Sacramento Monarchs

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Sacramento Monarchs
founding 1997
resolution 2009
history Sacramento Monarchs
1997 - 2009
Stadion ARCO arena
Location Sacramento , California
Club colors purple, red, black, silver-colored
league WNBA
Conference Western Conference
Championships 2005
Conference title 2005 , 2006

The Sacramento Monarchs were an American women's basketball team of the Women's National Basketball Association based in Sacramento , California .

In their final season in the WNBA, the Monarchs played their home games at the ARCO Arena and were one of eight teams to take part in the first season of the WNBA. The Monarchs were able in 2005 to win the WNBA championship for the first and only time.

history

Foundation and start in the WNBA (1997 to 2002)

The Sacramento Monarchs were one of eight teams that entered the 1997 WNBA season, and while the Monarchs were a very successful team, they were mostly overshadowed by the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference . The Monarchs were not among the strongest teams in the early stages of the WNBA, but were able to slowly build a balanced squad with good talent through the WNBA Draft . In the 1999 draft , the monarchs chose Yolanda Griffith . Griffith was the Monarchs' leading player in her first season and under her leadership the Monarchs made it to the playoffs for the first time in the 1999 season . Since this season things have been steadily improving for the Monarchs and they regularly reached the playoffs in the following seasons, but they were unable to win the championship for the time being.

Rebuilding and winning the championship (2003 to 2006)

After the Monarchs missed the playoffs in the 2003 season for the first time in four years, they made it into the Conference Finals for the third time in the 2004 season , where they were eliminated again. As a result, a large part of the squad was changed. Ruthie Bolton , who played with the Monarchs from the start, was not offered a new contract. The contract of Edna Campbell , a popular player in Sacramento , was not renewed either. On March 3, 2005, Tangela Smith was transferred with a second-round pick in the 2006 draft to the Charlotte Sting for Nicole Powell and Erin Buescher . Furthermore, the monarchs signed two Chinese women, Miao Lijie and Sui Feifei , while Chantelle Anderson was transferred to the San Antonio Silver Stars for a pick in the 2006 draft . Shortly before the start of the preseason , Bolton was offered a contract, but on the condition that she makes the jump into the squad during the preseason. Bolton did not make it into the ranks of the Monarchs, but she took a job in the Monarchs organization. The big squad changes seemed to pay off, because in the 2005 season , the Monarchs in the regular season 25 of 34 games won, which meant a new franchise record. In the playoffs they made it to the WNBA Finals for the first time without defeat, where they met the Connecticut Sun , who they defeated 3-1 in games. Thus the Monarchs could win the WNBA championship for the first time in their history. Griffith has been named the show's Finals MVP. In the 2006 season , the Monarchs again made the leap into the finals, where they met the Detroit Shock this time . In a hard-fought series, the Monarchs had to admit defeat by 2: 3 in games.

Moderate successes and dissolution (2007 to 2009)

In the 2007 and 2008 seasons , the Monarchs could not play in the regular season, but made it into the playoffs in both seasons, where they were eliminated both times against the San Antonio Silver Stars . In the 2009 season, the Monarchs missed the playoffs relatively clearly and only finished last in the Western Conference. On November 20, 2009, the Maloof family announced that they would no longer continue gaming operations. The league then tried to relocate the franchise in the San Francisco area, but these efforts failed and on December 8th the dissolution of the franchise was announced. On December 14, 2009, a dispersal draft was held for the Monarchs players .

Achievements and honors

Sporting successes

The Monarchs celebrated their greatest success in franchise history in the 2005 season when they won the championship. This season, the Monarchs also had the best record in the regular season of the Western Conference.

