WNBA 2002

	Women's National Basketball Association
	◄ previous	2002 season	next ►
Duration		May 25th - August 31st
Season games per team		32
Number of teams		16
Spectators (total)		2,362,412 (∅: 9,228 per game)
Regular season
Best record		Los Angeles Sparks
Season MVP		Sheryl Swoopes
Top scorer		Chamique Holdsclaw
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		New York Liberty
Runner-up team		Washington Mystics
Western - Champion		Los Angeles Sparks
Runner-up team		Utah Starzz
Finals
WNBA champion		Los Angeles Sparks
Runner-up		New York Liberty
Finals MVP		Lisa Leslie

The 2002 season of the Women's National Basketball Association was the sixth played season of the North American professional women's basketball league . The regular season began on May 25, 2002 with the opening games between the Los Angeles Sparks and the New York Liberty and the Utah Starzz and the Minnesota Wild . After the end of the regular season, which was played until August 13, 2002, the playoffs began for the WNBA championship, which the Los Angeles Sparks decided on August 31 in the second final game against the New York Liberty for themselves. In addition, the fourth WNBA All-Star Game took place on July 15, 2002 at the MCI Center , the home ground of the Washington Mystics , in Washington, DC .

Draft

• Main article: WNBA Draft 2002

On April 20, 2002, the WNBA Draft took place. The order of selection in the WNBA Draft was determined by a lottery . These won the Seattle Storm before the Detroit Shock .

The Storm Sue Bird was the first pick . After that, Detroit chose Swin Cash in second place . In total, the 16 franchises secured the rights to 64 players. The United States made up the lion's share with 58 players .

Top 5 picks

Abbreviations: Pos = Position, G = Guard, F = Forward, C = Center

#	Player	nationality	Item	WNBA team	College / professional team
1.	Sue Bird	United States	G	Seattle Storm	University of Connecticut
2.	Swin Cash	United States	F.	Detroit Shock	University of Connecticut
3.	Stacey Dales-Schuman	Canada	G	Washington Mystics	University of Oklahoma
4th	Asjha Jones	United States	F.	Washington Mystics	University of Connecticut
5.	Nikki Teasley	United States	G	Portland Fire	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Regular season

Closing tables

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

Explanations:     = Playoff qualification,     = Conference winner

Pl.	Eastern Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	New York Liberty	32	18th	14th	56.3	-	10: 6	8: 8
2.	Charlotte Sting	32	18th	14th	56.3	0	11: 5	7: 9
3.	Washington Mystics	32	17th	15th	53.1	1	9: 7	8: 8
4th	Indiana Fever	32	16	16	50.0	2	10: 6	6:10
5.	Orlando Miracle	32	16	16	50.0	2	10: 6	6:10
6th	Miami Sol	32	15th	17th	46.9	3	9: 7	6:10
7th	Cleveland Rockers	32	10	22nd	31.3	8th	4:12	6:10
8th.	Detroit Shock	32	9	23	28.1	9	7: 9	2:14

Pl.	Western Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	Los Angeles Sparks	32	25th	7th	78.1	-	12: 4	13: 3
2.	Houston Comets	32	24	8th	75.0	1	14: 2	10: 6
3.	Utah Starzz	32	20th	12	62.5	5	12: 4	8: 8
4th	Seattle Storm	32	17th	15th	53.1	8th	10: 6	7: 9
5.	Portland Fire	32	16	16	50.0	9	9: 7	7: 9
6th	Sacramento Monarchs	32	14th	18th	43.8	11	10: 6	4:12
7th	Phoenix Mercury	32	11	21st	34.4	14th	10: 6	1:15
8th.	Minnesota Lynx	32	10	22nd	31.3	15th	7: 9	3:13

Playoffs

Playoff tree

	Conference semifinals					Conference Finals					WNBA Finals
	1	New York Liberty	2
	4th	Indiana Fever	1
						1	New York Liberty	2
	Eastern Conference
						3	Washington Mystics	1
	2	Charlotte Sting	0
	3	Washington Mystics	2
											E1	New York Liberty	0
											W1	Los Angeles Sparks	2
	1	Los Angeles Sparks	2
	4th	Seattle Storm	0
						1	Los Angeles Sparks	2
	Western Conference
						3	Utah Starzz	0
	2	Houston Comets	1
	3	Utah Starzz	2

Conference semifinals (round 1)

Eastern Conference

(1) New York Liberty - (4) Indiana Fever

Aug 16, 2002		Indiana Fever	73-55	New York Liberty	Bankers Life Fieldhouse , Indianapolis, Indiana
		Stand: 1: 0

Aug 18, 2002		New York Liberty	84-65	Indiana Fever	Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York
		Stand: 1: 1

Aug 20, 2002		New York Liberty	75-60	Indiana Fever	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
		Final score: 2: 1

