2020 WNBA season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | July 25 – October 6, 2020 [a] |
Number of games | 22 [b] |
Number of teams | 12 |
TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, CBSSN, NBA TV |
Top draft pick | Sabrina Ionescu |
Picked by | New York Liberty |
Season MVP | ![]() |
Finals champions | Seattle Storm |
Runners-up | Las Vegas Aces |
Finals MVP | ![]() |
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. [1] This was the first season under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the WNBA Players Association. [2] However, on April 3, the season was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] 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. [4] [5] [6] 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.
On January 14, 2020, the WNBA and the WNBA Players Association announced that a new eight-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) had been signed. [7] [2] Key provisions of the new CBA include: [8] [9]
The WNBA originally planned that each team would play 36 total games in the 2020 season, an increase from the 34 games played in each season since 2003. Teams were to have 18 home and road games each. [1] [10]
The original 2020 season schedule featured the inaugural Commissioner's Cup, an in-season tournament. In the first half of the season between May 15 and July 10, each team would have played its first home and road games against its five conference opponents. These games would have been designated as "Cup games", and the leaders in Cup standings in each conference were would have met in the Commissioner's Cup championship game scheduled for August 14, 2020. [1] [10]
The 2020 WNBA schedule originally included a traditional month-long break in July and August to allow players to participate in the Summer Olympic Games. The 2020 games were, however, postponed till 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rendering this break unnecessary.
As with most professional sports leagues, the WNBA season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 3, 2020, the WNBA announced that the start of its schedule would also be postponed. [3] The 2020 entry draft took place as originally scheduled on April 17, although it was done remotely. [3] On the originally scheduled opening day, May 15, 2020, Engelbert told ESPN that the players would get their first paychecks on June 1. [11] On June 4, ESPN reported that the WNBA was planning on a shortened 22-game regular season to be held at IMG Academy, with players receiving 60% of their salaries. [12] On June 9, The Next reported that many players were unhappy with the reduced salary, and the league revised its plans by June 12 to include full season salaries for players. [13] On June 15, the return-to-play proposal was approved. [5] [14] The playoff format, which included single-elimination first and second-round games and then five-game series for the semifinals and finals, stayed the same and ended in October. [14]
The New York Liberty had the first pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. [15] The Liberty selected Sabrina Ionescu first overall. [16] The full draft was televised on ESPN in the US and on both TSN2 and SN1 in Canada. [17]
Free agency negotiations started on January 28, 2020, and the signing period began on February 10, 2020. [25]
Off-season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | 2019 season | 2020 season | Reference |
Indiana Fever | Pokey Chatman | Marianne Stanley | [26] [27] |
New York Liberty | Katie Smith | Walt Hopkins | [28] [29] |
Traditionally, there is no WNBA All-Star Game during an Olympic year, such as 2020. The 2020 Tokyo games were postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the season being held at IMG Academy, the All-Star Game was not played in 2020.
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
2 | x – Seattle Storm | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
3 | x – Los Angeles Sparks | 15 | 7 | .682 | 3 | 5–5 |
4 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 8 | .636 | 4 | 4–6 |
5 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5 | 4–6 |
6 | x – Chicago Sky | 12 | 10 | .545 | 6 | 6–4 |
7 | x – Connecticut Sun | 10 | 12 | .455 | 8 | 7–3 |
8 | x – Washington Mystics | 9 | 13 | .409 | 9 | 6–4 |
9 | e – Dallas Wings | 8 | 14 | .364 | 10 | 1–9 |
10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 7 | 15 | .318 | 11 | 5–5 |
11 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 16 | .273 | 12 | 4–6 |
12 | e – New York Liberty | 2 | 20 | .091 | 16 | 2–8 |
Notes
The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2020 regular season. [34] [35]
Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | 22.8 ppg |
Rebounds per game | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | 9.7 rpg |
Assists per game | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | 10.0 apg |
Steals per game | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | 2.0 spg |
Blocks per game | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | 2.0 bpg |
Field goal percentage | Ruthy Hebard | Chicago Sky | 68.2% (58/85) |
Three point FG percentage | Alysha Clark | Seattle Storm | 52.2% (35/67) |
Free throw percentage | Tiffany Mitchell | Indiana Fever | 95.1% (77/81) |
Points per game (team) | Las Vegas Aces | 88.7 ppg | |
Field goal percentage (team) | Chicago Sky | 49.1% |
The WNBA continued its current playoff format for 2020. 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. [36]
First round Single elimination (September 15) | Second round Single elimination (September 17) | Semifinals Best-of-5 (September 20–29) | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 (October 2–11) | |||||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Minnesota Lynx | 80 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | |||||||||||||
5 | Phoenix Mercury | 85 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 79 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 0 | ||||||||||
8 | Washington Mystics | 84 | 2 | Seattle Storm | 3 | |||||||||||||
2 | Seattle Storm | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 59 | 4 | Minnesota Lynx | 0 | |||||||||||||
6 | Chicago Sky | 81 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 73 | |||||||||||||
7 | Connecticut Sun | 94 | ||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.
