WNBA 2003

	Women's National Basketball Association
	◄ previous	2003 season	next ►
Duration		May 22nd - September 16th
Season games per team		34
Number of teams		14th
Spectators (total)		2,100,630 (∅: 8,826 per game)
Regular season
Best record		Detroit Shock
Season MVP		Lauren Jackson
Top scorer		Lauren Jackson
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		Detroit Shock
Runner-up team		Connecticut Sun
Western - Champion		Seattle Storm
Runner-up team		Sacramento Monarchs
Finals
WNBA champion		Detroit Shock
Runner-up		Seattle Storm
Finals MVP		Ruth Riley

The 2003 season was the seventh regular season for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

This season, two teams were disbanded with the Miami Sol and the Portland Fire . Furthermore relocated the Orlando Miracle to Connecticut and then became the Connecticut Sun . The Utah Starzz moved to San Antonio and became the San Antonio Silver Stars .

The seventh WNBA Draft took place on April 24, 2003 at NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus , New Jersey , United States .

The WNBA championship won the first time the Detroit Shock , which defeated the Los Angeles Sparks with 2–1 in the final series . Shock Center Ruth Riley has been named the Finals MVP.

The fifth WNBA All-Star Game took place on July 12, 2003 in Madison Square Garden in New York City , which the Western All Stars won with 84-75 against the Eastern All Stars. Los Angeles Sparks Guard, Nikki Teasley has been named the game's MVP.

Draft

• Main article: WNBA Draft 2003

On April 24, 2003, not only the WNBA Draft took place, but also a Dispersal Draft , as the Miami Sol and Portland Fire had disbanded before the start of this season.

The order of selection in the WNBA Draft was determined by a lottery . This won the Cleveland Rockers before the Sacramento Monarchs .

The first pick was LaToya Thomas . After that, Sacramento chose Chantelle Anderson in second place . In total, the 14 franchises secured the rights to 42 players. The United States made up the majority with 38 players .

Top 5 picks

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

#	Player	nationality	Item	WNBA team	College / professional team
1.	LaToya Thomas	United States	F.	Cleveland Rockers	Mississippi State University
2.	Chantelle Anderson	United States	C.	Sacramento Monarchs	Vanderbilt University
3.	Cheryl Ford	United States	C.	Detroit Shock	Louisiana Tech University
4th	Plenette Pierson	United States	F.	Phoenix Mercury	Texas Tech University
5.	Kara Lawson	United States	G	Detroit Shock	University of Tennessee

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.	Detroit Shock	34	25th	9	73.5	-	13: 4	12: 5
2.	Charlotte Sting	34	18th	16	52.9	7th	13: 4	5:12
3.	Connecticut Sun	34	18th	16	52.9	7th	10: 7	8: 9
4th	Cleveland Rockers	34	17th	17th	50.0	8th	11: 6	6:11
5.	Indiana Fever	34	16	18th	47.1	9	11: 6	6:11
6th	New York Liberty	34	16	18th	47.1	9	11: 6	5:12
7th	Washington Mystics	34	9	25th	26.5	16	3:14	6:11

Pl.	Western Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	Los Angeles Sparks	34	24	10	70.6	-	11: 6	13: 3
2.	Houston Comets	34	20th	14th	58.8	4th	14: 3	6:11
3.	Sacramento Monarchs	34	19th	15th	55.9	5	12: 5	7:10
4th	Minnesota Lynx	34	18th	16	52.9	6th	13: 4	5:12
5.	Seattle Storm	34	18th	16	52.9	6th	13: 4	5:12
6th	San Antonio Silver Stars	34	12	22nd	35.3	12	9: 8	3:14
7th	Phoenix Mercury	34	8th	26th	23.5	16	6:11	2:15

Playoffs

Conference semifinals (round 1)

Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit Shock - (4) Cleveland Rockers

Aug 29, 2003		Cleveland Rockers	74-76	Detroit Shock	Gund Arena , Cleveland, Ohio
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 31, 2003		Detroit Shock	59-66	Cleveland Rockers	Palace of Auburn Hills , Detroit, Michigan
		Stand: 1: 1

