2019 WNBA season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | May 24 – October 10, 2019 |
Number of games | 34 |
Number of teams | 12 |
Total attendance | 1,333,093 |
Average attendance | 6,535 [1] |
TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV, CBSSN |
Top draft pick | Jackie Young |
Picked by | Las Vegas Aces |
Season MVP | Elena Delle Donne (Washington) |
Eastern champions | Washington Mystics |
Eastern runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
Western champions | Los Angeles Sparks |
Western runners-up | Las Vegas Aces |
Finals champions | Washington Mystics |
Runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
Finals MVP | Emma Meesseman (Washington) |
The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Seattle Storm were the defending champions. The regular season began on May 24, with the Atlanta Dream hosting the Dallas Wings and the New York Liberty hosting the Indiana Fever. The season ended with the Washington Mystics securing their first WNBA Title over the Connecticut Sun three games to two, in a closely contested finals. Emma Meesseman was named Finals MVP and teammate Elena Delle Donne was named regular season MVP.
The Las Vegas Aces had the first pick in the 2019 WNBA draft on April 10, marking the third straight draft in which the franchise won the lottery for the top pick. [2] [3] With the top pick, the Aces selected Jackie Young from Notre Dame. The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (Round 1 on ESPN2, Rounds 2 and 3 on ESPNU).
The WNBA Board of Governors approved two rule changes at their November 15, 2018 meeting that would go into effect during the 2019 season. [4]
On April 22, 2019, CBS Sports Network announced a multi-year deal with the league to broadcast 40 games a season starting in May 2019. On June 27, 2019, TSN, Sportsnet, and NBA TV Canada announced a multi-year deal with the league to broadcast 53 games combined a season starting on June 28, 2019.
Free agency negotiations began on January 15, 2019, with the signing period starting on February 1, 2019. [9]
Off-season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | 2018 season | 2019 season | Reference |
Chicago Sky | Amber Stocks | James Wade | [10] [11] |
Dallas Wings | Taj McWilliams-Franklin (Interim) | Brian Agler | [12] |
Los Angeles Sparks | Brian Agler | Derek Fisher | [13] [14] |
Post-season | |||
Indiana Fever | Pokey Chatman | [15] | |
New York Liberty | Katie Smith | [16] |
Team Wilson129, Team Delle Donne 126 | ||
Scoring by quarter:39–23, 38–40, 28–32, 24–31 | ||
Pts: Wheeler 25 Rebs: Fowles 9 Asts: Gray 10 | Pts: Ogwumike 22 Rebs: Jones 13 Asts: Toliver 9 |
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada Attendance: 9,157 Referees: #42 Roy Gulbeyan #13 Cheryl Flores #15 Fatou Cissoko-Stephens |
Source: [24]
# | Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Washington Mystics (1) | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 14–3 | 12–5 | 13–3 |
2 | Connecticut Sun (2) | 23 | 11 | .676 | 3 | 15–2 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
3 | Chicago Sky (5) | 20 | 14 | .588 | 6 | 12–5 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
4 | e –Indiana Fever | 13 | 21 | .382 | 13 | 7–10 | 6–11 | 7–9 |
5 | e –New York Liberty | 10 | 24 | .294 | 16 | 4–13 | 6–11 | 3–13 |
6 | e –Atlanta Dream | 8 | 26 | .235 | 18 | 5–12 | 3–14 | 3–13 |
# | Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Los Angeles Sparks (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | – | 15–2 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
2 | Las Vegas Aces (4) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 1 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
3 | Seattle Storm (6) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
4 | Minnesota Lynx (7) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 7–9 |
5 | Phoenix Mercury (8) | 15 | 19 | .441 | 7 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 5–11 |
6 | e – Dallas Wings | 10 | 24 | .294 | 12 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 5–11 |
Notes
The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2019 regular season. [25] [26]
Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | 20.7 ppg |
Rebounds per game | Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | 9.7 rpg |
Assists per game | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | 9.1 apg |
Steals per game | Jordin Canada | Seattle Storm | 2.3 spg |
Blocks per game | Brittney Griner Jonquel Jones | Phoenix Mercury Connecticut Sun | 2.0 bpg |
Field goal percentage | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | 58.8% |
Three point FG percentage | Alysha Clark | Seattle Storm | 48.1% |
Free throw percentage | Elena Delle Donne | Washington Mystics | 97.4% |
Points per game (team) | Washington Mystics | 89.3 ppg | |
Field goal percentage (team) | Washington Mystics | 46.9% |
The WNBA continued its current playoff format for 2019. The top eight teams, regardless of conference, make the playoffs, with the top two teams receiving a bye to the semi-finals. The remaining six teams play in two single-elimination playoff rounds, with the third and fourth seeds receiving a bye to the second round. [27]
First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | Washington Mystics | 97 | 103 | 75 | 94 | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Las Vegas Aces | 93 | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 95 | 91 | 92 | 90 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Chicago Sky | 105 | 5 | Chicago Sky | 92 | 1 | Washington Mystics | 95 | 87 | 94 | 86 | 89 | |||||||||||||
8 | Phoenix Mercury | 76 | 2 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 99 | 81 | 90 | 78 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Connecticut Sun | 84 | 94 | 78 | |||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 92 | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 68 | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | Seattle Storm | 84 | 6 | Seattle Storm | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||
7 | Minnesota Lynx | 74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.