Reference: [37]
Award | Winner | Team | Position | Votes/Statistic | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Most Valuable Player (MVP) | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | Forward | 43 of 47 [38] | |
Finals MVP | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | Forward | [39] | |
Rookie of the Year | Crystal Dangerfield | Minnesota Lynx | Guard | 44 of 47 [40] | |
Most Improved Player | Betnijah Laney | Atlanta Dream | Forward/Guard | 25 of 47 [41] | |
Defensive Player of the Year | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | Forward/Center | 16 of 47 [42] | |
Sixth Woman of the Year | Dearica Hamby | Las Vegas Aces | Forward | 44 of 47 [43] | |
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | Forward | 21 of 46 [44] | |
Season-Long Community Assist Award | All WNBA Players | ||||
Peak Performers | Points | Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | Guard | 22.8 ppg [45] |
Rebounds | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | Forward/Center | 9.7 rpg [45] | |
Assists | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | Guard | 10.0 apg [45] | |
Coach of the Year | Cheryl Reeve | Minnesota Lynx | Coach | 25 of 47 [46] | |
Basketball Executive of the Year | Dan Padover | Las Vegas Aces | General manager | 37 points [47] |
Award | Guard | Guard | Forward | Forward | Center | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All-WNBA [48] | First Team | Courtney Vandersloot | Arike Ogunbowale | A'ja Wilson | Breanna Stewart | Candace Parker |
Second Team | Diana Taurasi | Skylar Diggins-Smith | DeWanna Bonner | Napheesa Collier | Myisha Hines-Allen | |
All-Defensive [49] | First Team | Alysha Clark | Betnijah Laney | Brianna Turner | Alyssa Thomas | Elizabeth Williams |
Second Team | Ariel Atkins | Brittney Sykes | Breanna Stewart | Napheesa Collier | A'ja Wilson | |
All-Rookie Team [50] | Crystal Dangerfield | Julie Allemand | Chennedy Carter | Jazmine Jones | Satou Sabally |
Week ending | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
August 3 | Myisha Hines-Allen | Washington Mystics | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | [51] |
August 10 | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | [52] |
August 17 | DeWanna Bonner | Connecticut Sun | Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | [53] |
August 24 | Courtney Vandersloot (2) | Chicago Sky | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | [54] |
August 31 | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | Breanna Stewart (2) | Seattle Storm | [55] |
September 8 | DeWanna Bonner (2) | Connecticut Sun | Skylar Diggins-Smith | Phoenix Mercury | [56] |
September 14 | Myisha Hines-Allen (2) | Washington Mystics | A'ja Wilson (2) | Las Vegas Aces | [57] |
Month | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
August | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | A'ja Wilson (2) | Las Vegas Aces | [58] |
September | Myisha Hines-Allen | Washington Mystics | [59] |
Month | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
August | Crystal Dangerfield (2) | Minnesota Lynx | [60] |
September | [61] |
Month | Coach | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
August | Bill Laimbeer (2) | Las Vegas Aces | [62] |
September | [63] |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Dream | Nicki Collen | Connecticut Sun (assistant) | 2 | 31–37 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Chicago Sky | James Wade | UMMC Ekaterinburg (assistant) | 1 | 20–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Connecticut Sun | Curt Miller | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 4 | 79–57 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Indiana Fever | Marianne Stanley | Washington Mystics (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New York Liberty | Walt Hopkins | Minnesota Lynx (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Washington Mystics | Mike Thibault | Connecticut Sun | 7 | 130–108 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas Wings | Brian Agler | Los Angeles Sparks | 1 | 10–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Las Vegas Aces | Bill Laimbeer | New York Liberty | 2 | 35–33 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Los Angeles Sparks | Derek Fisher | New York Knicks | 1 | 22–12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Detroit Shock (assistant) | 10 | 231–109 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
Phoenix Mercury | Sandy Brondello | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 6 | 118–86 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Seattle Storm | Dan Hughes | San Antonio Stars | 2 | 44–24 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Notes:
In response to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their series against the Orlando Magic on August 26. Later that day, the NBA announced that in light of the Bucks' decision, all games for the day were postponed. [64] The WNBA joined the protest and postponed their three games that were originally scheduled on Wednesday: Washington Mystics vs. Atlanta Dream; Los Angeles Sparks vs. Minnesota Lynx; Connecticut Sun vs. Phoenix Mercury. [65] Games were again postponed on August 27. [66] Games resumed on Friday, August 28. [67]