2005 WNBA season
Sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2005 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's ninth season. The season ended with the Sacramento Monarchs winning their first WNBA Championship.
| 2005 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 21 – September 20, 2005 |
| Games | 34 |
| Teams | 13 |
| Total attendance | 1,805,937 |
| Average attendance | 8,172 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Janel McCarville |
| Picked by | Charlotte Sting |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Connecticut Sun |
| Season MVP | Sheryl Swoopes (Houston) |
| Top scorer | Sheryl Swoopes (Houston) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Sacramento Monarchs |
| Runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
| Finals MVP | Yolanda Griffith (Sacramento) |
Regular season
Standings
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Sun x | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 14–3 | 12–5 | 13–7 |
| Indiana Fever x | 21 | 13 | .618 | 5.0 | 14–3 | 7–10 | 14–6 |
| New York Liberty x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 9–11 |
| Detroit Shock x | 16 | 18 | .471 | 10.0 | 12–5 | 4–13 | 11–9 |
| Washington Mystics o | 16 | 18 | .471 | 10.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 9–11 |
| Charlotte Sting o | 6 | 28 | .176 | 20.0 | 5–12 | 1–16 | 4–16 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 15–2 | 10–7 | 17–5 |
| Seattle Storm x | 20 | 14 | .588 | 5.0 | 14–3 | 6–11 | 13–9 |
| Houston Comets x | 19 | 15 | .559 | 6.0 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 11–11 |
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 8.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 12–10 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 16 | 18 | .471 | 9.0 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 12–10 |
| Minnesota Lynx o | 14 | 20 | .412 | 11.0 | 11–6 | 3–14 | 9–13 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars o | 7 | 27 | .206 | 18.0 | 5–12 | 2–15 | 3–19 |
Playoffs
| Conference semifinals Best-of-3 | Conference finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Detroit | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Sacramento | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Los Angeles | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Houston | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Houston | 2 | ||||||||||||
- Bold – Series winner
- Italic – Team with home-court advantage
Awards
Reference:[1]
Individual
| Award | Winner | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets | |
| Finals MVP | Yolanda Griffith | Sacramento Monarchs | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | |
| Most Improved Player | Nicole Powell | Sacramento Monarchs | |
| Peak Performers | Scoring | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets |
| Rebounding | Cheryl Ford | Detroit Shock | |
| Dish and Assist | Sue Bird | Seattle Storm | |
| Rookie of the Year | Temeka Johnson | Washington Mystics | |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Taj McWilliams-Franklin | Connecticut Sun | |
| Coach of the Year | John Whisenant | Sacramento Monarchs | |
Team
Players of the Week
| Week ending | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| May 30 | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets |
| June 6 | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| June 13 | Taj McWilliams-Franklin | Connecticut Sun |
| June 20 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever |
| June 27 | Lindsay Whalen | Connecticut Sun |
| July 5 | Sheryl Swoopes (2) | Houston Comets |
| July 18 | Tamika Catchings (2) | Indiana Fever |
| July 25 | Becky Hammon | New York Liberty |
| August 1 | Janell Burse | Seattle Storm |
| August 8 | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
| August 15 | Katie Douglas | Connecticut Sun |
| August 22 | Tamika Catchings (3) | Indiana Fever |