| 2013 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 24 – October 10, 2013 |
| Games | 34 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Total attendance | 1,536,259 |
| Average attendance | 7,531 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC,ESPN,ESPN2,NBA TV |
| Top draft pick |  Brittney Griner |
| Picked by | Phoenix Mercury |
| Season MVP | Candace ParkerLos Angeles |
| Eastern champions | Atlanta Dream |
| Eastern runners-up | Indiana Fever |
| Western champions | Minnesota Lynx |
| Western runners-up | Phoenix Mercury |
| Finals champions | Minnesota Lynx |
| Runners-up | Atlanta Dream |
| Finals MVP | Maya Moore(Minnesota) |
| WNBA seasons | |
The2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of theWomen's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 24 and concluded on September 15, and playoffs started on September 19 and concluded on October 10.[1] TheMinnesota Lynx won their secondleague championship, defeating theAtlanta Dream three games to none in the2013 WNBA Finals.The year represented a positive turning point for the long-struggling league. Both attendance and television viewership were up, driven by an influx of talented rookies, multiple teams reported that they were near a break-even point, and at least one franchise announced that it was profitable.[2]
The WNBA Draft lottery was held on September 26, 2012. The lottery teams were theWashington Mystics,Phoenix Mercury,Tulsa Shock andChicago Sky. The top pick was awarded to Phoenix Mercury.CenterBrittney Griner was drafted first overall by thePhoenix Mercury.
About 70+ games were aired onESPN2,ABC andNBA TV.WNBA LiveAccess will offer complement - approximately 190 live games.[3]
The WNBA touted three exciting rookies --Brittney Griner of thePhoenix Mercury,Elena Delle Donne of theChicago Sky, andSkylar Diggins of theTulsa Shock—as "three to see" going into the 2013 season.[4] Griner - a tall, athletic center who had been dominant in college—was seen as such a potential game-changer that many picked the Mercury to win the WNBA championship.[5]
It was Delle Donne, however, who turned out to have the breakout season, leading the Sky to the best record in theEastern Conference, and their first trip to theplayoffs. Griner was hampered by injuries, but her Phoenix team finished third in theWest, and made it to the conference finals.
TheMinnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the WNBA for the third consecutive season, behind the play ofSeimone Augustus,Lindsay Whalen, andMaya Moore.
Joining the Sky in the playoffs were the defending WNBA championIndiana Fever, who finished fourth after surviving a rash of injuries during the season; theAtlanta Dream, led by league scoring championAngel McCoughtry; and theWashington Mystics, who were hoping to win their first playoff game since 2004.
TheLos Angeles Sparks finished second in the West, behind the play of league MVPCandace Parker. They lost to Phoenix in the conference semifinals. Finally, theSeattle Storm surprised many by earning the final entry into the playoffs, allowing veteran and future hall-of-famerTina Thompson to retire from a playoff team.
| # | Eastern Conference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
| 1 | z-Chicago Sky | 24 | 10 | .706 | - | 34 |
| 2 | x-Atlanta Dream | 17 | 17 | .500 | 7 | 34 |
| 3 | x-Washington Mystics | 17 | 17 | .500 | 7 | 34 |
| 4 | x-Indiana Fever | 16 | 18 | .471 | 8 | 34 |
| 5 | e-New York Liberty | 11 | 23 | .324 | 13 | 34 |
| 6 | e-Connecticut Sun | 10 | 24 | .294 | 14 | 34 |
| # | Western Conference | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP | |
| 1 | z-Minnesota Lynx | 26 | 8 | .765 | - | 34 |
| 2 | x-Los Angeles Sparks | 24 | 10 | .706 | 2 | 34 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 15 | .559 | 7 | 34 |
| 4 | x-Seattle Storm | 17 | 17 | .500 | 9 | 34 |
| 5 | e-San Antonio Silver Stars | 12 | 22 | .353 | 14 | 34 |
| 6 | e-Tulsa Shock | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15 | 34 |
The opening round of the WNBA playoffs saw a rash of road team victories. Only theMinnesota Lynx andIndiana Fever went unbeaten on their home floors. TheChicago Sky, the top overall seed in the East, were swept by the Fever, while theSeattle Storm lost to the top-seeded Lynx in two games. In theAtlanta–Washington series, the road team won the first two games of the series, before Atlanta finally prevailed at home. Finally, in the matchup between thePhoenix Mercury andLos Angeles Sparks, the road teams went 3-0, with Phoenix advancing.
