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2004 WNBA Season Preview

By Matt Wurst, WNBA.com

WNBA champions don�t stop after winning just one title. Repeating is just what they do, right?

Things certainly look promising for the Detroit Shock in 2004 as the defending WNBA champions return virtually everyone. Former Detroit Pistons forward Bill Laimbeer stepped in and led the young team to a worst-to-first turnaround and was named 2003 WNBA Coach of the Year. The Shock's young nucleus, which includes 2003 Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford, 2003 Finals MVP Ruth Riley, Swin Cash and Deanna Nolan, is now playoff-tested and poised for another run. And the Shock may have gotten even stronger in the offseason having picked up two first round draft picks: Chandi Jones and Iciss Tillis.

Swin Cash and the Detroit Shock will be tought to beat in the East. Allen Einstein WNBA/Getty Images

But the Shock will be a marked team when the WNBA tip off its eighth season on Thursday, May 20. Every team improved in the offseason thanks to a the dispersal of the Rockers franchise, the arrival of the most heralded rookie class of 2004, blockbuster trades and the introduction of free agency to the WNBA.

�If you are a player with a good reputation but not necessarily on a winning team, free agency can be a good opportunity to make some things happen,� Minnesota Lynx guard and U.S. Olympian Katie Smith said. �It may lead to some stacked teams or it could result in a greater degree of parity, especially with the history and consistency of these Draft classes. It will be fun to see.�

As a result of the collective bargaining agreement reached between the league and the players prior to the 2003 season, free agency and salary cap restrictions now play a major role in how teams shape their rosters. The New York Liberty were perhaps the biggest victims to free agency, losing Teresa Weatherspoon and Tamika Whitmore to Los Angeles.

"I will approach things the same way. I love the game and I�m going to play it hard-nosed each and every night I go out and play," Weatherspoon said. "It�s not about time, it�s not about starting. It�s about going out and playing the game as hard as I possibly can. It�s about getting those W�s and that�s what I want to do."

Four teams welcome new head coaches, three of whom have significant NBA ties. Former Boston Celtic and Orlando Magic guard Dee Brown takes over in San Antonio Silver Stars, former NBA head coach Brian Winters is now in charge of the Indiana Fever, while Bullets great Michael Adams leads the Washington Mystics. Former Mercury assistant Carrie Graf now steers the ship in Phoenix.

With the significant offseason movement and the Shock restoring some of the pride back in the Eastern Conference, will there be another worst-to-first turnaround in 2004? The Washington Mystics, who finished at 9-25 last season, are certainly hoping so. The combination of Chamique Holdsclaw, who led the WNBA in rebounding and finished second in scoring in 2003, and rookie Alana Beard, the 2004 Wooden Award winner as the nation�s top college player, will be a potent inside-outside tandem.

The playoff hopes of the Indiana Fever rest on potential MVP candidate Tamika Catchings. The 2002 WNBA Rookie of the Year is among the very best in the world at her position, but she cannot do it all by herself. Fellow All-Star Natalie Williams now has additional help inside as the Fever chose U.S.C.�s Ebony Hoffman with the ninth overall pick in the draft. The Fever also acquired guard Kelly Miller from Charlotte while Dispersal Draft pick-up Deanna Jackson improved greatly in her sophomore season with Cleveland.

Allison Feaster of the Charlotte Sting is one of the most underrated players in the WNBA. Kent Smith WNBA/Getty Images

For the two other teams that did make the playoffs out of the Eastern Conference in 2003, both the Charlotte Sting and the Connecticut Sun come back with strong rosters. The Sting, dominant at home but abysmal on the road, ended up being the best team in the East not from Detroit last season. Andrea Stinson, Dawn Staley and Allison Feaster welcome rookie Nicole Powell to the fray, but will soon learn that Powell�s play is anything but inexperienced.

The Sun lose Rebecca Lobo, who retired in the offseason, and traded away All-Star and U.S. National team guard Shannon Johnson to the San Antonio Silver Stars for the fourth overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft. Much to the dismay of the Minnesota Lynx, that pick ended up being Lindsay Whalen. It might be too much to ask Whalen to replace Johnson, but this future All-Star has proven that she can handle the pressure of leading a team through virtually every circumstance.

