2006 WNBA season
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| 2006 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 20 – September 9, 2006 |
| Games | 34 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Total attendance | 1,779,366 |
| Average attendance | 7,476 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, NBA TV |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Seimone Augustus |
| Picked by | Minnesota Lynx |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Connecticut Sun |
| Season MVP | Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles) |
| Top scorer |  / Diana Taurasi (Phoenix) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Detroit Shock |
| Runners-up | Sacramento Monarchs |
| Finals MVP |  / Deanna Nolan (Detroit) |
The 2006 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's tenth season.
The league added one team: the Chicago Sky. The Sky were the first expansion team since 2000 when the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and the Seattle Storm came to the WNBA. A separate expansion draft for the took place on November 16, 2005.[1]
On April 5, the WNBA held their draft. Seimone Augustus of Louisiana State University was the number one overall pick. She was selected by the Minnesota Lynx. Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers University went number two. She was selected by the Phoenix Mercury.
The season started on May 20 with a game between the Sacramento Monarchs and the Phoenix Mercury. The game was televised by ABC. The Monarchs won the game 105–78. On July 12, The All Star Game was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The East All Stars defeated the West All Stars 98–82. Katie Douglas of the Connecticut Sun was named MVP in the game with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. The 2006 WNBA season concluded on August 13. Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks won the league MVP. Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun was named Coach of The Year. Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx was named Rookie of the Year. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their second WNBA Championship.
Standings
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z - Connecticut Sun | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 14–3 | 12–5 | 15–5 |
| x - Detroit Shock | 23 | 11 | .676 | 3.0 | 14–3 | 9–8 | 14–6 |
| x - Indiana Fever | 21 | 13 | .618 | 5.0 | 12–5 | 9–8 | 12–8 |
| x - Washington Mystics | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 12–8 |
| e - New York Liberty | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–13 | 7–13 |
| e - Charlotte Sting | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–3 | 6–14 |
| e - Chicago Sky | 5 | 29 | .147 | 21.0 | 3–14 | 2–15 | 4–16 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 15–2 | 10–7 | 15–5 |
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 21 | 13 | .618 | 4.0 | 14–3 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
| Houston Comets x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 12–5 | 6–11 | 11–9 |
| Seattle Storm x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 9–8 | 9–8 | 10–10 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 8–12 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars o | 13 | 21 | .382 | 12.0 | 6–11 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
| Minnesota Lynx o | 10 | 24 | .294 | 15.0 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 6–14 |
Playoffs
This was the outlook for the 2006 WNBA Playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round.
| Conference semifinals Best-of-3 | Conference finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Washington | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Indiana | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Detroit | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Houston | 0 | ||||||||||||
- Bold – series winner
- Italic – team with home court advantage
Awards
Reference:[2]
Individual
Team
| Award | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-WNBA | First Team | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | ||
| Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | ||
| Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm | ||
| Katie Douglas | Connecticut Sun | ||
| Second Team | Cheryl Ford | Detroit Shock | |
| Alana Beard | Washington Mystics | ||
| Taj McWilliams-Franklin | Connecticut Sun | ||
| Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx | ||
| Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets | ||
| All-Defensive | First Team | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever |
| Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks | ||
| Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets | ||
| Tully Bevilaqua | Indiana Fever | ||
| Katie Douglas | Connecticut Sun | ||
| Second Team | Alana Beard | Washington Mystics | |
| Margo Dydek | Connecticut Sun | ||
| Deanna Nolan | Detroit Shock | ||
| Cheryl Ford | Detroit Shock | ||
| Yolanda Griffith | Sacramento Monarchs | ||
| All-Rookie Team | Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx | |
| Cappie Pondexter | Phoenix Mercury | ||
| Candice Dupree | Chicago Sky | ||
| Sophia Young | San Antonio Silver Stars | ||
| Monique Currie | Charlotte Sting | ||
Players of the Week
| Week ending | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| May 30 | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June 5 | Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx |
| June 12 | Cappie Pondexter | Phoenix Mercury |
| June 19 | Lisa Leslie (2) | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June 26 | Lisa Leslie (3) | Los Angeles Sparks |
| July 3 | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| July 10 | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
| July 17 | Lisa Leslie (4) | Los Angeles Sparks |
| July 24 | Taj McWilliams-Franklin | Connecticut Sun |
| July 31 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever |
| August 7 | Taj McWilliams-Franklin (2) | Connecticut Sun |
| August 14 | Diana Taurasi (2) | Phoenix Mercury |