The conference finals were over quickly. Both theAtlanta Dream andMinnesota Lynx swept their opponents, setting up a rematch of the2011 WNBA Finals. In the Finals, the Lynx once again swept the Dream, becoming the second WNBA team to sweep through the playoffs since the best-of-five finals format was adopted.
| Conference semifinals Best-of-3 | Conference finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Chicago | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Indiana | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Atlanta | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Atlanta | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Washington | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Atlanta | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W3 | Phoenix | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Phoenix | 2 | ||||||||||||
Reference:[6]
| Award | Winner | Team | Position | Votes/Statistic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks | Forward | 10 out of 39[7] | |
| Finals MVP | Maya Moore | Minnesota Lynx | Forward | ||
| Rookie of the Year | Elena Delle Donne | Chicago Sky | Forward | Unanimous | |
| Most Improved Player | Shavonte Zellous | Indiana Fever | Guard | 30 out of 39 | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky | Center | 21 out of 29 | |
| Sixth Woman of the Year | Riquna Williams | Tulsa Shock | Guard | 17 out of 39 | |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award (co-winners) | Swin Cash | Chicago Sky | Forward | 7 out of 39 | |
| Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Forward | |||
| Peak Performers | Scoring | Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | Guard/Forward | 21.5 PPG |
| Rebounding | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky | Center | 11.5 RPG | |
| Assists | Danielle Robinson | San Antonio Silver Stars | Guard | 6.7 APG | |
| Coach of the Year | Mike Thibault | Washington Mystics | Coach | 11 of 39 | |
The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.
| Week ending | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | |
| June 2 | Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June 9 | Ivory Latta | Washington Mystics | Rebekkah Brunson | Minnesota Lynx |
| June 16 | Angel McCoughtry (3) | Atlanta Dream | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
| June 23 | Glory Johnson | Tulsa Shock | ||
| June 30 | Elena Delle Donne (2) | Chicago Sky | Diana Taurasi (2) | Phoenix Mercury |
| July 7 | Candace Parker (3) | Los Angeles Sparks | ||
| July 14 | Sylvia Fowles | |||
| July 21 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Liz Cambage | Tulsa Shock |
| July 28 | Ivory Latta (2) | Washington Mystics | Tina Thompson | Seattle Storm |
| August 4 | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | Liz Cambage (2) | Tulsa Shock |
| August 11 | Elena Delle Donne (3) | Chicago Sky | Maya Moore | Minnesota Lynx |
| August 18 | Sylvia Fowles (2) | Kristi Toliver | Los Angeles Sparks | |
| August 25 | Elena Delle Donne (4) | Maya Moore (2) | Minnesota Lynx | |
| September 1 | Tamika Catchings (2) | Indiana Fever | Tina Thompson (2) | Seattle Storm |
| September 8 | Angel McCoughtry (4) | Atlanta Dream | Riquna Williams | Tulsa Shock |
| September 15 | Ivory Latta (3) | Washington Mystics | Tina Thompson (3) | Seattle Storm |
The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.
| Month | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | |
| June | Angel McCoughtry | Atlanta Dream | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
| July | Sylvia Fowles (3) | Chicago Sky | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
| August | Maya Moore (2) | Minnesota Lynx | ||
| September | ||||
The following player was named the Rookie of the Month for each month.
| Month | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| June | Elena Delle Donne (4) | Chicago Sky |
| July | ||
| August | ||
| September |