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| Dates | September 12 – 16 | |||||||||
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| MVP |  Lauren Jackson(Seattle) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Storm: Swin Cash (2022) Lauren Jackson (2021) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Atlanta defeatedNew York, 2–0 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Seattle defeatedPhoenix, 2–0 | |||||||||
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The2010 WNBA Finals was the championshipseries of the2010 season of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion ofthe season's playoffs. The champions of theEastern Conference, theAtlanta Dream, faced the champions of theWestern Conference, theSeattle Storm.
The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation, with the Storm holdinghome-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (28–6) than the Dream (19–15). This was the 1st time the teams have met in the championship round. The Dream made their first ever appearance in the Finals while the Storm made their second appearance, after winning the2004 championship series.
This was the second straight year in which neither team advancing to the Finals had been there the previous season. Seattle had not won a playoff series since their Finals victory in 2004, when they defeated theConnecticut Sun 2–1.Betty Lennox, who played with Atlanta after leaving the Storm (now withL.A.) was named series MVP in 2004. Only two players remain from the championship roster–all-starsSue Bird andLauren Jackson. To advance to the Finals, the Storm defeatedDiana Taurasi and the defending championPhoenix Mercury 2–0 in theWestern Conference Finals.
This was the first WNBA Finals appearance for both head coaches. Each coach had been with their respective team since the2008 season. Seattle'sBrian Agler had been involved with the WNBA since 1999, when he was head coach of theMinnesota Lynx. Atlanta'sMarynell Meadors was one of the league's original eight head coaches, leading theCharlotte Sting to a 15–13 record in their inaugural season. This was the first ever Finals series to feature the two most recentCoach of the Year award winners; Meadors won the award in 2009 and Agler won in 2010.
This series featured 9 international players (most notablyLauren Jackson) from 6 different backgrounds. Seattle's roster boasted five foreign-born players hailing fromAustralia, theCzech Republic andRussia. Atlanta had four, representingBelarus,Brazil andSaint Vincent and the Grenadines. This was a WNBA record for the championship series; eight international players were featured in the1998 Finals.
The series ended with the Storm beating the Dream inAtlanta in a three-game sweep. This was only the second time in WNBA history that a team won the Finals three games to none (previously done byDetroit in2008).
| Seattle Storm | Atlanta Dream | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 28–6 (.824) 1st West, 1st overall | Regular season | 19–15 (.559) 4th East, 5th overall | |
| Defeated the (4)Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (1)Washington Mystics, 2–0 | |
| Defeated the (2)Phoenix Mercury, 2–0 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (2)New York Liberty, 2–0 | |
The Storm won the regular season series:
June 1, 2010 |
| Atlanta Dream 72,Seattle Storm90 | ||
| Pts:McCoughtry (16) Rebs:Lyttle (6) | Pts:Jackson (32) Rebs:Jackson (10) | |
August 10, 2010 |
| Seattle Storm80,Atlanta Dream 70 | ||
| Pts:Jackson,Wright (14) Rebs:Jackson (8) | Pts:McCoughtry (16) Rebs:Lyttle (17) | |
TheAtlanta Dream finished the regular season with a 19–15 record. As the No. 4 seed in theEastern Conference, the Dream eliminated the No. 1 seededWashington Mystics in two games during the conference playoff semifinals. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Dream went on to eliminate theNew York Liberty in two games. In reaching the Finals, the Dream became the second team in WNBA history to do so as a four seed; theCharlotte Sting (coached by Liberty coachAnne Donovan) advanced to the2001 WNBA Finals as a No. 4 seed. Also, the Dream became the second team in Eastern Conference history to reach the Finals after sweeping their opponents in the first two rounds, after theConnecticut Sun did it in2005.
TheSeattle Storm finished the regular season as theWestern Conference champion with a 28–6 record. As the No. 1 seed in the conference, the Storm eliminated the No. 4 seededLos Angeles Sparks in two games in the first round; the Sparks had eliminated the Storm from the playoffs in three of the previous five seasons. In the Western Conference Finals against thePhoenix Mercury, the Storm won Game 1 but trailed by as many as 19 points in Game 2. They rallied back andSue Bird made a 3-pointer with under three seconds left to win the series on Phoenix's home floor. This is the first time since their2004 championship season in which the Storm were not eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
All times listed below areEastern Daylight Time.
September 12 3:00pm |
| Atlanta Dream 77,Seattle Storm79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–22,22–17, 14–20,24–20 | ||
| Pts:McCoughtry,Marques (19) Rebs:Lyttle (14) Asts:Price (3) Stls:Lyttle (5) | Pts:Jackson (26) Rebs:Little (11) Asts:Bird (8) 3PFGs:Jackson (4–8) | |
| Seattle leads series, 1-0 | ||
Sue Bird made a tiebreaking jumper from the foul line with 2.6 seconds left and the Storm beat the Dream 79–77.Angel McCoughtry had a last-second try for the Dream, but her long 3-pointer from the left side did not connect.
