2017 WNBA season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Number of games | 34 |
Number of teams | 12 |
Total attendance | 1,574,078 [1] |
Average attendance | 7,716 [1] |
TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV |
Top draft pick | Kelsey Plum |
Picked by | San Antonio Stars |
Season MVP | Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota) |
Eastern champions | New York Liberty |
Eastern runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
Western champions | Minnesota Lynx |
Western runners-up | Los Angeles Sparks |
Finals champions | Minnesota Lynx |
Runners-up | Los Angeles Sparks |
Finals MVP | Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota) |
The 2017 WNBA season was the 21st season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 13 with three games, highlighted by the defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Seattle Storm. It concluded on September 3. The playoffs began on September 6, and concluded on October 4, with the Minnesota Lynx defeating the Sparks in five games to win their fourth WNBA title. [2]
It was the final season for the San Antonio Stars in the city that they had called home since 2003. After the season, parent company Spurs Sports & Entertainment sold the team to MGM Resorts International, which moved the team to Las Vegas. [3] The former Stars now play as the Las Vegas Aces. [4]
The San Antonio Stars selected Kelsey Plum first in the 2017 WNBA Draft. [5] The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (Round 1 on ESPN2, Rounds 2 and 3 on ESPNU).
Two teams announced temporary arena changes for the 2017 season, both due to their regular arenas undergoing renovations during the WNBA season.
Source: [8]
# | Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New York Liberty - (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | - | 13–4 | 9–8 | 10–6 |
2 | Connecticut Sun - (4) | 21 | 13 | .636 | 1 | 12–5 | 9–6 | 10–6 |
3 | Washington Mystics - (6) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 12-4 |
4 | Chicago Sky - e | 12 | 22 | .353 | 10 | 4–13 | 8–9 | 6–10 |
5 | Atlanta Dream - e | 12 | 22 | .353 | 10 | 9–8 | 3–14 | 5–11 |
6 | Indiana Fever - e | 9 | 25 | .265 | 13 | 6–11 | 3–14 | 4–12 |
# | Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Minnesota Lynx - (1) | 27 | 7 | .794 | – | 15–2 | 12–5 | 13–3 |
2 | Los Angeles Sparks - (2) | 26 | 8 | .765 | 1 | 16–1 | 10–7 | 12–4 |
3 | Phoenix Mercury - (5) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 9 | 9–8 | 9–8 | 7–9 |
4 | Dallas Wings - (7) | 16 | 18 | .471 | 11 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 7–9 |
5 | Seattle Storm - (8) | 15 | 19 | .441 | 12 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 8–8 |
6 | San Antonio Stars - e | 8 | 26 | .235 | 19 | 6–11 | 2–15 | 1–15 |
Notes
First round: Single elimination (Sept. 6) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 10) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 12 – Sept. 17) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 24 – Oct. 4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 79 | 86 | 89 | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Connecticut Sun | 83 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 66 | 72 | 87 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Phoenix Mercury | 79 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 88 | 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 84 | 70 | 64 | 80 | 85 | ||||||||||||
8 | Seattle Storm | 69 | 2 | Los Angeles Sparks | 85 | 68 | 75 | 69 | 76 | |||||||||||||||
1 | Minnesota Lynx | 101 | 93 | 81 | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | New York Liberty | 68 | 6 | Washington Mystics | 81 | 83 | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
6 | Washington Mystics | 86 | 6 | Washington Mystics | 82 | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Dallas Wings | 76 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.
Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | 21.9 PPG |
Rebounds per game | Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | 11.9 RPG |
Assists per game | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | 8.1 APG |
Steals per game | Alana Beard | Los Angeles Sparks | 2.1 SPG |
Blocks per game | Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | 2.5 BPG |
Field goal percentage | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | 65.5% |
Three point percentage | Chelsea Gray | Los Angeles Sparks | 48.2% |
Free throw percentage | Elena Delle Donne | Washington Mystics | 95.3% |
Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | 23.0 PPG |
Rebounds per game | Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | 15.0 RPG |
Assists per game | Chelsea Gray | Los Angeles Sparks | 6.7 APG |
Steals per game | Jewell Loyd | Seattle Storm | 3.0 SPG |
Blocks per game | Courtney Paris Candace Parker Breanna Stewart | Dallas Wings Los Angeles Sparks Seattle Storm | 2.0 BPG |
Field goal percentage | 8 Tied | Various | 100% |
Three point percentage | Rebecca Allen Rachel Banham | New York Liberty Connecticut Sun | 100% |
Free throw percentage | 18 Tied | Various | 100% |
For games played | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | |
May 2017 | Tiffany Hayes | Atlanta Dream | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx |
June 2017 | Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | Sylvia Fowles (2) | Minnesota Lynx |
July 2017 | Tina Charles | New York Liberty | Sylvia Fowles (3) | Minnesota Lynx |
August 2017 | Tina Charles (2) | New York Liberty | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
For games played | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
May 2017 | Allisha Gray | Dallas Wings |
June 2017 | Allisha Gray (2) | Dallas Wings |
July 2017 | Brittney Sykes | Atlanta Dream |
August 2017 | Brittney Sykes (2) | Atlanta Dream |
For games played | Coach | Team |
---|---|---|
May 2017 | Cheryl Reeve | Minnesota Lynx |
June 2017 | Brian Agler | Los Angeles Sparks |
July 2017 | Curt Miller | Connecticut Sun |
August 2017 | Bill Laimbeer | New York Liberty |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Dream | Michael Cooper | USC | 3 | 51–51 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Chicago Sky | Amber Stocks | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Connecticut Sun | Curt Miller | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 1 | 14–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Indiana Fever | Pokey Chatman | Chicago Sky | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New York Liberty | Bill Laimbeer | Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant) | 4 | 70–66 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Washington Mystics | Mike Thibault | Connecticut Sun | 4 | 64–72 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas Wings | Fred Williams | Atlanta Dream | 3 | 41–61 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Los Angeles Sparks | Brian Agler | Seattle Storm | 2 | 40–28 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Detroit Shock (assistant) | 7 | 168–70 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
Phoenix Mercury | Sandy Brondello | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 3 | 65–37 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
San Antonio Stars | Vickie Johnson | San Antonio Stars (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Seattle Storm | Jenny Boucek | Seattle Storm (assistant) | 10 | 26–42 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league composed of 12 teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.
The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1997 and is one of the eight original franchises of the league. The team is owned by Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, the majority owners of the Brooklyn Nets. The team's home games are played at Barclays Center.
The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; then moved to San Antonio before the 2003 season and became the San Antonio Silver Stars, then simply the San Antonio Stars in 2014. The team was owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, which also owned the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. The team was sold to MGM Resorts International in 2017 and became the Las Vegas Aces for the 2018 season.
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.
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The 2011 WNBA season was the 15th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on June 3 with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Minnesota Lynx, featuring 2011 WNBA draft top pick Maya Moore, in a game televised on NBA TV. Four games followed the next day, with the marquee matchup, televised on ABC, featuring the defending champion Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury in Seattle.
Sydney Justine Colson is an American basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Texas A&M University, where she helped the Aggies win the 2011 NCAA title. She has previously played for the New York Liberty, San Antonio Stars, Minnesota Lynx, and the Chicago Sky in the WNBA, and overseas in Poland and Israel. Colson is a two-time WNBA champion, winning back-to-back titles with the Aces in 2022 and 2023.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment L.L.C. (SS&E) is an American sports & entertainment organization, based in San Antonio, Texas. The company owns and operates several sporting franchises including the National Basketball Association (NBA) San Antonio Spurs, NBA G League Austin Spurs, and the USL Championship club San Antonio FC. SS&E also operates the Bexar County-owned multi-purpose facility, the Frost Bank Center.
Kelsey Christine Plum is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She has won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, she earned her first All-WNBA First Team selection and was named the WNBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) in her first WNBA All-Star Game. She also won the gold medal in Women's 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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The 2018 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx was their 20th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2017 season with a record of 27–7, finishing first in the Western Conference and qualifying for the playoffs, before ultimately beating Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals to win their league-tying best fourth championship.
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