Date Awarded | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
June 3 | Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | Natasha Howard | Seattle Storm | [28] |
June 10 | Jonquel Jones (2) | Connecticut Sun | DeWanna Bonner | Phoenix Mercury | [29] |
June 17 | Jonquel Jones (3) | Connecticut Sun | Natasha Howard (2) | Seattle Storm | [30] |
June 24 | Elena Delle Donne | Washington Mystics | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | [31] |
July 1 | Elena Delle Donne (2) | Washington Mystics | A'ja Wilson (2) | Las Vegas Aces | [32] |
July 8 | Tina Charles | New York Liberty | Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | [33] |
July 15 | Jonquel Jones (4) | Connecticut Sun | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | [34] |
July 22 | Elena Delle Donne (3) | Washington Mystics | Natasha Howard (3) | Seattle Storm | [35] |
August 5 | Elena Delle Donne (4) | Washington Mystics | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | [36] |
August 12 | Elena Delle Donne (5) | Washington Mystics | Nneka Ogwumike (2) | Los Angeles Sparks | [37] |
August 19 | Elena Delle Donne (6) | Washington Mystics | Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | [38] |
August 26 | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | [39] |
September 3 | Courtney Williams | Connecticut Sun | Brittney Griner (2) | Phoenix Mercury | [40] |
September 9 | Elena Delle Donne (7) | Washington Mystics | Candace Parker (2) | Los Angeles Sparks | [41] |
For games played | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
June 2019 | Elena Delle Donne | Washington Mystics | Natasha Howard | Seattle Storm | [42] |
July 2019 | Elena Delle Donne (2) | Washington Mystics | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | [43] |
August 2019 | Elena Delle Donne (3) | Washington Mystics | Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | [44] |
For games played | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
June 2019 | Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | [45] |
July 2019 | Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | [46] |
August 2019 | Arike Ogunbowale (2) | Dallas Wings | [47] |
For games played | Coach | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
June 2019 | Mike Thibault | Washington Mystics | [48] |
July 2019 | Bill Laimbeer | Las Vegas Aces | [49] |
August 2019 | Mike Thibault (2) | Washington Mystics | [50] |
Award | Winner | Position | Team | Votes/Statistic | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Most Valuable Player Award | Elena Delle Donne | Forward/Guard | Washington Mystics | 41 of 43 [51] | |
Finals MVP Award | Emma Meesseman | Forward | Washington Mystics | [52] | |
Rookie of the Year Award | Napheesa Collier | Forward | Minnesota Lynx | 29 of 43 [53] | |
Most Improved Player Award | Leilani Mitchell | Guard | Phoenix Mercury | 27 of 43 [54] | |
Defensive Player of the Year Award | Natasha Howard | Forward | Seattle Storm | 33 of 44 [55] | |
Sixth Woman of the Year Award | Dearica Hamby | Forward | Las Vegas Aces | 41 of 43 [56] | |
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Nneka Ogwumike | Forward | Los Angeles Sparks | 7 of 43 [57] | |
Peak Performer: Points | Brittney Griner | Center | Phoenix Mercury | 20.7 PPG [58] | |
Peak Performer: Rebounds | Jonquel Jones | Center | Connecticut Sun | 9.7 RPG [58] | |
Peak Performer: Assists | Courtney Vandersloot | Guard | Chicago Sky | 9.1 APG [58] | |
Coach of the Year Award | James Wade | Coach | Chicago Sky | 27 of 43 [59] | |
Basketball Executive of the Year Award | Cheryl Reeve | General Manager/Head Coach | Minnesota Lynx | 28 points [60] | |
Team | Guard | Guard | Forward | Forward | Center |
All-WNBA First Team | Courtney Vandersloot | Chelsea Gray | Elena Delle Donne | Natasha Howard | Brittney Griner |
All-WNBA Second Team | Odyssey Sims | Diamond DeShields | Nneka Ogwumike | Jonquel Jones | Liz Cambage |
All-Defensive First Team [61] | Jasmine Thomas | Jordin Canada | Natasha Howard | Nneka Ogwumike | Jonquel Jones |
All-Defensive Second Team [61] | Ariel Atkins | Natasha Cloud | Alysha Clark | Alyssa Thomas | Brittney Griner |
All-Rookie Team [62] | Arike Ogunbowale | Jackie Young | Napheesa Collier | Brianna Turner | Teaira McCowan |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Dream | Nicki Collen | Connecticut Sun (assistant) | 1 | 23–11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Chicago Sky | James Wade | UMMC Ekaterinburg (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Connecticut Sun | Curt Miller | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 3 | 56–46 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Indiana Fever | Pokey Chatman | Chicago Sky | 2 | 15–53 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New York Liberty | Katie Smith | New York Liberty (assistant) | 1 | 7–27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Washington Mystics | Mike Thibault | Connecticut Sun | 6 | 104–100 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas Wings | Brian Agler | Los Angeles Sparks | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Las Vegas Aces | Bill Laimbeer | New York Liberty | 1 | 14–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Los Angeles Sparks | Derek Fisher | New York Knicks | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Detroit Shock (assistant) | 8 | 213–93 | 7 | 6 | 4 |
