2016 WNBA Finals

Last updated

2016 WNBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Los Angeles Sparks Brian Agler 3
Minnesota Lynx Cheryl Reeve 2
DatesOctober 9–20
MVP Flag of the United States.svg Candace Parker
(Los Angeles Sparks)
Hall of Famers Lynx:
Seimone Augustus (2024)
Lindsay Whalen (2022)
Eastern Finals Los Angeles Sparks defeated Chicago Sky, 3–1 (Note: the semifinal rounds as of 2016 were not divided by conference)
Western Finals Minnesota Lynx defeated Phoenix Mercury, 3–0
←  2015 WNBA Finals 2017  →

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. [1] [2] Nevertheless, the Sparks won the series 3 games to 2.

Contents

Road to the Finals

Standings and playoffs

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
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
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.

WNBA Finals

Sylvia Fowles of the Lynx (left) and finals MVP Candace Parker of the Sparks in Game 2 Fowles and Parker.jpg
Sylvia Fowles of the Lynx (left) and finals MVP Candace Parker of the Sparks in Game 2
Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles of the Lynx (right) and Nneka Ogwumike of the Sparks (left) who ultimately made the winning basket Moore Ogwumbike Fowles.jpg
Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles of the Lynx (right) and Nneka Ogwumike of the Sparks (left) who ultimately made the winning basket

This finals series was arguably the best the WNBA has ever seen.[ neutrality is disputed ] The classic Western Conference showdown did not disappoint. Los Angeles managed to steal Game 1 on the road with a 78–76 victory. Sparks veteran guard Alana Beard hit a buzzer beater. Minnesota bounced back in Game 2, with an effective 79–60 dropping of the Sparks to tie the series at a game a piece. Lynx forward Maya Moore led the charge with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Game 3 took place in LA, where the Sparks put themselves one win away from their first title in 14 years, with a dominant 92–75 win over Minnesota. Sparks superstars Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike combined for 45 points on 19-of-33 shooting. Despite home court advantage in Game 4, the Lynx responded to a devastating loss with a narrow win 85–79, forcing a decisive Game 5 back in Minnesota. Game 5 was truly one of the greatest basketball games ever to be played.[ peacock prose ] The game was very close, but with 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, Ogwumike hit the game-winning shot, grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring, to put her team ahead 77–76. The Sparks emerged as champions for the first time since 2002. Parker, the team's number 1 pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, delivered 28 points and 12 rebounds as she won her first ever WNBA championship. Parker was also named Finals MVP.

Game 1

Alana Beard hit a tie-breaking baseline jumper as time expired to give the Sparks the series lead after a seesaw first game. [3]

ABC
Sunday, October 9, 2016
2:00 PM (CDT)
Los Angeles Sparks 78, Minnesota Lynx 76
Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 13–18, 22–24, 22–16
Pts: Ogwumike 19, Toliver 19
Rebs: Ogwumike 9, Parker 9
Asts: Chelsea Gray 4, Parker 3, Toliver 3		Pts: Moore, Fowles, Whalen 18
Rebs: Fowles 13, Moore 6
Asts: Whalen 6
Los Angeles leads 1–0
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 12,113
Referees: Maj Forsberg, Jeff Wooten, Tom Nunez
Game 2
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
7:00 PM (CDT)
Los Angeles Sparks 60, Minnesota Lynx 79
Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 11–21, 21–15, 14–25
Pts: Ogwumike 14
Rebs: Ogwumike 12
Asts: Beard, Carson, Parker 3		Pts: Moore 21
Rebs: Fowles 15
Asts: Fowles 4
Series tied 1–1
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 12,832
Referees: Michael Price, Billy Smith, Roy Gulbeyan
Game 3
Friday, October 14, 2016
6:00 PM (PDT)
Minnesota Lynx 75, Los Angeles Sparks 92
Scoring by quarter: 17–32, 23–16, 18–22, 17–22
Pts: Brunson, Fowles 14
Rebs: Moore 7
Asts: Moore 5		Pts: Parker 24
Rebs: Ogwumike, Parker 9
Asts: Beard 7
Los Angeles leads 2–1
Galen Center, Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 8,093
Referees: Tom Mauer, Eric Brewton, Amy Bonner
Game 4
Sunday, October 16, 2016
5:30 PM (PDT)
Minnesota Lynx 85, Los Angeles Sparks 79
Scoring by quarter: 22–20, 24–20, 19–19, 20–20
Pts: Moore 31, Whalen 13
Rebs: Fowles 13
Asts: Augustus 5, Moore 5		Pts: Gray 20, Toliver 15
Rebs: Ogwumike 8
Asts: Beard 4
Series tied 2–2
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 12,885
Referees: Roy Gulbeyan, Maj Forsberg, Kurt Walker
Game 5
Thursday, October 20, 2016
7:00 PM (CDT)
Los Angeles Sparks 77, Minnesota Lynx 76
Scoring by quarter: 17–18, 11–16, 26–21, 23–21
Pts: Parker 28
Rebs: Ogwumike, Parker 12
Asts: Beard 6		Pts: Moore 23
Rebs: Brunson, Fowles 9
Asts: Moore 11
Los Angeles wins WNBA Finals, 3–2
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN

