WNBA Champions Through The Years
As the Seattle Storm defeated the Washington Mystics in three games to win their third WNBA Championship in franchise history, let’s take a look back at the WNBA Finals through the years.
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- In the first incarnation of the WNBA Finals, the Houston Comets defeated the New York Liberty by a score of 65-51. 1997 WNBA MVP Cynthia Cooper, who was also named WNBA Finals MVP, led the way for Houston with 25 points.
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- After facing a 1-0 deficit to the Phoenix Mercury in a then best-of-three WNBA Finals, the Comets won an overtime thriller in Game 2 and then went on to take the crown with an 80-71 victory in the decisive Game 3. Cynthia Cooper was again named both series MVP as well as regular season MVP.
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- Houston asserted their early dominance as a WNBA franchise as they went on to win their third consecutive WNBA Finals, besting the New York Liberty two games to one. Despite Game 2 heroics from the Liberty’s Teresa Weatherspoon, who forced a Game 3 with a buzzer-beating three in Houston, Cynthia Cooper led the way as usual and was named series MVP yet again – her third straight.
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- The Comets put the series away in two games, as they defeated the Liberty to capture their fourth-straight WNBA crown. Cynthia Cooper was named WNBA Finals MVP for the fourth straight year. No one or team has matched the playoff dominance of Houston and Cooper in the first four WNBA Finals.
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- In the first ever three-round WNBA Playoffs format, the Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Charlotte Sting in two games to capture their first WNBA title. Lisa Leslie led the way for Los Angeles for the whole season, as she was named both WNBA regular season and Finals MVP.
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- The Sparks earned back-to-back championships, defeating the New York Liberty for the 2002 WNBA crown. In a memorable Game 2, Nikki Teasley hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to clinch the title for Los Angeles. Lisa Leslie was named WNBA Finals MVP for a second consecutive year.
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- The Sparks’ quest for a three-peat would be denied as the Detroit Shock came out victorious in the 2003 WNBA Finals, two games to one. With an outstanding 27 point performance on 11-of-19 shooting in the decisive Game 3, Ruth Riley led Detroit to their first title, en route to being named series MVP.
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- Two new teams faced off in the WNBA Finals, but the Seattle Storm pulled out the victory, defeating the Connecticut Sun, two games to one. Betty Lennox led the way in scoring for the Storm in their victories in Games 2 and 3 on the way to winning series MVP.
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- In the first ever best-of-five format for the WNBA Finals, the Sacramento Monarchs captured their first WNBA championship, defeating the Connecticut Sun, three games to one. In Game 4, series MVP Yolanda Griffith put up a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double. She averaged 18.5 PPG and 9.8 RPG in the series.
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- In a Finals series that went the full five games, the Detroit Shock bested the Sacramento Monarchs for their second championship in team history. Series MVP Deanna Nolan scored ten points in the third quarter of the decisive Game 5 – a quarter where the Shock held the Monarchs to nine points.
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- In their first return to the WNBA Finals since 1998, the Phoenix Mercury became the first team ever to win a Finals-clinching game on the road, as they bested the Detroit Shock, three games to two. Cappie Pondexter scored 26 points in the clincher on the way to being named series MVP.
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- The Detroit Shock put up the first three-game sweep in WNBA Finals history, as they bested the San Antonio Silver Stars. Katie Smith, who had won a gold medal for Team USA in the Summer Olympics in Beijing, averaged 21.7 PPG and added a WNBA Finals MVP trophy to her memorable year.
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- With a series that included one of the highest scoring games in WNBA history (Game 1 – PHO def IND 120-116 (OT)), the Phoenix Mercury won their second WNBA championship in three seasons, defeating the Indiana Fever in a series that went the full distance. League MVP Diana Taurasi led the way for the Mercury with 26 points in the clincher, winning series MVP honors.
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- The Seattle Storm defeated the Atlanta Dream three games to zero to win their second league title. League MVP Lauren Jackson, who was the first internationally-born league MVP, also became the first internationally-born player to be named WNBA Finals MVP, averaging 22.3 PPG in Seattle’s three-game series sweep.
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- In their debut appearance in the WNBA Finals the Minnesota Lynx were victorious as they swept the Atlanta Dream. The Lynx were led by Seimone Augustus, who averaged 24.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 4.7 APG on 58.7% shooting from the floor in a series MVP performance.
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- Having lost in five games to the Mercury three years prior, the Indiana Fever won their first WNBA championship, beating the Minnesota Lynx three games to one. Tamika Catchings, who retired as the WNBA’s all-time leader in playoff scoring and rebounds, captured the lone title of her career in 2012, scoring a game-high 25 points in the clincher, on the way to being named series MVP.
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- The Minnesota Lynx won the series three games to zero for the second time in two years against the Atlanta Dream for another WNBA championship. Maya Moore put up 23 points in Game 3, en route to winning series MVP.
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- With a game-winning three with 14.3 seconds to go in Game 3, Diana Taurasi led the way over the Chicago Sky for the Phoenix Mercury’s third-ever title. Taurasi became the third player to win multiple WNBA Finals MVP awards.
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- In their fourth WNBA Finals appearance in five years, the Minnesota Lynx triumphed over the Indiana Fever, three games to two. Sylvia Fowles put up a 20 point, 11 rebound performance in Game 5 and won series MVP honors.
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- In one of the greatest games in WNBA history, league MVP Nneka Ogwumike won Game 5 with a put-back shot with 3.1 seconds remaining on the clock to break the Los Angeles Sparks’ 14-year title drought as they bested the Minnesota Lynx three games to two. Candace Parker would be named series MVP after putting up 28 points and 12 rebounds in the series-clinching game.
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- In the second straight five-game Finals between the Lynx and Sparks, Minnesota came out on top in epic fashion in Game 5 on their home court. League MVP Sylvia Fowles was named Finals MVP, becoming the fifth player to accomplish both feats in the same season.
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- The Seattle Storm are the 2018 WNBA Champions! Breanna Stewart was named MVP of the Finals after averaging 25.7 PPG and 6.0 RPG over the three games. Natasha Howard had the best game of her career in the closeout contest as she put up a playoff and career-high 29 points and 14 rebounds.
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