| 2012 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 18 – October 21, 2012 |
| Games | 34 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Total attendance | 1,520,112 |
| Average attendance | 7,452 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC,ESPN,NBA TV |
| Top draft pick | |
| Picked by | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Season MVP | |
| Eastern champions | Indiana Fever[1] |
| Eastern runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
| Western champions | Minnesota Lynx |
| Western runners-up | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Finals champions | Indiana Fever |
| Runners-up | Minnesota Lynx |
| Finals MVP | Tamika Catchings(Indiana) |
| WNBA seasons | |
The2012 WNBA season was the 16th season of theWomen's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 18 and concluded on September 23 and playoffs started on September 27 and concluded on October 21.[2]
The WNBA Draft lottery was held on November 10, 2011. The lottery teams were theTulsa Shock,Minnesota Lynx (fromWash.),Chicago Sky andLos Angeles Sparks. The top pick was awarded to Los Angeles.
The 2012 WNBA Draft was held on April 16, 2012, inBristol, Connecticut. Coverage of the first round was shown onESPN (HD). Second and third round coverage was shown onESPNU andNBA TV.
Due to the2012 Summer Olympics, there was noAll-Star Game this season as the Olympiad caused a break from mid-July through August.[3]
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Suny | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 12–5 | 13–4 | 18–4 |
| Indiana Feverx | 22 | 12 | .647 | 3.0 | 13–4 | 9–8 | 15–7 |
| Atlanta Dreamx | 19 | 15 | .559 | 6.0 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 12–10 |
| New York Libertyx | 15 | 19 | .441 | 10.0 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 10–12 |
| Chicago Skyo | 14 | 20 | .412 | 11.0 | 7–10 | 7–10 | 8–14 |
| Washington Mysticso | 5 | 29 | .147 | 20.0 | 4–13 | 1–16 | 3–19 |
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Lynxz | 27 | 7 | .794 | – | 16–1 | 11–6 | 17–5 |
| Los Angeles Sparksx | 24 | 10 | .706 | 3.0 | 16–1 | 8–9 | 15–7 |
| San Antonio Silver Starsx | 21 | 13 | .618 | 6.0 | 12–5 | 9–8 | 14–8 |
| Seattle Stormx | 16 | 18 | .471 | 11.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 11–11 |
| Tulsa Shocko | 9 | 25 | .265 | 18.0 | 6–11 | 3–14 | 5–17 |
| Phoenix Mercuryo | 7 | 27 | .206 | 20.0 | 3–14 | 4–13 | 4–18 |
| Conference semifinals Best-of-3 | Conference finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Atlanta | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | San Antonio | 0 | ||||||||||||
Reference:[4]
| Award | Winner | Team | Position | Votes/Statistic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | Center | 25 out of 41[5] | |
| Finals MVP | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Forward | ||
| Rookie of the Year | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | Forward | Unanimous | |
| Most Improved Player | Kristi Toliver | Los Angeles Sparks | Guard | 24 out of 41 | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Forward | 19 out of 41 | |
| Sixth Woman of the Year | Renee Montgomery | Connecticut Sun | Guard | 23 out of 41 | |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Kara Lawson | Connecticut Sun | Guard | 18 out of 41 | |
| Peak Performers | Scoring | Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | Guard/Forward | 21.4 PPG |
| Rebounding | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | Center | 10.5 RPG | |
| Assists | Lindsay Whalen | Minnesota Lynx | Guard | 5.4 APG | |
| Coach of the Year | Carol Ross | Los Angeles Sparks | Coach | 15 out of 41 | |
| Week ending | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | |
| May 27 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June 3 | Epiphanny Prince (2) | Chicago Sky | DeWanna Bonner | Phoenix Mercury |
| June 10 | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | ||
| June 17 | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | Candace Parker (3) | |
| June 24 | Tamika Catchings (2) | Indiana Fever | ||
| July 1 | Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | Sophia Young | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| July 8 | Tina Charles (3) | Connecticut Sun | Becky Hammon | |
| July 15 | Candace Parker (4) | Los Angeles Sparks | ||
| August 20 | Tamika Catchings (3) | Indiana Fever | Maya Moore | Minnesota Lynx |
| August 26 | Sancho Lyttle | Atlanta Dream | Kristi Toliver | Los Angeles Sparks |
| September 2 | Tamika Catchings (4) | Indiana Fever | DeWanna Bonner (2) | Phoenix Mercury |
| September 9 | Lindsey Harding | Atlanta Dream | Maya Moore (2) | Minnesota Lynx |
| September 16 | Cappie Pondexter | New York Liberty | Nneka Ogwumike (2) | Los Angeles Sparks |
| September 23 | Tina Charles (4) | Connecticut Sun | Candace Parker (5) | |
| Month | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | |
| May | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky | Candace Parker (3) | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June | Tina Charles (2) | Connecticut Sun | ||
| July | ||||
| August | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Kristi Toliver | Los Angeles Sparks |
| September | Cappie Pondexter | New York Liberty | Candace Parker (4) | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Month | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| May | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June | Samantha Prahalis | Phoenix Mercury |
| July | Nneka Ogwumike (4) | Los Angeles Sparks |
| August | ||
| September |