwumike Tina Charles
All-WNBA Second Team Jewell Loyd Diana Taurasi Angel McCoughtry Breanna Stewart Sylvia Fowles
All-Defensive First Team Alana Beard Briann January Angel McCoughtry Nneka Ogwumike Sylvia Fowles
All-Defensive Second Team Tanisha Wright Jasmine Thomas Tamika Catchings Breanna Stewart Brittney Griner
All-Rookie Team Tiffany Mitchell Moriah Jefferson Aerial Powers Breanna Stewart Imani Boyette

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

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References

  1. 1 2 WNBA’s Record-Breaking Season Scores Highest Attendance In Five Years
  2. ↑ "Seattle Storm Win Top Pick In WNBA Draft Lottery". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Standings - WNBA".
  4. ↑ "Verizon and WNBA Tip Off New Marquee Partnership Ahead of League's Landmark 20th Season - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Check Out the New WNBA Uniforms for the Landmark 20th Season".
  6. ↑ "Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike named WNBA MVP for 2016 season". ESPN . September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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