The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league based in the United States. It is composed of 12 teams. The league was founded on April 24, 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 Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sparks have the distinction of not being affiliated with an NBA counterpart, even though the market is shared with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions.
Candace Nicole Parker, nicknamed "Ace", is an American former professional basketball player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, she was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She spent 13 seasons on the Sparks, two seasons with the Chicago Sky, and one season with the Las Vegas Aces, winning a championship with each team.
The Chicago Sky is 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 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was the first WNBA season with a franchise in Atlanta as the Dream were announced in late 2007.
The 2008 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2008 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock defeating the Western Conference champion San Antonio Silver Stars 3-0.
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences that make up the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the other being the Western Conference. Both conferences consist of 6 teams.
The Western Conference is one of two conferences that make up the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the other being the Eastern Conference. Both conferences consist of 6 teams.
The 2009 WNBA Season was the 13th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It is the first WNBA season without a Houston franchise, the Comets having folded in December 2008. The season ended with the Phoenix Mercury winning their second championship in three years.
The 2009 WNBA Playoffs is the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2009 season.
The 2008 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2008 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Detroit Shock, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, three games to none in a best-of-five series. This was Detroit's third title in six years.
The 2003 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2003 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Detroit Shock, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Detroit's first title.
The 2010 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The champions of the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Dream, faced the champions of the Western Conference, the Seattle Storm.
The 2006 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2006 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock defeating the Western Conference champion Sacramento Monarchs 3-2.
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.
The 2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 24, and playoffs 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 2014 WNBA playoffs was the postseason for the 2014 WNBA season. Four teams from each of the league's two conferences qualified for the playoffs, seeded 1 to 4 in a tournament bracket, with the two opening rounds in a best-of-three format, and the final in a best-of-five format.
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.
The 2016 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2016 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx held home court advantage in the Finals, but lost three games to two to the second-seeded Los Angeles Sparks. The series followed a 2–2–1 format, and eschewed from the previous tradition of having the Western Conference champion face the Eastern Conference champion. Instead, in the 2016 season, the top eight teams qualified for the playoffs, regardless of conference. Both WNBA Finals teams were from the Western Conference. The Sparks won a semifinal series against the Chicago Sky to determine one of the Finals berths; the first-seeded Lynx defeated the Phoenix Mercury to earn the other. Candace Parker was named the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP. Renee Brown, outgoing Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations of the WNBA, issued statements following games 4 and 5 saying the referees had made an error in each game. Nevertheless, the Sparks won the series 3 games to 2.
