WNBA Finals

WNBA Finals
Status	Active
Genre	Sporting event
Frequency	Annual
Country	United States
Inaugurated	1997 (1997)
Sponsor	YouTube TV (2018–present)
Most titles	Houston Comets Minnesota Lynx Seattle Storm (4 titles each)

The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002.

The series is played between the winners of the playoff semifinals. 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. Beginning in 2025, the Finals will switch to a best-of-seven series with a 2–2–1–1–1 format similar to that of the NBA Finals.

History

WNBA Finals logo used until 2018.

Further information: WNBA Playoffs

The WNBA's playoff format has changed several times in the league's history. In 1997, a single championship game was held to decide the champion. In 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA finals were turned into a best-of-three series. The finale series was known as the WNBA Championship from 1997 to 2001, before changing to WNBA Finals to reflect its NBA counterpart. In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a best-of-five format. In 2016, the WNBA began seeding teams #1 through #8 regardless of conference making it possible for two Eastern Conference or two Western Conference teams to meet in the Finals. In 2025, the WNBA Finals will become a best-of-seven series and a homecourt system of 2–2–1–1–1 similar to the NBA Finals, where the team with homecourt advantage hosts games 1 and 2, and if necessary, games 5 and 7.

Map of champions

Aces

Mystics

Sky

Comets*

Shock*

Fever

Liberty

Lynx

Storm

Sparks

Mercury

Monarchs*

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Location of WNBA Champions # titles: 1-white 2-blue 3-green 4-yellow *denotes defunct

Results

Year	Winner	Result	Runner-up	Finals MVP	TV
1997	Houston Comets	1–0	New York Liberty	Cynthia Cooper	NBC
1998	Houston Comets	2–1	Phoenix Mercury	Cynthia Cooper	Game 1 and 3: ESPN Game 2: NBC
1999	Houston Comets	2–1	New York Liberty	Cynthia Cooper	Game 1: Lifetime Game 2 and 3: NBC
2000	Houston Comets	2–0	New York Liberty	Cynthia Cooper	Game 1: Lifetime Game 2: NBC
2001	Los Angeles Sparks	2–0	Charlotte Sting	Lisa Leslie	Game 1: ESPN Game 2: NBC
2002	Los Angeles Sparks	2–0	New York Liberty	Lisa Leslie	Game 1: ESPN Game 2: NBC
2003	Detroit Shock	2–1	Los Angeles Sparks	Ruth Riley	ESPN2
2004	Seattle Storm	2–1	Connecticut Sun	Betty Lennox
2005	Sacramento Monarchs	3–1	Connecticut Sun	Yolanda Griffith	Game 1, 2 and 4: ESPN2 Game 3: ABC
2006	Detroit Shock	3–2	Sacramento Monarchs	Deanna Nolan	ESPN2
2007	Phoenix Mercury	3–2	Detroit Shock	Cappie Pondexter
2008	Detroit Shock	3–0	San Antonio Silver Stars	Katie Smith
2009	Phoenix Mercury	3–2	Indiana Fever	Diana Taurasi
2010	Seattle Storm	3–0	Atlanta Dream	Lauren Jackson	Game 1: ABC Game 2 and 3: ESPN2
2011	Minnesota Lynx	3–0	Atlanta Dream	Seimone Augustus	Game 1: ESPN Game 2 and 3: ESPN2
2012	Indiana Fever	3–1	Minnesota Lynx	Tamika Catchings	Game 1, 3 and 4: ESPN2 Game 2: ESPN
2013	Minnesota Lynx	3–0	Atlanta Dream	Maya Moore	Game 1: ESPN Game 2 and 3: ESPN2
2014	Phoenix Mercury	3–0	Chicago Sky	Diana Taurasi	Game 1: ABC Game 2: ESPN Game 3: ESPN2
2015	Minnesota Lynx	3–2	Indiana Fever	Sylvia Fowles	Game 1: ABC Game 2, 3 and 5: ESPN2 Game 4: ESPN
2016	Los Angeles Sparks	3–2	Minnesota Lynx	Candace Parker	Game 1: ABC Game 2, 4 and 5: ESPN Game 3: ESPN2
2017	Minnesota Lynx	3–2	Los Angeles Sparks	Sylvia Fowles	Game 1: ABC Game 2 and 3: ESPN2 Game 4 and 5: ESPN
2018	Seattle Storm	3–0	Washington Mystics	Breanna Stewart	Game 1: ESPNews Game 2: ABC Game 3: ESPN2
2019	Washington Mystics	3–2	Connecticut Sun	Emma Meesseman	Game 1 and 2: ESPN Game 3: ABC Game 4 and 5: ESPN2
2020	Seattle Storm	3–0	Las Vegas Aces	Breanna Stewart	Game 1: ESPN2 Game 2: ABC Game 3: ESPN
2021	Chicago Sky	3–1	Phoenix Mercury	Kahleah Copper	Game 1: ABC Game 2 and 4: ESPN Game 3: ESPN2
2022	Las Vegas Aces	3–1	Connecticut Sun	Chelsea Gray	Game 1: ABC Game 2–4: ESPN
2023	Las Vegas Aces	3–1	New York Liberty	A'ja Wilson	Game 1 and 3: ABC Game 2 and 4: ESPN
2024	New York Liberty	3–2	Minnesota Lynx	Jonquel Jones	Games 1, 3–5: ESPN Game 2: ABC

