WNBA 2000

	Women's National Basketball Association
	◄ previous	2000 season	next ►
Duration		May 29th - August 26th
Season games per team		32
Number of teams		16
Spectators (total)		2,322,822 (∅: 9,074 per game)
Regular season
Best record		Los Angeles Sparks
Season MVP		Sheryl Swoopes
Top scorer		Sheryl Swoopes
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		New York Liberty
Runner-up team		Cleveland Rockers
Western - Champion		Houston Comets
Runner-up team		Los Angeles Sparks
Finals
WNBA champion		Houston Comets
Runner-up		New York Liberty
Finals MVP		Cynthia Cooper

The 2000 season of the Women's National Basketball Association was the fourth played season of the North American professional women's basketball league . The regular season began on May 29, 2000 with the opening game between the New York Liberty and the Houston Comets . This was also the last encounter in the previous season . After the end of the regular season, which was played until August 9, 2000, the playoffs for the WNBA championship began, which the Houston Comets decided on August 26 in the final against the New York Liberty for themselves. In addition, the second WNBA All-Star Game took place on July 17, 2000 in the America West Arena , home of the Phoenix Mercury , in Phoenix .

Special occurrences

New game mode

The fourth season of the WNBA once again brought changes, with the four best teams in each conference qualifying for the playoffs for the first time.

League expansion

On June 7, 1999, the WNBA decided to expand the league from twelve to sixteen teams. With this expansion, the cities of Indianapolis , Miami , Portland and Seattle were guaranteed a WNBA franchise, with all four franchises to start operating this season. While the league placed the Portland Fire and Seattle Storm in the Western Conference , the Indiana Fever and Miami Sol were placed in the Eastern Conference .

Draft

→ Main article : WNBA Draft 2000

The fourth WNBA Draft took place on April 25, 2000 at NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus , New Jersey . The Cleveland Rockers received the first draft pick , as they finished last season as the worst team. The four expansion franchises received seventh ( Portland Fire ), eighth ( Miami Sol ), ninth ( Seattle Storm ), and tenth ( Indiana Fever ) draft picks.

In first position, the Rockers selected the Belgian Ann Wauters from BC Volgaburmash . In addition, the Rockers decided in the fourth round (49th position) for the German Sophie von Saldern from the University of California, Berkeley . In total, the sixteen franchises secured the rights to 64 players. The United States made up the majority with 54 players.

Before the first WNBA draft, an expansion draft was held for the four expansion teams , in which the franchises secured the rights to players from the remaining WNBA franchises in six rounds.

Top 5 picks

Abbreviations: Pos = Position, G = Guard, F = Forward, C = Center, ABL = American Basketball League

#	Player	nationality	Item	WNBA team	College / professional team
1.	Ann Wauters	Belgium	C.	Cleveland Rockers	BC Volgaburmash
2.	Thousand Mills	United States	C.	Washington Mystics	University of Alabama
3.	Edwina Brown	United States	G	Detroit Shock	University of Texas at Austin
4th	Cintia dos Santos	Brazil	F / C	Orlando Miracle	Brazil
5.	Grace Daley	United States	G	Minnesota Lynx	Tulane University

Regular season

WNBA All-Star Game

The second WNBA All-Star Game took place on July 17, 2000 in the America West Arena , home of the Phoenix Mercury , in Phoenix .

Closing tables

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp. = Games, S = wins, N = defeats, GB = games behind the leader of the conference

Pl.	Eastern Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	New York Liberty	32	20th	12	62.5	-	12: 4	8: 8
2.	Cleveland Rockers	32	17th	15th	53.1	3	13: 3	4:12
3.	Orlando Miracle	32	16	16	50.0	4th	11: 5	5:11
4th	Washington Mystics	32	14th	18th	43.8	6th	7: 9	7: 9
5.	Detroit Shock	32	14th	18th	43.8	6th	8: 8	6:10
6th	Miami Sol	32	13	19th	40.6	7th	9: 7	4:12
7th	Indiana Fever	32	9	23	28.1	11	5:11	4:12
8th.	Charlotte Sting	32	8th	24	25.0	12	5:11	3:13