League MVPLauren Jackson had 26 points and eight rebounds for Seattle. Bird finished with 14 points andCamille Little had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
McCoughtry andIziane Castro Marques had 19 points apiece for Atlanta.Sancho Lyttle added 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Jackson made a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to give Seattle the lead for good at 52–49 and the Storm led by six going into the fourth quarter.
Atlanta trailed by nine in the fourth before rallying, tying it at 77 on Castro Marques' old-fashioned three-point play with a minute left.
Each team had to deal with foul trouble for one of its star players. Seattle forwardSwin Cash picked up two in the first minute of the game and was whistled for her third foul before the half-way mark of the first quarter. McCoughtry had three early fouls and sat out the second quarter; she later missed much of the third quarter after knocking heads with Seattle'sJana Vesela.
September 14 9:00pm |
| Atlanta Dream 84,Seattle Storm87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:21–19, 26–30, 18–20,19–18 | ||
| Pts:McCoughtry,Marques (21) Rebs:McCoughtry (9) Asts:Miller (8) FGs:Castro Marques (10–20) | Pts:Jackson (26) Rebs:Little (9) Asts:Bird (5) Stls:Wright (5) | |
| Seattle leads series, 2-0 | ||
KeyArena,Seattle, WA Attendance: 13,898 Referees: #55 Eric Brewton #13 Cameron Inouye #17 Scott Twardoski |
League MVPLauren Jackson scored 26 points,Swin Cash added 19 and theSeattle Storm moved one step closer to the title with an 87–84 win over theAtlanta Dream in Game 2 of the finals.
Seattle improved to 21–0 at home this season and is hoping it won't need another game atKeyArena. The Storm had plenty of reasons to be pleased after winning two rough and ragged games in Seattle.
Iziane Castro Marques, who kept Atlanta close with 21 points Tuesday night, might have broken her nose for the second time in two months after a first-quarter collision kept her on the bench for a chunk of the second quarter with an ice bag on her nose.Angel McCoughtry, the Dream's leading scorer, wore a Band-Aid over her left eye, the result of a collision in Game 1 that required stitches.
McCoughtry was off in Game 2, making just seven of 23 shots on her way to 21 points. She tried to salvage the shaky performance, scoring five quick points in the final 30 seconds to help Atlanta close to 87–84.
Cash missed two free throws with 2.2 seconds left but Atlanta could not get off a potential tying shot.
"I just missed some shots. You're going to have bad days," McCoughtry said. "I had good looks. Usually I knock them down. I just didn't knock them down today. I just gotta stay more focused."
September 16 8:00pm |
| Seattle Storm87,Atlanta Dream 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:28–24, 15–20,24–16, 20–24 | ||
| Pts:Cash (18) Rebs:Jackson (9) Asts:Bird (7) 3PFGs:Cash (3–5) | Pts:McCoughtry (35) Rebs:de Souza (14) Asts:C. Miller (5) FGs:McCoughtry (13–23) | |
| Seattle wins WNBA Finals, 3-0 | ||
After losing in the first round of the playoffs five straight years following their first title,Sue Bird,Lauren Jackson and theSeattle Storm are champions again.
"I guess now I can be honest," Bird said. "Losing in the first round has been terrible. It's something I took personally and something a lot of us took personally. I judge myself by winning, so to not win in five years really, really hurt."
The Storm made up for the long gap between titles by dominating the 2010 season. Seattle was 28-6 during the regular season - tying the league record for wins - before sweeping each of its three postseason series.
Bird and Jackson are the only players remaining from the Storm's 2004 title team.
"I think the roads have been completely different," said Jackson of the two championships. "After the last six years, it definitely has taken a long time to get here."
Jackson, who had 26 points in each of the Storm's first two wins in the series, had 15 points and nine rebounds and was selectedMVP of the finals.
Swin Cash scored 18 points to lead a balanced offense as Seattle overcame 35 points by Atlanta'sAngel McCoughtry.
The Dream star, who set a WNBA playoff record with 42 points in the Eastern Conference finals clinching win over the New York Liberty, tried to rally Atlanta with nine points in the final 2:30. But McCoughtry and Coco Miller missed 3-pointers in the final 6 seconds, setting off a celebration by Seattle's players.
The Dream rallied in the final minute after trailing 82–70.
McCoughtry's three-point play with 46 seconds remaining cut Seattle's lead to 85–80. Seattle'sTanisha Wright missed two free throws and McCoughtry was fouled by Cash while missing a 3. McCoughtry made two of three free throws to cut the lead to three points with 31 seconds remaining.
Bird dribbled away the shot clock before missing a shot to set up a basket by Atlanta'sIziane Castro Marques with 6.9 seconds left. McCoughtry immediately fouledCamille Little, who made two free throws to give Seattle an 87–84 lead. McCoughtry missed a 3-pointer but the rebound went to Atlanta before Coco Miller also missed a last-second 3.
"I think we have grown up quite a bit this season," said Atlanta coachMarynell Meadors. "Maybe another minute on the clock might have made a difference in the outcome of this game and the same thing with the two games in Seattle."
| 2010Seattle Storm Finals roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2010Atlanta Dream Finals roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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