Women's National Basketball Association - The WNBA Finals

The WNBA Finals

The final playoff round, a best-of-five series between the victors of each conference, is known as the WNBA Finals, and is held annually, currently scheduled for October. Each player on the winning team receives a championship ring. In addition, the league awards a WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. For this round, the series follows a 2-2-1 pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, and 5, while the other plays at home in games 3 and 4. The 2-2-1 pattern in the WNBA Finals has been in place since 2005.

The WNBA Finals
1990s
Season Champion Runner-Up Format Result Finals MVP
Team Coach Team Coach
1997 Houston Comets Van Chancellor New York Liberty Nancy Darsch Single game 65-51 Cynthia Cooper
1998 Houston Comets Van Chancellor Phoenix Mercury Cheryl Miller Best-of-three 2-1 Cynthia Cooper
1999 Houston Comets Van Chancellor New York Liberty Richie Adubato Best-of-three 2-1 Cynthia Cooper
2000s
Season Champion Runner-Up Format Result Finals MVP
Team Coach Team Coach
2000 Houston Comets Van Chancellor New York Liberty Richie Adubato Best-of-three 2-0 Cynthia Cooper
2001 Los Angeles Sparks Michael Cooper Charlotte Sting Anne Donovan Best-of-three 2-0 Lisa Leslie
2002 Los Angeles Sparks Michael Cooper New York Liberty Richie Adubato Best-of-three 2-0 Lisa Leslie
2003 Detroit Shock Bill Laimbeer Los Angeles Sparks Michael Cooper Best-of-three 2-1 Ruth Riley
2004 Seattle Storm Anne Donovan Connecticut Sun Mike Thibault Best-of-three 2-1 Betty Lennox
2005 Sacramento Monarchs John Whisenant Connecticut Sun Mike Thibault Best-of-five 3-1 Yolanda Griffith
2006 Detroit Shock Bill Laimbeer Sacramento Monarchs John Whisenant Best-of-five 3-2 Deanna Nolan
2007 Phoenix Mercury Paul Westhead Detroit Shock Bill Laimbeer Best-of-five 3-2 Cappie Pondexter
2008 Detroit Shock Bill Laimbeer San Antonio Silver Stars Dan Hughes Best-of-five 3-0 Katie Smith
2009 Phoenix Mercury Corey Gaines Indiana Fever Lin Dunn Best-of-five 3-2 Diana Taurasi
2010s
Season Champion Runner-Up Format Result Finals MVP
Team Coach Team Coach
2010 Seattle Storm Brian Agler Atlanta Dream Marynell Meadors Best-of-five 3–0 Lauren Jackson
2011 Minnesota Lynx Cheryl Reeve Atlanta Dream Marynell Meadors Best-of-five 3–0 Seimone Augustus
2012 Indiana Fever Lin Dunn Minnesota Lynx Cheryl Reeve Best-of-five 3–1 Tamika Catchings

Read more about this topic:  Women's National Basketball Association