Pl.	Western Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	Los Angeles Sparks	32	28	4th	87.5	-	15: 1	13: 3
2.	Houston Comets	32	27	5	84.4	1	14: 2	13: 3
3.	Sacramento Monarchs	32	21st	11	65.6	7th	13: 3	8: 8
4th	Phoenix Mercury	32	20th	12	62.5	8th	11: 5	9: 7
5.	Utah Starzz	32	18th	14th	56.3	10	12: 4	6:10
6th	Minnesota Lynx	32	15th	17th	46.9	13	8: 8	7: 9
7th	Portland Fire	32	10	22nd	31.3	18th	6:10	4:12
8th.	Seattle Storm	32	6th	26th	18.8	22nd	4:12	2:14

Legend

Playoff qualification

Conference winner

Playoffs

mode

After the two conference winners as well as the second, third and fourth placed in each conference have qualified, the playoffs , which are held in the knockout system , start . The teams in each conference are placed in positions 1 to 4 in descending order according to the number of games they have won from the regular season.

Each Conference plays in a row in the Conference Semifinals ( dt . Conference semifinals ) and (dt. In the Conference Finals Conference Finals ) its winner, the (. Final dt) then in the finals competes for the championship. The team that is highest on the seeding list meets the lowest seeded team in the conference semifinals. All series of each round are played in best-of-three mode, which means that a team needs two wins to reach the next round. The lower ranked team has home rights in the first game and the opposing team in the next. If no winner has emerged from the round by then, the higher-seeded team has home advantage again in the third game. For games that remain tied after the regular playing time of 40 minutes, overtime follows , with the game being played until one team ends overtime with more points.

Playoff tree

	Conference semifinals					Conference Finals					WNBA Finals
	1	New York Liberty	2
	4th	Washington Mystics	0
						1	New York Liberty	2
	Eastern Conference
						2	Cleveland Rockers	1
	2	Cleveland Rockers	2
	3	Orlando Miracle	1
											1	New York Liberty	0
											2	Houston Comets	2
	1	Los Angeles Sparks	2
	4th	Phoenix Mercury	0
						1	Los Angeles Sparks	0
	Western Conference
						2	Houston Comets	2
	2	Houston Comets	2
	3	Sacramento Monarchs	0

Conference semifinals (round 1)

Eastern Conference

(1) New York Liberty - (4) Washington Mystics

Aug 12, 2000	Match report ( Memento from September 18, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Washington Mystics	63 - 72	New York Liberty	MCI Center , Washington, DC Visitors: 16,331
		Points per half: 28:40, 35:32.
		Points: Bullet (22) Rebounds: Bullet, Holdsclaw (8) Assists: McCray (11)		Points: Phillips , Johnson (20) Rebounds: Johnson (8) Assists: Weatherspoon (9)
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 14, 2000	Match report ( Memento from November 20, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	New York Liberty	78-57	Washington Mystics	Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York Visitors: 15,309
		Points per half: 40:25, 38:32.
		Points: Hammon (19) Rebounds: Phillips (10) Assists: Weatherspoon (10)		Points: Holdsclaw , Aldridge (12) Rebounds: Aldridge (4) Assists: Aldridge (5)
		Final score : 2-0

(2) Cleveland Rockers - (3) Orlando Miracle

Aug 11, 2000	Match report ( Memento from December 2, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Orlando Miracle	62 - 55	Cleveland Rockers	TD Waterhouse Center , Orlando, Florida Visitors: 6,265
		Points per half: 28:29, 34:26.
		Points: McWilliams (22) Rebounds: McWilliams (10) Assists: Johnson (5)		Points: Jones (18) Rebounds: Brown , Jones (6) Assists: Brown (4)
		Stand: 1: 0

