2013 WNBA season

The 2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 24, and playoffs concluded on October 10.[1] The Minnesota Lynx won their second league championship, defeating the Atlanta Dream three games to none in the 2013 WNBA Finals. The year represented a positive turning point for the long-struggling league. Both attendance and television viewership were up, driven by an influx of talented rookies, multiple teams reported that they were near a break-even point, and at least one franchise announced that it was profitable.[2]

2013 WNBA season
LeagueWomen's National Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationMay 24 – October 10, 2013
Number of games34
Number of teams12
Total attendance1,536,259
Average attendance7,531
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV
Top draft pick Brittney Griner
Picked byPhoenix Mercury
Season MVP Candace Parker Los Angeles
Eastern championsAtlanta Dream
  Eastern runners-upIndiana Fever
Western championsMinnesota Lynx
  Western runners-upPhoenix Mercury
Finals championsMinnesota Lynx
  Runners-upAtlanta Dream
Finals MVP Maya Moore (Minnesota)

2013 WNBA Draft
Main article: 2013 WNBA Draft

The WNBA Draft lottery was held on September 26, 2012. The lottery teams were the Washington Mystics, Phoenix Mercury, Tulsa Shock and Chicago Sky. The top pick was awarded to Phoenix Mercury. Center Brittney Griner was drafted first overall by the Phoenix Mercury.

TV and Internet coverage

About 70+ games were aired on ESPN2, ABC and NBA TV. WNBA LiveAccess will offer complement - approximately 190 live games.[3]

Regular season

The WNBA touted three exciting rookies -- Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury, Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky, and Skylar Diggins of the Tulsa Shock -- as "three to see" going into the 2013 season.[4] Griner - a tall, athletic center who had been dominant in college -- was seen as such a potential game-changer that many picked the Mercury to win the WNBA championship.[5]

It was Delle Donne, however, who turned out to have the breakout season, leading the Sky to the best record in the Eastern Conference, and their first trip to the playoffs. Griner was hampered by injuries, but her Phoenix team finished third in the West, and made it to the conference finals.

The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the WNBA for the third consecutive season, behind the play of Seimone Augustus, Lindsay Whalen, and Maya Moore.

Joining the Sky in the playoffs were the defending WNBA champion Indiana Fever, who finished fourth after surviving a rash of injuries during the season; the Atlanta Dream, led by league scoring champion Angel McCoughtry; and the Washington Mystics, who were hoping to win their first playoff game since 2004.

The Los Angeles Sparks finished second in the West, behind the play of league MVP Candace Parker. They lost to Phoenix in the conference semifinals. Finally, the Seattle Storm surprised many by earning the final entry into the playoffs, allowing veteran and future hall-of-famer Tina Thompson to retire from a playoff team.

Standings
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB GP
1 z-Chicago Sky2410.706-34
2 x-Atlanta Dream1717.500734
3 x-Washington Mystics1717.500734
4 x-Indiana Fever1618.471834
5 e-New York Liberty1123.3241334
6 e-Connecticut Sun1024.2941434
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB GP
1 z-Minnesota Lynx268.765-34
2 x-Los Angeles Sparks2410.706234
3 x-Phoenix Mercury1915.559734
4 x-Seattle Storm1717.500934
5 e-San Antonio Silver Stars1222.3531434
6 e-Tulsa Shock1123.3241534

Playoffs and Finals
Main article: 2013 WNBA Playoffs
See also: 2013 WNBA Finals

The opening round of the WNBA playoffs saw a rash of road team victories. Only the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever went unbeaten on their home floors. The Chicago Sky, the top overall seed in the East, were swept by the Fever, while the Seattle Storm lost to the top-seeded Lynx in two games. In the Atlanta-Washington series, the road team won the first two games of the series, before Atlanta finally prevailed at home. Finally, in the matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks, the road teams went 3-0, with Phoenix advancing.

The conference finals were over quickly. Both the Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx swept their opponents, setting up a rematch of the 2011 WNBA Finals. In the Finals, the Lynx once again swept the Dream, becoming the second WNBA team to sweep through the playoffs since the best-of-five finals format was adopted.

Awards

Players of the Week

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.

Week Eastern Conference Western Conference Ref.
May 24 – Jun. 2 Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) (1/3) Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) (1/3) [6]
Jun. 3 – Jun. 9 Ivory Latta (Washington Mystics) (1/2) Rebekkah Brunson (Minnesota Lynx) (1/1) [7]
Jun. 10 – Jun. 16 Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) (2/3) Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) (1/2) [8]
Jun. 17 – Jun. 23 Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) (3/3) Glory Johnson (Tulsa Shock) (1/1) [9]
Jun. 24 – Jun. 30 Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (1/4) Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) (2/2) [10]
Jul. 1 – Jul. 7 Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (2/4) Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) (2/3) [11]
Jul. 8 – Jul. 14 Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (1/2) Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) (3/3) [12]
Jul. 15 – Jul. 21 Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever) (1/1) Liz Cambage (Tulsa Shock) (1/2) [13]
Jul. 22 – Jul. 28 Ivory Latta (Washington Mystics) (2/2) Tina Thompson (Seattle Storm) (1/1) [14]
Jul. 29 – Aug. 4 Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun) (1/1) Liz Cambage (Tulsa Shock) (2/2) [15]
Aug. 5 – Aug. 11 Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (3/4) Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) (1/2) [16]
Aug. 12 – Aug. 18 Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (2/2) Kristi Toliver (Los Angeles Sparks) (1/1) [17]
Aug. 19 – Aug. 25 Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (4/4) Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) (2/2) [18]

Players of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Month Eastern Conference Western Conference Ref.
June Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) (1/1) Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) (1/1) [19]
July Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (1/3) Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) (1/1) [20]
August Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (2/3) Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) (1/2) [21]
September Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) (3/3) Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) (2/2) [22]

Rookie of the Month

The following players were named the Rookie of the Month.

