2003 WNBA playoffs
Professional women's basketball tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2003 WNBA playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2003 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock beating the Western Conference champion and two-time defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks, 2-1. Ruth Riley was named the MVP of the Finals.
DatesAugust 28 – September 16, 2003
ChampionsDetroit Shock (Finals Champion)
East championDetroit Shock (Coach: Bill Laimbeer)
West championLos Angeles Sparks (Coach: Michael Cooper)
| Dates | August 28 – September 16, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Detroit Shock (Finals Champion) |
| East champion | Detroit Shock (Coach: Bill Laimbeer) |
| West champion | Los Angeles Sparks (Coach: Michael Cooper) |
Format
- The top 4 teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs.
- All 4 teams are seeded by basis of their standings.
Regular season standings
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Shock x | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 13–4 | 12–5 | 18–6 |
| Charlotte Sting x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 12–12 |
| Connecticut Sun x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 11–13 |
| Cleveland Rockers x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 8.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 13–11 |
| Indiana Fever o | 16 | 18 | .471 | 9.0 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 12–12 |
| New York Liberty o | 16 | 18 | .471 | 9.0 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 11–13 |
| Washington Mystics o | 9 | 25 | .265 | 16.0 | 3–14 | 6–11 | 7–17 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 24 | 10 | .706 | – | 11–6 | 13–4 | 17–7 |
| Houston Comets x | 20 | 14 | .588 | 4.0 | 14–3 | 6–11 | 14–10 |
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 19 | 15 | .559 | 5.0 | 12–5 | 7–10 | 13–11 |
| Minnesota Lynx x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 14–10 |
| Seattle Storm o | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 11–13 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars o | 12 | 22 | .353 | 12.0 | 9–8 | 3–14 | 10–14 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 8 | 26 | .235 | 16.0 | 6–11 | 2–15 | 5–19 |
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.
Bracket
| Conference semifinals Best-of-3 | Conference finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-3 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Cleveland | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | Connecticut | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Charlotte | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Minnesota | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Sacramento | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Houston | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
- Bold – Series winner
- Italic – Team with home-court advantage
First round
- Detroit defeats Cleveland, 2-1
- Detroit 76, Cleveland 74 (Aug. 29)
- Cleveland 66, Detroit 59 (Aug. 31)
- Detroit 77, Cleveland 63 (Sept. 2)
- Connecticut defeats Charlotte, 2-0
- Connecticut 68, Charlotte 66 (Aug. 28)
- Connecticut 68, Charlotte 62 (Aug. 30)
- Los Angeles defeats Minnesota, 2-1
- Minnesota 74, Los Angeles 72 (Aug. 28)
- Los Angeles 80, Minnesota 69 (Aug. 30)
- Los Angeles 74, Minnesota 64 (Sept. 1)
- Sacramento defeats Houston, 2-1
- Sacramento 65, Houston 59 (Aug. 29)
- Houston 69, Sacramento 48 (Aug. 31)
- Sacramento 70, Houston 68 (Sept. 2)
Conference finals
- Detroit defeats Connecticut, 2-0
- Detroit 73, Connecticut 63 (Sept. 5)
- Detroit 79, Connecticut 73 (Sept. 7)
- Los Angeles defeats Sacramento, 2-1
- Sacramento 77, Los Angeles 69 (Sept. 5)
- Los Angeles 79, Sacramento 54 (Sept. 7)
- Los Angeles 66, Sacramento 63 (Sept. 8)