Aug 13, 2000	Match report ( Memento from November 20, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Cleveland Rockers	63 - 54	Orlando Miracle	Gund Arena , Cleveland, Ohio Visitors: 9,755
		Points per half: 36:15, 27:39.
		Points: Jones , Darling (15) Rebounds: Melvin (10) Assists: McConnell-Serio (6)		Points: Johnson (17) Rebounds: Johnson (9) Assists: Johnson (7)
		Stand: 1: 1

Aug 15, 2000	Match report ( Memento from December 3, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Cleveland Rockers	72 - 43	Orlando Miracle	Gund Arena , Cleveland, Ohio Visitors: 9,528
		Points per half: 32:21, 40:22.
		Points: Wauters (12) Rebounds: Hall , Jones (7) Assists: McConnell-Serio (7)		Points: Sales (13) Rebounds: McWilliams (8) Assists: Dos Santos , Johnson , Johnson , McWilliams (2)
		Final score: 2: 1

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Sparks - (4) Phoenix Mercury

Aug 11, 2000	Match report ( Memento from November 20, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Phoenix Mercury	71-86	Los Angeles Sparks	America West Arena , Phoenix, Arizona Visitors: 6,167
		Points per half: 24:43, 47:43.
		Points: Reed (17) Rebounds: Harrison (9) Assists: Reed (6)		Points: Leslie (20) Rebounds: Leslie (11) Assists: Dixon (5)
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 13, 2000	Match report ( Memento from November 20, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Los Angeles Sparks	101-76	Phoenix Mercury	Great Western Forum , Los Angeles, California Visitors: 9,811
		Points per half: 42:36, 59:40.
		Points: Leslie (29) Rebounds: Leslie, Mabika (8) Assists: Dixon (7)		Points: Gillom , Harrison (16) Rebounds: Griffiths (6) Assists: Harrison (5)
		Final score : 2-0

(2) Houston Comets - (3) Sacramento Monarchs

Aug 12, 2000	Match report ( Memento from October 18, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Sacramento Monarchs	64 - 72	Houston Comets	ARCO Arena , Orlando, Florida Visitors: 8,053
		Points per half: 37:35, 27:37.
		Points: Bolton (16) Rebounds: Griffith (14) Assists: Penicheiro (5)		Points: Cooper (25) Rebounds: Johnson (8) Assists: Cooper, Thompson (3)
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 14, 2000	Match report ( Memento from November 15, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Houston Comets	75-70	Sacramento Monarchs	Compaq Center , Houston, Texas Visitors: 11,664
		Points per half: 38:37, 37:33.
		Points: Swoopes (27) Rebounds: Thompson (14) Assists: Swoopes (6)		Points: Bolton (23) Rebounds: Griffith (10) Assists: Penicheiro (10)
		Final score : 2-0

Conference Finals (Round 2)

Eastern Conference

(1) New York Liberty - (2) Cleveland Rockers

Aug 17, 2000	Match report ( Memento from September 18, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Cleveland Rockers	56 - 43	New York Liberty	Gund Arena , Cleveland, Ohio Visitors: 11,686
		Points per half: 29:21, 27:22.
		Points: Brown (18) Rebounds: Melvin (9) Assists: Brown (3)		Points: Phillips (11) Rebounds: Phillips (6) Assists: Weatherspoon (3)
		Stand: 1: 0

Aug 20, 2000	Match report ( Memento from December 19, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	New York Liberty	51-45	Cleveland Rockers	Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York Visitors: 15,865
		Points per half: 36:17, 15:28.
		Points: Hammon (13) Rebounds: Phillips (6) Assists: Weatherspoon (5)		Points: Jones (18) Rebounds: Jones (12) Assists: Darling (5)
		Stand: 1: 1

Aug 21, 2000	Match report ( Memento from November 21, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	New York Liberty	81-67	Cleveland Rockers	Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York Visitors: 15,309
		Points per half: 46:27, 35:40.
		Points: Whitmore (19) Rebounds: Johnson (6) Assists: Johnson (10)		Points: Jones , McConnell-Serio (13) Rebounds: Melvin (9) Assists: Darling (4)
		Final score: 2: 1