Month Player Ref.
June Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (1/4) [23]
July Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (2/4) [24]
August Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (3/4) [25]
September Elena Delle Donne (Chicago Sky) (4/4) [26]

Postseason awards
Award Winner Position Team Votes/Statistic
Most Valuable Player Award Candace Parker Forward Los Angeles Sparks 234 out of 1,085
Finals MVP Award Maya Moore Forward Minnesota Lynx
Rookie of the Year Award Elena Delle Donne Forward Chicago Sky Unanimous
Most Improved Player Award Shavonte Zellous Guard Indiana Fever 30 out of 39
Defensive Player of the Year Award Sylvia Fowles Center Chicago Sky 21 out of 29
Sixth Woman of the Year Award Riquna Williams Guard Tulsa Shock 17 out of 39
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Swin Cash and
Tamika Catchings (tie)		 Forward
Forward		 Chicago Sky
Indiana Fever		 7 out of 39
Peak Performer: Points Angel McCoughtry Guard/Forward Atlanta Dream 21.5 PPG
Peak Performer: Rebounds Sylvia Fowles Center Chicago Sky 11.5 RPG
Peak Performer: Assists Danielle Robinson Guard San Antonio Silver Stars 6.7 APG
Coach of the Year Award Mike Thibault Coach Washington Mystics 11 of 39
Team Forward Forward Forward/Center Guard Guard
All-WNBA First Team Maya Moore Candace Parker Sylvia Fowles Diana Taurasi Lindsay Whalen
All-WNBA Second Team Tamika Catchings Elena Delle Donne Tina Charles Seimone Augustus Angel McCoughtry
All-Defensive First Team Tamika Catchings Angel McCoughtry Sylvia Fowles Armintie Herrington Tanisha Wright
All-Defensive Second Team Rebekkah Brunson Glory Johnson Erika de Souza Briann January Jia Perkins
Danielle Robinson
All-Rookie Team Elena Delle Donne Kelsey Bone Brittney Griner Alex Bentley Skylar Diggins

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

See also

References
  1. "2013 WNBA Schedule and Results - Women's National Basketball Association - ESPN". Espn.go.com. 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  2. WNBA's 15th Season Delivers Increased Attendance and TV Viewership
  3. https://liveaccess.wnba.com/wnbala/help.jsp#FAQ
  4. Honing in on the fall
  5. How the Minnesota Lynx swept the Phoenix Mercury to advance to the 2013 WNBA Finals
  6. "Atlanta's Angel McCoughtry and Los Angeles' Candace Parker Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. June 3, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  7. "Mystics' Latta and Lynx's Brunson Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. June 10, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  8. "Dream's McCoughtry and Mercury's Taurasi Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. June 17, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  9. "Dream's McCoughtry and Shock's Johnson Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. June 24, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  10. "Chicago's Delle Donne, Phoenix's Taurasi Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. July 1, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  11. "Chicago's Delle Donne, Los Angeles' Parker Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. July 8, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  12. "Chicago Sky's Sylvia Fowles and LA Sparks' Candace Parker Named WNBA Players of the Week". WNBA.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  13. "Indiana's Tamika Catchings, Tulsa's Liz Cambage Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. July 22, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  14. "Mystic's Ivory Latta, Storm's Tina Thompson Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. July 29, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  15. "Tulsa's Cambage, Connecticut's Charles Named WNBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  16. "Minnesota's Moore, Chicago's Delle Donne Named WNBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  17. "Chicago Sky's Sylvia Fowles and LA Sparks' Kristi Toliver Named WNBA Players of the Week". WNBA.com. August 19, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  18. "Minnesota's Moore, Chicago's Delle Donne Named WNBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week". WNBA.com. August 26, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  19. "Dream's McCoughtry and Mercury's Taurasi Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month". WNBA.com. July 1, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  20. "Chicago's Fowles and L.A.'s Parker Named WNBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month". WNBA.com. August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  21. "Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles named WNBA Players of the Month". LoveWomensBasketball.com. September 5, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  22. "Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles named WNBA Players of the Month". LoveWomensBasketball.com. September 18, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  23. "Chicago's Elena Delle Donne Named June Rookie of the Month". WNBA.com. July 1, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  24. "Chicago's Elena Delle Donne Named July Rookie of the Month". WNBA.com. August 5, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  25. "Elena Delle Donne named Rookie of the Month of August". September 3, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  26. "Elena Delle Donne named WNBA Rookie of the Month for the fourth time". WNBA.com. September 17, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
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