The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002.
The series is played between the winners of the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. At the conclusion of the championship round, the winner of the WNBA Finals is presented the championship trophy. The WNBA Finals has been played at the conclusion of every WNBA season in history, the first being held in 1997.
Since 2005, the winner of the WNBA Finals has been determined through a 2–2–1 format. The first, second, and fifth games of the series are played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season.
History
The WNBA Finals were originally a single championship game to decide the WNBA champion. However, in 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA Finals were turned into a best-of-three games series. In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a best-of-five format. This finale series was known as the WNBA Championship from 1997 to 2001, before changing to reflect its NBA counterpart.
| Year | Winner | Result | Loser | Finals MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Houston Comets [a] | 65-51 | New York Liberty | Cynthia Cooper |
| 1998 | Houston Comets | 2–1 | Phoenix Mercury[b] | Cynthia Cooper |
Highlights
- The 2003 Finals was best known for rekindling a heated rivalry between the two teams' head coaches, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Michael Cooper and former Detroit Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer. Both coaches were fierce NBA competitors who played in the NBA Finals against each other in 1988 and 1989.
- In 2001, the #4 seed Charlotte Sting was the lowest seed ever to make the WNBA Finals.
- 2006 marked the first time that a #1 seed did not participate in the WNBA Finals. Detroit and Sacramento were both 2 seeds.
- The New York Liberty have the most Finals appearances (4) without winning a championship.
- The Detroit Shock are the 3rd team to win multiple championships (following Houston and Los Angeles respectively). However, they are the first team to win non-consecutive championships.
- 2006 marked the first time that the team with the best point-differential in the regular-season didn't win the WNBA Finals or even advance to the WNBA finals. The Connecticut Sun had the best point differential in '06 but was ousted by the Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals.
- The Detroit Shock hosted the three largest crowds in Finals History (22,076 in Game 3 of 2003 WNBA Finals, 19,671 in Game 5 of 2006 WNBA Finals and 22,076 in Game 5 of the 2007 WNBA Finals)
- Only three Eastern Conference franchises have won the WNBA Finals: the 1997 Houston Comets (who moved to the Western Conference the following year); the Detroit Shock (who are now in the Western Conference as Tulsa) and the Indiana Fever in 2012.
- The 2007 game-five win by the Phoenix Mercury marked the first time in WNBA history that a team won the Finals while playing on their opponent's home court.
- In 2008 the San Antonio Silver Stars became the first team in the history of the WNBA Finals to be swept in a five game series losing to the Detroit Shock.
- The 2009 Finals series saw around a 60% increase in viewership from the previous season's series.
- The 2011 WNBA Finals was the first coached by two women.
Finals appearances
Statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual game wins and losses.
- 1Folded following 2006 season
- 2Folded following 2008 season
- 3Relocated to Tulsa following 2009 season
- 4Folded following 2009 season
Active franchises with no Finals appearances
- Chicago Sky - founded in 2006
- Washington Mystics - founded in 1998
Records
This table shows a list of records through the history of the WNBA Finals.