(2) Charlotte Sting - (3) Washington Mystics

Aug 15, 2002		Washington Mystics	74-62	Charlotte Sting	MCI Center , Washington DC
		Stand: 1: 0

Aug 17, 2002		Charlotte Sting	59-62	Washington Mystics	Charlotte Coliseum , Charlotte, North Carolina
		Final score: 0: 2

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Sparks - (4) Seattle Storm

Aug 15, 2002		Seattle Storm	61-78	Los Angeles Sparks	Key Arena , Seattle, Washington
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 17, 2002		Los Angeles Sparks	69 - 59	Seattle Storm	Staples Center , Los Angeles, California
		Final score : 2-0

(2) Houston Comets - (3) Utah Starzz

Aug 16, 2002		Utah Starzz	66-59	Houston Comets	Delta Center , Salt Lake City, Utah
		Stand: 1: 0

Aug 18, 2002		Houston Comets	83-77	Utah Starzz	Compaq Center , Houston, Texas
		Stand: 1: 1

Aug 20, 2001		Houston Comets	72-75	Utah Starzz	Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
		Final score: 1: 2

Conference Finals (Round 2)

Eastern Conference

(1) New York Liberty - (3) Washington Mystics

22 Aug 2002		Washington Mystics	79-74	New York Liberty	MCI Center , Washington DC
		Stand: 1: 0

Aug 24, 2002		New York Liberty	96-79	Washington Mystics	Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York
		Stand: 1: 1

Aug 25, 2002		New York Liberty	64 - 57	Washington Mystics	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
		Final score: 2: 1

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Sparks - (3) Utah Starzz

22 Aug 2002		Utah Starzz	67-75	Los Angeles Sparks	Delta Center , Salt Lake City, Utah
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 24, 2002		Los Angeles Sparks	103-77	Utah Starzz	Staples Center , Los Angeles, California
		Final score : 2-0

Finals (round 3)

(W1) Los Angeles Sparks - (E1) New York Liberty

Aug 29, 2002	Match report ( Memento from November 26, 2002 in the Internet Archive )	New York Liberty	63-71	Los Angeles Sparks	Madison Square Garden , New York City, New York Visitors: 17,666
		Points per half: 35:35, 28:36.
		Points: Hammon (18) Rebounds: Weatherspoon (7) Assists: Johnson , Phillips , Weatherspoon (3)		Points: Mabika (20) Rebounds: Byears (11) Assists: Teasley (11)
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 31, 2002	Match report ( Memento from November 26, 2002 in the Internet Archive )	Los Angeles Sparks	69-66	New York Liberty	Staples Center , Los Angeles, California Visitors: 13,493
		Points per half: 31:24, 38:42.
		Points: Leslie (17) Rebounds: Byears (11) Assists: Teasley (11)		Points: Johnson, Whitmore (17) Rebounds: Phillips (8) Assists: Weatherspoon (5)
		Final score: 2-0 Finals MVP: Lisa Leslie

WNBA championship team

(Participation in at least one playoff game)

WNBA Masters Los Angeles Sparks

Guards: Tamecka Dixon , Nicky McCrimmon , Nikki Teasley , Sophia Witherspoon Guard fowards: Latasha Byears , Mwadi Mabika Forwards: DeLisha Milton-Jones , Vedrana Grgin-Fonseca Forward Center: Érika de Souza Center: Marlies Askamp , Lisa Leslie (Finals MVP) Head Coach: Michael Cooper

WNBA awards and trophies awarded

Award	Player	team
WNBA Finals MVP Award	Lisa Leslie	Los Angeles Sparks
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
WNBA Most Improved Player Award	Coco Miller	Washington Mystics
WNBA Peak Performer (points)	Chamique Holdsclaw	Washington Mystics
WNBA Peak Performer (Rebounds)	Chamique Holdsclaw	Washington Mystics
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award	Tamika catchings	Indiana Fever
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award	Jennifer Gillom	Phoenix Mercury
WNBA Coach of the Year Award	Marianne Stanley	Washington Mystics

All-WNBA teams

All-WNBA First Team
Guards:	Sue Bird - Mwadi Mabika
Forwards:	Tamika Catchings - Sheryl Swoopes
Center:	Lisa Leslie

All-WNBA Second Team
Guards:	(MIN) Katie Smith - Shannon Johnson
Forwards:	Tina Thompson - Chamique Holdsclaw
Center:	(NYL) Tari Phillips

Web links

• WNBA Final Standings 2002 on WNBA.com ( Memento from September 6, 2002 in the Internet Archive )
• WNBA Award Winners 2002 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• WNBA Playoffs 2002 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• Statistics for the WNBA 2002 season on basketball-reference.com (Engl.)
• Key dates in the WNBA history (Engl.)