Phoenix Mercury | Sandy Brondello | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 5 | 103–67 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Seattle Storm | Dan Hughes | San Antonio Stars | 1 | 26–8 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Notes:
The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded prior to the 1998 season, and is owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Mystics' NBA counterpart, the Washington Wizards. The team plays in the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET and ex-wife of Charlotte Sting owner Robert L. Johnson, is the managing partner.
The Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season in 1997. MVP voting takes place immediately following the regular season. The award recipient is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States. Panel members were asked to select their top five choices for the award, with 10 points being awarded for a first place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.
The Chicago Sky are 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.
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. 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.
The 2017 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 22, 2017. The Seattle Storm hosted a WNBA All-Star Game for the first time.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Minnesota Lynx are the defending champions. The regular season began on May 18, with the Phoenix Mercury hosting the Dallas Wings. The season ended with the Seattle Storm defeating the Washington Mystics 3-0 in the WNBA Finals. This was the third championship for the Storm. Seattle's Breanna Stewart was named regular season and finals MVP.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 22nd for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Mystics winning their first WNBA Championship.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Dallas Wings franchise of the WNBA. This was the franchise's 4th season in Dallas. The season tipped off on May 24, 2019 versus the Atlanta Dream.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Las Vegas Aces franchise of the WNBA and the 2nd year the franchise was based in Las Vegas. The season tipped off on May 26, 2019 versus the Los Angeles Sparks.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 20th season for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 25 with a game against the Phoenix Mercury.
The 2019 WNBA Finals, officially WNBA Finals 2019 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2019 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Finals featured the top seeded Washington Mystics facing off against the second seed Connecticut Sun. The Washington Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun through five turbulent games, with the Mystics winning the odd-numbered games and the Sun emerging victorious through the even-numbered games, exploiting a temporary absence of Elena Delle Donne and drawing upon unrelenting resolve to keep the series going, to make their bid for a championship that ultimately failed after the Mystics resurged in Game 5's final quarter. This was the first-ever Finals win for the Washington Mystics, as well as the Connecticut Sun's third Finals appearance.
The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Washington Mystics were the defending champions. Planned changes to the league's schedule included an increase from 34 to 36 regular season games for each team, the introduction of a mid-season Commissioner's Cup tournament, and more games broadcast on ESPN and ABC. This was the first season under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the WNBA Players Association. However, on April 3, the season was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a plan approved on June 15, the league began a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, without fans present on July 25. A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces was named the league MVP. The Seattle Storm won the 2020 WNBA Finals over the Aces, and Breanna Stewart was named the Finals MVP.
The 2021 WNBA season was the 25th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Seattle Storm were the defending champions. In the playoffs, the Chicago Sky won in four games over the Phoenix Mercury. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teams played a 32-game season that included mini two-game series to reduce travel. The regular season ran from May 14 to September 19, with a break from July 12 to August 11 for the Olympic Games.
The 2021 Seattle Storm season is the franchise's 22nd season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Due to ongoing renovations at the Climate Pledge Arena, the Storm played their home games at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington.
The 2021 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was also the 19th season for the franchise in Connecticut. The season began on May 14, 2021, at the Atlanta Dream.
The 2021 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 14, 2021, at the Minnesota Lynx.
The 2022 New York Liberty season was the 26th season for the New York Liberty franchise of the WNBA. The Liberty opened the regular season on May 7, 2022, versus the Connecticut Sun.
The 2022 WNBA season was the 26th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Chicago Sky were the defending champions.
The 2023 Seattle Storm season was the franchise's 24th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and the second full season under head coach Noelle Quinn. Quinn took over in May of the 2021 season.