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Sparks - (2) Houston Comets

Aug 17, 2000	Match report ( Memento from October 23, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Houston Comets	77-56	Los Angeles Sparks	Compaq Center , Houston, Texas Visitors: 14,597
		Points per half: 40:23, 37:33.
		Points: Sheryl Swoopes (22) Rebounds: Arcain , Swoopes (6) Assists: Arcain, Thompson (3)		Points: MAbika (21) Rebounds: Leslie (8) Assists: Figgs , Milton-Jones (4)
		Stand: 1: 0

Aug 20, 2000	Match report ( Memento from October 23, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Los Angeles Sparks	69-74	Houston Comets	Great Western Forum , Los Angeles, California Visitors: 13,884
		Points per half: 35:40, 34:34.
		Points: Mabika (19) Rebounds: Leslie (14) Assists: Figgs , Leslie (5)		Points: Cooper (29) Rebounds: Thompson (6) Assists: Swoopes (6)
		Final score: 0: 2

Finals (round 3)

(W2) Houston Comets - (E1) New York Liberty

Aug 24, 2000	Match report ( Memento from October 18, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	New York Liberty	52 - 59	Houston Comets	Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York Visitors: 19,563
		Points per half: 22:29, 30:30.
		Points: Phillips (24) Rebounds: Phillips (15) Assists: Weatherspoon (5)		Points: Cooper (20) Rebounds: Johnson (8) Assists: Cooper (5)
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 26, 2000	Match report ( Memento from October 18, 2000 in the Internet Archive )	Houston Comets	79-73	New York Liberty	Compaq Center , Houston, Texas Visitors: 11,664
		Points per half: 27:25, 37:39 ..  Overtime / s: 15: 9
		Points: Swoopes (31) Rebounds: Thompson (8) Assists: Cooper (7)		Points: Phillips (20) Rebounds: Phillips (7) Assists: Weatherspoon (8)
		Final score: 2-0 finals MVP: Cynthia Cooper

WNBA championship team

(Participation in at least one playoff game)

WNBA Masters Houston Comets

Guards: Cynthia Cooper (Finals MVP) , Jennifer Rizzotti , Coquese Washington Forwards: Janeth Arcain , Tammy Jackson , Sheryl Swoopes , Tina Thompson , Amaya Valdemoro Forwards / Guards: Kelley Gibson Center: Tiffani Johnson Head coach: Van Chancellor

WNBA awards and trophies awarded

Award	Player	team
WNBA Finals MVP Award	Cynthia Cooper	Houston Comets
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award	Betty Lennox	Minnesota Lynx
WNBA Most Improved Player Award	Tari Phillips	New York Liberty
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
Bud Light Shooting Champions (throwing quota)	Murriel Page	Washington Mystics
Bud Light Shooting Champions (free throw quota)	Jennifer Azzi	Utah Starzz
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award	Suzie McConnell-Serio	Cleveland Rockers
WNBA Coach of the Year Award	Michael Cooper	Los Angeles Sparks

All-WNBA teams

All-WNBA First Team
Guards:	(SAC) Ticha Penicheiro - Cynthia Cooper
Forwards:	Natalie Williams - Sheryl Swoopes
Center:	Lisa Leslie

All-WNBA Second Team
Guards:	(NYL) Teresa Weatherspoon - Shannon Johnson / (MIN) Betty Lennox
Forwards:	Tina Thompson - (MIN) Katie Smith
Center:	(SAC) Yolanda Griffith

Web links

• WNBA Award Winners 2000 on WNBA.com (English)
• WNBA Playoffs 2000 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• Statistics for the WNBA season 2000 on basketball-reference.com (engl.)
• Key dates in the WNBA history (Engl.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ WNBA Timeline - By Date. WNBA, accessed July 1, 2012 .