Highlights

• In 2001, the #4 seed Charlotte Sting were the lowest seed to make the WNBA Finals in the conference playoff format.
• The 2003 WNBA Finals was best known for rekindling a heated rivalry between the two teams' head coaches, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Michael Cooper and 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.
• 2006 marked the first time that a #1 seed did not participate in the WNBA Finals. Detroit and Sacramento were both #2 seeds.
• 2006 also marked the first time that the team with the best point-differential in the regular-season did not win the WNBA Finals or even advance to the WNBA Finals. The Connecticut Sun had the best point differential in '06 but were ousted by the Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• The Detroit Shock hosted the largest crowd in Finals History (tied, 22,076 in Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals and in Game 5 of the 2007 WNBA Finals).
• 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 WNBA Finals history to be swept in a five-game series, losing to the Detroit Shock.
• The 2011 WNBA Finals was the first coached by two women.
• In 2014, the Chicago Sky became the first team to appear in the WNBA Finals with a sub-.500 record.
• In 2016, the Los Angeles Sparks won by one point despite a later announcement by the WNBA that officials missed an earlier shot-clock violation at 1:14, which should not have counted.
• In 2021, the #6 seed Chicago Sky were the lowest seed to make the WNBA Finals in the current playoff format.
• The New York Liberty have lost the most championships (5) before winning their first one in 2024.

Finals appearances

The Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx, and Seattle Storm hold the distinction of having won the most championships with four titles each. The New York Liberty have lost the most championships with five. The Lynx have the most appearances in the championships with seven (including 2024). Highlighted teams have folded and can no longer reach the WNBA Finals.

Statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual game wins and losses.

Teams	Win	Loss	Total	Win %	Year(s) won	Year(s) lost
Minnesota Lynx	4	3	7	.571	2011, 2013, 2015, 2017	2012, 2016, 2024
Houston Comets	4	0	4	1.000	1997, 1998, 1999, 2000	-
Seattle Storm	4	0	4	1.000	2004, 2010, 2018, 2020	-
Los Angeles Sparks	3	2	5	.600	2001, 2002, 2016	2003, 2017
Phoenix Mercury	3	2	5	.600	2007, 2009, 2014	1998, 2021
Detroit Shock	3	1	4	.750	2003, 2006, 2008	2007
Las Vegas Aces	2	2	4	.500	2022, 2023	2008, 2020
New York Liberty	1	5	6	.167	2024	1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2023
Indiana Fever	1	2	3	.333	2012	2009, 2015
Sacramento Monarchs	1	1	2	.500	2005	2006
Washington Mystics	1	1	2	.500	2019	2018
Chicago Sky	1	1	2	.500	2021	2014
Connecticut Sun	0	4	4	.000	-	2004, 2005, 2019, 2022
Atlanta Dream	0	3	3	.000	-	2010, 2011, 2013
Charlotte Sting	0	1	1	.000	-	2001

Former teams that had no WNBA Finals appearances:

• Cleveland Rockers (1997–2003)
• Miami Sol (2000–2002)
• Portland Fire (2000–2002)

Records

This table shows a list of records through the history of the WNBA Finals.

Finals records
Milestone	Player	Team	Date	Statistic
Points, individual	Angel McCoughtry	Atlanta Dream	October 5, 2011	38 points
Rebounds, individual	Sylvia Fowles	Minnesota Lynx	October 4, 2017	20 rebounds
Assists, individual	Sue Bird	Seattle Storm	October 2, 2020	16 assists
Steals, individual	Breanna Stewart	New York Liberty	October 13, 2024	7 steals
Blocks, individual	Brittney Griner	Phoenix Mercury	September 7, 2014	8 blocks
Points, team	N/A	Phoenix Mercury	September 29, 2009	120 points vs. Indiana (OT)
Rebounds, team	N/A	Detroit Shock	September 8, 2007	50 rebounds vs. Phoenix
Assists, team	N/A	Seattle Storm	October 4, 2020	33 assists vs. Las Vegas
Steals, team	N/A	Connecticut Sun	October 8, 2004	15 steals vs. Seattle
Blocks, team	N/A	Minnesota Lynx	October 2, 2011	11 blocks vs. Atlanta
Career wins, coach	Van Chancellor Cheryl Reeve	Houston Comets Minnesota Lynx	1997-2000 2011-2017	4 wins
Margin of victory	N/A	Seattle Storm	October 6, 2020	33-point win (92-59) over Las Vegas
Attendance, one game	N/A	Detroit Shock	September 16, 2003 September 16, 2007	22,076

See also

• WNBA Playoffs
• Category:WNBA seasons
• WNBA Coach of the Year
• WNBA Finals MVP
• WNBA MVP
• WNBA Defensive Player of the Year
• WNBA Most Improved Player
• WNBA Rookie of the Year
• Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award

External links

• WNBA.com