Out west, all eyes are on the Phoenix Mercury. Diana Taurasi won three national championships and two Naismith Awards at the University of Connecticut. Taurasi will be expected to lead right away, but All-Star center Adrian Williams and three-point gunner Anna DeForge anchor the Mercury lineup. Two additional newcomers, free agent Nikki McCray and top overall Dispersal pick Penny Taylor will also help shoulder the load

The Minnesota Lynx offered a lot for the right to draft Lindsay Whalen, but might be even better without Whalen, using the sixth and seventh overall picks to obtain the two best available centers in the draft. The addition of Nicole Ohlde and Vanessa Hayden allow Tamika Williams to move back to her natural power forward position. Katie Smith can take over a game at any time, but the youth and inexperience of Suzy McConnell Serio�s team will make it tough to compete inside against the likes of Houston, Sacramento and Los Angeles right away.

2003 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson has the Seattle Storm ready for a playoff run. Rocky Widner WNBA/Getty Images

The Seattle Storm have two of the best players in the WNBA, but injuries derailed their playoff hopes last year. Sue Bird spent the winter rehabbing her knee and 2003 WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson stayed in shape by playing in Australia. But what about a legitimate third option? Head coach and GM Anne Donovan opted to strengthen the Storm with veteran players and traded the sixth overall pick in the draft to Minnesota for Sheri Sam and Janell Burse.

The San Antonio Silver Stars lost Jennifer Azzi to retirement, but the addition of Johnson from the Sun and LaToya Thomas the Dispersal Draft will make San Antonio even stronger. At 7-0, Margo Dydek is an imposing presence in the paint. But this offseason, she did some recruiting and convinced Agnieska �Biba� Bibrzycka, her EuroLeague teammate in Poland and the 2003 European Player of the Year, to sign with San Antonio. Along with Diana Taurasi, she could be the newcomer to make the biggest impact in the Western Conference.

The Houston Comets were bounced from the playoffs in the first round last season, and the retirement of Cynthia Cooper leaves coach Van Chancellor with a relatively inexperienced backcourt. But any team with Tina Thompson and Sheryl Swoopes, still the best forward combination in the WNBA, remains a threat to make a run in the playoffs.

The Sacramento Monarchs have been on the brink for two seasons now. Ticha Penicheiro knocked the Houston Comets out of the playoffs in the first round of the 2003 playoffs, but they could not unseat the Sparks in the Western Conference Finals. But with the returning core of Yolanda Griffith, Tangela Smith and Chantelle Anderson up front and Penicheiro and Kara Lawson running the point, 2004 could be the year Sacramento takes the next step.

Will 2004 be the year for Ticha Penicheiro and the Sacramento Monarchs? Rocky Widner WNBA/Getty Images

But the Los Angeles Sparks are still the best of the West until someone dethrones them. They were one insane Ruth Riley Game 3 performance away from winning their third consecutive championship. Center Lisa Leslie is the most dominant interior force in league history, point guard Nikki Teasley is fast becoming a premiere point guard and Delisha Milton-Jones is among the toughest power forwards around. Her ability to recover from an ACL injury sustained while playing with the U.S. Women�s Senior National Team is crucial to the Sparks quest to stave off their Western Conference rivals and return to the Finals for a fourth consecutive time. The Sparks also signed Laura Macchi, a talented European player, who could be the final piece to the Sparks puzzle.

While there is no WNBA All-Star game in 2004, the league will take a one month break in August for the Olympic Games. Many of the WNBA�s best will represent their country in Athens, returning to their WNBA team in early September to close out the playoff stretch drive. How teams return from the hiatus will be crucial.

Three Western Conference games kick off the 2004 season, featuring San Antonio against the Comets at the Compaq Center, the Sacramento Monarchs vs. the Phoenix Mercury at America West Arena and the Seattle Storm hosting the Minnesota Lynx at Key Arena. ABC will air the first of seven regular season Saturday afternoon games on May 22, as the Connecticut Sun hosts the Phoenix Mercury at 4 p.m. EDT. On May 29, ABC will televise a rematch of last year�s WNBA Finals with the Los Angeles Sparks traveling to Detroit to take on the Shock at 4 p.m.

ESPN2 will televise 10 regular season contests in 2004, with the Oxygen network telecasting five regular season games and Telemundo showing up to 10 additional games. NBA TV will televise 40 regular season and playoff contests. The league�s 24-hour television network is available to 45 million homes in the U.S. and in 39 other countries.