2007 WNBA season
Sports season
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The 2007 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's 11th season. On January 3, 2007 The Charlotte Sting folded. Three months later on April 4, the WNBA held their annual draft in Cleveland, Ohio. Lindsey Harding of Duke University was selected number one by the Phoenix Mercury. The Duke point guard was traded later to the Minnesota Lynx for Tangela Smith. The San Antonio Silver Stars selected Ohio State University center, Jessica Davenport. Davenport was traded to the New York Liberty for Becky Hammon. The season kicked off on May 19, with a rematch of the 2006 WNBA Finals between the Sacramento Monarchs and the Detroit Shock. The Shock defeated the Monarchs 75-68. On July 15 The All Star Game was played at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. The Eastern All Stars defeated the Western All Stars 103-99. Detroit Shock center, Cheryl Ford won the MVP of the game. Playing 27 minutes contributing 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Eastern All Stars victory. The 2007 WNBA regular season ended on August 19. Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm was named league MVP. Dan Hughes of the San Antonio Silver Stars was named Coach of the Year. Armintie Price of the Chicago Sky was named Rookie of The Year. The 2007 WNBA season officially ended on September 16 when the Phoenix Mercury won the season WNBA Championship. The Mercury defeated the Detroit Shock 3 games to 2. Mercury guard Cappie Pondexter was named Finals MVP.
| 2007 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 19 – September 16, 2007 |
| Games | 34 |
| Teams | 13 |
| Total attendance | 1,727,939 |
| Average attendance | 7,819 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, NBA TV |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Lindsey Harding |
| Picked by | Minnesota Lynx |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Detroit Shock |
| Season MVP |  Lauren Jackson (Seattle) |
| Top scorer | Lauren Jackson (Seattle) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Phoenix Mercury |
| Runners-up | Detroit Shock |
| Finals MVP | Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix) |
Charlotte Sting dispersal draft
On January 8, 2007, the Charlotte Sting dispersal draft was held after the team folded in December 2006.[1] The remaining thirteen active teams in the WNBA each selected one player from the 2006 Sting roster in the one-round draft.[2] Teams drafted in inverse order of their 2006 regular season finish.[1][3] All Sting players were available except for unrestricted free agents, Allison Feaster and Tammy Sutton-Brown.[1] Two players from the Sting, Tasha Butts and Summer Erb, were not selected in the dispersal draft and became free agents on January 15.[4]
The top four picks were:
| Pick | Player | Nationality | New Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monique Currie |  United States |
Chicago Sky | [5] |
| 2 | Tangela Smith | Minnesota Lynx | ||
| 3 | Janel McCarville | New York Liberty | ||
| 4 | Helen Darling | San Antonio Silver Stars |
Regular season
Standings
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Shock x | 24 | 10 | .706 | – | 12–5 | 12–5 | 14–6 |
| Indiana Fever x | 21 | 13 | .618 | 3.0 | 12–5 | 9–8 | 12–8 |
| Connecticut Sun x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 8–9 | 10–7 | 10–10 |
| New York Liberty x | 16 | 18 | .471 | 8.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 10–10 |
| Washington Mystics o | 16 | 18 | .471 | 8.0 | 8–9 | 8–9 | 8–12 |
| Chicago Sky o | 14 | 20 | .412 | 10.0 | 6–11 | 8–9 | 6–14 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Mercury x | 23 | 11 | .676 | – | 12–5 | 11–6 | 17–5 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars x | 20 | 14 | .588 | 3.0 | 9–8 | 11–6 | 13–9 |
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 19 | 15 | .559 | 4.0 | 12–5 | 7–10 | 12–10 |
| Seattle Storm x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 6.0 | 12–5 | 5–12 | 11–11 |
| Houston Comets o | 13 | 21 | .382 | 10.0 | 7–10 | 6–11 | 10–12 |
| Minnesota Lynx o | 10 | 24 | .294 | 13.0 | 7–10 | 3–14 | 8–14 |
| Los Angeles Sparks o | 10 | 24 | .294 | 13.0 | 5–12 | 5–12 | 6–16 |
Playoffs
This was the outlook for the 2007 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.
| First Round Best-of-3 | Conference Finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | New York | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Connecticut | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Phoenix | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Phoenix | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Phoenix | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | San Antonio | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | San Antonio | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Sacramento | 1 | ||||||||||||
- Bold – series winner
- Italic – team with home court advantage
Awards
Reference:[6]
Individual
| Award | Winner | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Lauren Jackson[7] | Seattle Storm | |
| Finals MVP | Cappie Pondexter | Phoenix Mercury | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm | |
| Most Improved Player | Janel McCarville | New York Liberty | |
| Peak Performers | Scoring | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| Rebounding | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm | |
| Assists | Becky Hammon | San Antonio Silver Stars | |
| Sixth Woman of the Year | Plenette Pierson | Detroit Shock | |
| Rookie of the Year | Armintie Price | Chicago Sky | |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Tully Bevilaqua | Indiana Fever | |
| Coach of the Year | Dan Hughes | San Antonio Silver Stars | |
Team
| Award | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-WNBA | First Team | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| Becky Hammon | San Antonio Silver Stars | ||
| Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | ||
| Deanna Nolan | Detroit Shock | ||
| Penny Taylor | Phoenix Mercury | ||
| Second Team | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | |
| Katie Douglas | Connecticut Sun | ||
| Tina Thompson | Houston Comets | ||
| Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx | ||
| Sophia Young | San Antonio Silver Stars | ||
| All-Defensive | First Team | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever |
| Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm | ||
| Katie Douglas | Connecticut Sun | ||
| Alana Beard | Washington Mystics | ||
| Deanna Nolan | Detroit Shock | ||
| Second Team | Tully Bevilaqua | Indiana Fever | |
| Rebekkah Brunson | Sacramento Monarchs | ||
| Margo Dydek | Connecticut Sun | ||
| Loree Moore | New York Liberty | ||
| Chelsea Newton | Sacramento Monarchs | ||
| All-Rookie Team | Armintie Price | Chicago Sky | |
| Sidney Spencer | Los Angeles Sparks | ||
| Lindsey Harding | Minnesota Lynx | ||
| Camille Little | San Antonio Silver Stars | ||
| Marta Fernandez | Los Angeles Sparks | ||
Players of the Week
| Week ending | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | |
| May 27 | Erin Thorn | New York Liberty | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
| June 3 | Asjha Jones | Connecticut Sun | Becky Hammon | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| June 10 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Rebekkah Brunson | Sacramento Monarchs |
| June 17 | Candice Dupree | Chicago Sky | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| June 25 | Katie Smith | Detroit Shock | Becky Hammon (2) | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| July 2 | Jia Perkins | Chicago Sky | Lauren Jackson (2) | Seattle Storm |
| July 9 | Tamika Catchings (2) | Indiana Fever | Erin Buescher | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| July 23 | Lindsay Whalen | Connecticut Sun | Lauren Jackson (3) | Seattle Storm |
| July 30 | Katie Douglas | Connecticut Sun | Lauren Jackson (4) | Seattle Storm |
| August 6 | Alana Beard | Washington Mystics | Diana Taurasi (2) | Phoenix Mercury |
| August 13 | Deanna Nolan | Detroit Shock | Penny Taylor | Phoenix Mercury |
| August 20 | Alana Beard (2) | Washington Mystics | Lauren Jackson (5) | Seattle Storm |