Team rosters

Minnesota Lynx roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F 33 Flag of the United States.svg Augustus, Seimone 6' 0" (1.83m)169 lb (77kg)04-30-1984 LSU 11
F 32 Flag of the United States.svg Brunson, Rebekkah 6' 2" (1.88m)185 lb (84kg)12-11-1981 Georgetown 13
G 51 Flag of Spain.svg Cruz, Anna 5' 9" (1.75m)136 lb (62kg)10-27-1986 Spain 3
C 34 Flag of the United States.svg Fowles, Sylvia 6' 6" (1.98m)212 lb (96kg)10-06-1985 LSU 9
F 24 Flag of the United States.svg Hampton, Keisha 6' 1" (1.85m)171 lb (78kg)02-22-1990 DePaul R
F 3 Flag of the United States.svg Howard, Natasha 6' 2" (1.88m)171 lb (78kg)09-02-1991 Florida State 2
F/C 4 Flag of the United States.svg McCarville, Janel 6' 2" (1.88m)218 lb (99kg)11-03-1982 Minnesota 11
G 21 Flag of the United States.svg Montgomery, Renee 5' 7" (1.7m)143 lb (65kg)12-02-1986 Connecticut 8
F 23 Flag of the United States.svg Moore, Maya 6' 0" (1.83m)178 lb (81kg)06-11-1989 Connecticut 6
G 7 Flag of the United States.svg Perkins, Jia 5' 8" (1.73m)168 lb (76kg)02-23-1982 Texas Tech 13
G 13 Flag of the United States.svg Whalen, Lindsay 5' 9" (1.75m)166 lb (75kg)05-09-1982 Minnesota 13
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Cheryl Reeve (La Salle)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
Flag of the United States.svg Jim Petersen (Minnesota)
Athletic trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Chuck Barta (Wisconsin-La Crosse)
Assistant trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Kate Taber (Iowa)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
2016 Los Angeles Sparks roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
G/F 0 Flag of the United States.svg Beard, Alana 6' 1" (1.85m)160 lb (73kg)05-14-1982 Duke 12
F 10 Flag of Russia.svg Belyakova, Evgeniya 6' 0" (1.83m)150 lb (68kg)06-27-1986 Russia R
G/F 17 Flag of the United States.svg Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m)163 lb (74kg)07-28-1986 Rutgers 8
G 23 Flag of Serbia.svg Dabović, Ana 6' 0" (1.83m)157 lb (71kg)08-18-1989 Serbia 1
F 28 Flag of Montenegro.svg Dubljević, Jelena 6' 3" (1.91m)179 lb (81kg)05-07-1987 Montenegro R
G 12 Flag of the United States.svg Gray, Chelsea 5' 11" (1.8m)170 lb (77kg)10-08-1992 Duke 1
F/C 7 Flag of France.svg Gruda, Sandrine 6' 4" (1.93m)185 lb (84kg)06-25-1987 France 4
C 42 Flag of the United States.svg Lavender, Jantel 6' 4" (1.93m)185 lb (84kg)11-12-1988 Ohio State 5
F 30 Flag of the United States.svg Ogwumike, Nneka 6' 2" (1.88m)174 lb (79kg)07-02-1990 Stanford 4
F/C 3 Flag of the United States.svg Parker, Candace 6' 4" (1.93m)175 lb (79kg)04-19-1986 Tennessee 8
G 20 Flag of the United States.svg Toliver, Kristi 5' 7" (1.7m)130 lb (59kg)01-27-1987 Maryland 7
C 21 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Wauters, Ann 6' 4" (1.93m)193 lb (88kg)10-12-1980 Belgium 8
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Brian Agler (Wittenberg)
Assistant coaches
Flag of the United States.svg Tonya Edwards (Tennessee)
Flag of the United States.svg Amber Stocks (Cincinnati)
Athletic trainer
Flag of the United States.svg Courtney Watson (California)
Strength and conditioning coach
Flag of the United States.svg Kelly Dormandy (Springfield College)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Controversies

After both Game 4 and Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, the league acknowledged that they had made officiating mistakes late in the games that might have affected their final outcomes. Regarding Game 5, the league released this statement: "After reviewing postgame video, we have determined that Nneka Ogwumike's shot with 1:14 remaining in regulation time should not have counted due to a shot clock violation, and that the referees improperly failed to review the play under the instant replay rules." A similar statement was released after Game 4 after the league admitted to have blown an eight-second violation call. Nevertheless, the outcomes of the games remained the same, with Minnesota taking game 4 and Los Angeles taking game 5.

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References

  1. ↑ Renee Brown, WNBA Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations (October 17, 2016). "WNBA Statement On Lynx-Sparks WNBA Finals Game 4". WNBA. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  2. ↑ Renee Brown, WNBA Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations (October 21, 2016). "WNBA Statement on Lynx-Sparks WNBA Finals Game 5". WNBA. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Alana Beard's last-second shot gives Sparks the win over Lynx in WNBA Finals opener. The Associated Press. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
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