Aug 20, 2002		Detroit Shock	77-63	Cleveland Rockers	Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Michigan
		Final score: 2: 1

(2) Connecticut Sun - (3) Charlotte Sting

Aug 28, 2003		Charlotte Sting	66-68	Connecticut Sun	Charlotte Coliseum , Charlotte, North Carolina
		Stand: 0: 1

Aug 30, 2003		Connecticut Sun	68-62	Charlotte Sting	Mohegan Sun Arena at Uncasville , Montville, Connecticut
		Final score : 2-0

Western Conference

Los Angeles Sparks (1) - Minnesota Lynx (4) date Away team Home team Note August 28th los Angeles 72 74 Minnesota August 30th Minnesota 69 80 los Angeles September 1 Minnesota 64 74 los Angeles Los Angeles wins the series 2-1.

Houston Comets (2) - Sacramento Monarchs (3) date Away team Home team Note 29th August Houston 59 65 Sacramento August 31 Sacramento 48 69 Houston September 2nd Sacramento 70 68 Houston Sacramento wins the series 2-1.

Conference Finals (Round 2)

Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit Shock - (2) Connecticut Sun

05th Sep 2003		Connecticut Sun	63 - 73	Detroit Shock	Mohegan Sun Arena at Uncasville , Montville, Connecticut
		Stand: 0: 1

0Sep 7 2003		Detroit Shock	79-73	Connecticut Sun	Palace of Auburn Hills , Detroit, Michigan
		Final score : 2-0

Western Conference

(1) Los Angeles Sparks - (3) Sacramento Monarchs

05th Sep 2003		Sacramento Monarchs	77-69	Los Angeles Sparks	ARCO Arena , Sacramento, California
		Stand: 1: 0

0Sep 7 2003		Los Angeles Sparks	79-54	Sacramento Monarchs	Staples Center , Los Angeles, California
		Stand: 1: 1

0Sep 9 2003		Los Angeles Sparks	66-63	Sacramento Monarchs	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
		Final score: 2: 1

Finals (round 3)

Detroit Shock (E1) - Los Angeles Sparks (W1) date Away team Home team Note 12th September Detroit 63 75 los Angeles September 14th los Angeles 61 62 Detroit 16th September los Angeles 78 83 Detroit Detroit wins the series 2-1.

WNBA championship team

(Participation in at least one playoff game)

WNBA Champion Detroit Shock

Guards: Kedra Holland-Corn , Sheila Lambert , Elaine Powell Guard Fowards: Deanna Nolan Forwards: Swin Cash , Stacey Thomas , Ayana Walker Forward Center: Barbara Farris , Astou Ndiaye-Diatta Center: Ruth Riley (Finals MVP) , Cheryl Ford Head coach: Bill Laimbeer

WNBA awards and trophies awarded

Award	Player	team
WNBA Finals MVP Award	Ruth Riley	Detroit Shock
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
WNBA Most Improved Player Award	Michelle Snow	Houston Comets
WNBA Peak Performer	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
WNBA Peak Performer	Chamique Holdsclaw	Washington Mystics
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award	Cheryl Ford	Detroit Shock
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award	Edna Campbell	Sacramento Monarchs
WNBA Coach of the Year Award	Bill Laimbeer	Detroit Shock

All-WNBA teams

All-WNBA First Team
Guards:	Sue Bird - (MIN) Katie Smith
Forwards:	Tamika Catchings - Lauren Jackson
Center:	Lisa Leslie

All-WNBA Second Team
Guards:	Deanna Nolan - Nikki Teasley
Forwards:	Swin Cash - Sheryl Swoopes
Center:	Cheryl Ford

Web links

• Final Standings 2003 on WNBA.com ( Memento from October 8, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
• WNBA Award Winners 2003 on WNBA.com (English)
• WNBA Playoffs 2003 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• Statistics for the WNBA 2003 season on basketball-reference.com (Engl.)
• Key dates in the WNBA history (Engl.)