Individual awards

A total of eight awards were won in the individual awards. The most successful was Yolanda Griffith with three awards.

season category Player
1999 WNBA Most Valuable Player Award Yolanda Griffith
1999 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Yolanda Griffith
2003 WNBA Sportsmanship Award Edna Campbell
2005 WNBA Coach of the Year Award John Whisenant
2005 WNBA Finals MVP Award Yolanda Griffith
2005 WNBA Most Improved Player Award Nicole Powell
2006 WNBA Most Improved Player Award Erin Buescher
2009 WNBA Sportsmanship Award Kara Lawson

Season after season

Abbreviations: Sp. = Games, S = victories, N = defeats

season Sp. S. N Wins in% space Playoffs
1997 28 10 18th 35.7 3rd, Western Conference not qualified
1998 30th 8th 22nd 26.7 4th, Western Conference not qualified
1999 32 19th 13 59.4 3rd, Western Conference Loss in Conference Semifinal, 0-1 ( Los Angeles Sparks )
2000 32 21st 11 65.6 3rd, Western Conference Conference semifinals lost, 2-0 ( Houston Comets )
2001 32 20th 12 62.5 2nd, Western Conference Victory in the Conference Semifinals, 2-0 ( Utah Starzz ),
loss in the Conference Finals, 1: 2 ( Los Angeles Sparks )
2002 32 14th 18th 43.8 6th, Western Conference not qualified
2003 34 19th 15th 55.9 3rd, Western Conference Victory in the Conference Semifinals, 2-1 ( Houston Comets )
Defeat in the Conference Finals, 1: 2 ( Los Angeles Sparks )
2004 34 18th 16 52.9 4th, Western Conference Victory in the Conference Semifinals, 2-1 ( Houston Comets )
Defeat in the Conference Finals, 1: 2 ( Los Angeles Sparks )
2005 34 25th 9 73.5 1st, Western Conference Conference semi-finals win, 2-0 ( Los Angeles Sparks )
Conference Finals win, 2-0 ( Houston Comets )
WNBA champions , 3-1 ( Connecticut Sun )
2006 34 21st 13 61.8 2nd, Western Conference Victory in the Conference Semifinals, 2-0 ( Los Angeles Sparks )
victory in the Conference Finals, 2-0 ( Houston Comets )
defeat in the WNBA Finals, 2: 3 ( Detroit Shock )
2007 34 19th 15th 55.9 3rd, Western Conference Conference semi-finals lost, 2-1 ( San Antonio Silver Stars )
2008 34 18th 16 52.9 4th, Western Conference Conference semi-finals lost, 2-1 ( San Antonio Silver Stars )
2009 34 12 22nd 35.3 6th, Western Conference not qualified
total 424 224 200 52.8 9 playoff appearances in 13 seasons
16 series: 8 wins, 8 losses
43 games: 24 wins, 19 losses (55.9%)

Trainer

Period Trainer annotation
1997 Mary Murphy -
1997-1998 Heidi VanDerveer -
1999-2000 Sonny Allen -
2001-2003 Maura McHugh -
2003-2006 John Whisenant -
2007-2009 Jenny Boucek -
2009 John Whisenant -

Players

WNBA championship team

(Participation in at least one playoff game)

WNBA champion
2005

Guards: Kara Lawson , Chelsea Newton , Ticha Penicheiro , Kristin Haynie

Guard-Fowards: Hamchetou Maiga-Ba

Forwards: Nicole Powell , DeMya Walker , Rebekkah Brunson

Forward Center: Yolanda Griffith (Finals MVP)

Center: Olympia Scott

Head Coach: John Whisenant 

Blocked jersey numbers

No. Surname information
6th Ruthie Bolton
GM Jerry Reynolds first general manager of the monarchs

First-round voting rights in the WNBA Draft

In the 13 years of existence, the club had twelve draft rights in the first round of the WNBA draft . The franchise mostly had a draft pick in the first round. In the 2001 and 2007 seasons , the team did not have a pick in the first round, in 2006 even two players could be selected.

The Sacramento team was never able to select the first player in the draft, but was allowed to select a second team four times. Despite these high draft picks, none of the Monarchs players could win the award for the best newcomer of the year . Since five of the eight players who were selected in the first round by then were in the championship team from 2005 , it shows that the selection decisions were not wrong.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ All-Time WNBA Draft Picks. WNBA, accessed November 30, 2016 .