WNBA 2005

	Women's National Basketball Association
	◄ previous	2005 season	next ►
Duration		May 21st - September 20th
Season games per team		34
Number of teams		13
Spectators (total)		1,805,937 (∅: 8,172 per game)
Regular season
Best record		Connecticut Sun
Season MVP		Sheryl Swoopes
Top scorer		Sheryl Swoopes
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		Connecticut Sun
Runner-up team		Indiana Fever
Western - Champion		Sacramento Monarchs
Runner-up team		Houston Comets
Finals
WNBA champion		Sacramento Monarchs
Runner-up		Connecticut Sun
Finals MVP		Yolanda Griffith

The 2005 season was the ninth regular season for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

The ninth WNBA Draft took place on April 16, 2005 at NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus , New Jersey , United States .

The WNBA championship won the first time the Sacramento Monarchs , who defeated the Connecticut Sun with 3-1 in the final series . Monarchs Center Yolanda Griffith has been named Finals MVP.

Draft

• Main article: WNBA Draft 2005

The ninth WNBA Draft took place on April 16, 2005 at NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus , New Jersey , United States .

The Charlotte Sting's first pick was Janel McCarville from the USA . After that, Indiana selected Tan White in second place , followed by Sandora Irvin in third place, who was selected by the Phoenix Mercury . In total, the 13 franchises secured the rights to 39 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.	Janel McCarville	United States	C.	Charlotte Sting	University of Minnesota
2.	Tan white	United States	G	Indiana Fever	Mississippi State University
3.	Sandora Irvin	United States	F.	Phoenix Mercury	Texas Christian University
4th	Kendra alarm clock	United States	F.	San Antonio Silver Stars	Kansas State University
5.	Sancho Lyttle	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	C.	Houston Comets	University of Houston

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.	Connecticut Sun	34	26th	8th	76.5	-	14: 3	12: 5
2.	Indiana Fever	34	21st	13	61.8	5	14: 3	7:10
3.	New York Liberty	34	18th	16	52.9	8th	10: 7	8: 9
4th	Detroit Shock	34	16	18th	47.1	10	12: 5	4:13
5.	Washington Mystics	34	16	18th	47.1	10	10: 7	6:11
6th	Charlotte Sting	34	6th	28	17.6	20th	5:12	1:16

Pl.	Western Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	Sacramento Monarchs	34	25th	9	73.5	-	15: 2	10: 7
2.	Seattle Storm	34	20th	14th	58.8	5	14: 3	6:11
3.	Houston Comets	34	19th	15th	55.9	6th	11: 6	8: 9
4th	Los Angeles Sparks	34	17th	17th	50.0	8th	11: 6	6:11
5.	Phoenix Mercury	34	16	18th	47.1	9	11: 6	5:12
6th	Minnesota Lynx	34	14th	20th	41.2	11	11: 6	3:14
7th	San Antonio Silver Stars	34	7th	27	20.6	18th	5:12	2:15

Playoffs

Conference semifinals (round 1)

Eastern Conference

Connecticut Sun (1) - Detroit Shock (4) date Away team Home team Note August 31 Connecticut 73 62 Detroit September 2nd Detroit 67 75 Connecticut Connecticut wins the series 2-0.

Indiana Fever (2) - New York Liberty (3) date Away team Home team Note August 30th Indiana 63 51 new York September 1 new York 50 58 Indiana Indiana wins the series 2-0.

Western Conference

Sacramento Monarchs (1) - Los Angeles Sparks (4) date Away team Home team Note August 31 Sacramento 75 72 los Angeles September 2nd los Angeles 63 81 Sacramento Phoenix wins the series 2-0.

Seattle Storm (2) - Houston Comets (3) date Away team Home team Note August 30th Seattle 75 67 Houston September 1 Houston 67 64 Seattle September 3 Houston 75 58 Seattle Houston wins the series 2-1.

Conference Finals (Round 2)

Eastern Conference Connecticut Sun (1) - Indiana Fever (2) date Away team Home team Note September 8th Connecticut 73 68 Indiana September 10 Indiana 67 77 Connecticut Connecticut wins the series 2-0.

Western Conference Sacramento Monarchs (1) - Houston Comets (3) date Away team Home team Note September 8th Sacramento 73 69 Houston September 10 Houston 67 77 Sacramento OT Sacramento wins the series 2-0.

Finals (round 3)

Connecticut Sun (E1) - Sacramento Monarchs (W1) date Away team Home team Note September 14th Sacramento 69 65 Connecticut September 15th Sacramento 70 77 Connecticut OT September 18 Connecticut 55 66 Sacramento September 20th Connecticut 55 62 Sacramento Sacramento wins the series 3-1. Yolanda Griffith has been named Finals MVP.

WNBA championship team

(Participation in at least one playoff game)

WNBA Champion Sacramento Monarchs

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

WNBA awards and trophies awarded

Award	Player	team
WNBA Finals MVP Award	Yolanda Griffith	Sacramento Monarchs
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award	Tamika catchings	Indiana Fever
WNBA Most Improved Player Award	Nicole Powell	Sacramento Monarchs
WNBA Peak Performer	Sheryl Swoopes	Houston Comets
WNBA Peak Performer	Cheryl Ford	Detroit Shock
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award	Temeka Johnson	Washington Mystics
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award	Taj McWilliams-Franklin	Connecticut Sun
WNBA Coach of the Year Award	John Whisenant	Sacramento Monarchs

All-WNBA teams

From the 2005 season, an all-rookie team and two all-defensive teams were honored in addition to the two all-WNBA teams.

All-WNBA First Team
Guards:	Deanna Nolan - Sue Bird
Forwards:	Lauren Jackson - Sheryl Swoopes
Center:	(SAC) Yolanda Griffith

All-WNBA Second Team
Guards:	(NYL) Becky Hammon - Diana Taurasi
Forwards:	Tamika Catchings - Taj McWilliams-Franklin
Center:	Lisa Leslie

All-rookie team

All-rookie team

(SAC) Chelsea Newton - Kara Braxton - Katie Feenstra Tan White - Temeka Johnson

All-Defensive Team

All-Defensive First Team
Guards:	Tully Bevilaqua - Katie Douglas
Forwards:	Tamika Catchings - Sheryl Swoopes
Center:	(SAC) Yolanda Griffith

All-Defensive Second Team
Guards:	Alana Beard - Deanna Nolan
Forwards:	Lauren Jackson - Taj McWilliams-Franklin
Center:	Lisa Leslie

Web links

• Final Standings 2005 on WNBA.com ( Memento from October 30, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
• WNBA Award Winners 2005 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• WNBA Playoffs 2005 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• Statistics for the WNBA 2005 season on basketball-reference.com (Engl.)
• Key dates in the WNBA history (Engl.)