WNBA 2010

	Women's National Basketball Association
	◄ previous	2010 season	next ►
Duration		May 15 - September 16
Season games per team		34
Number of teams		12
Spectators (total)		1,598,237
Regular season
Best record		Seattle Storm
Season MVP		Lauren Jackson
Top scorer		Diana Taurasi
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		Atlanta Dream
Runner-up team		New York Liberty
Western - Champion		Seattle Storm
Runner-up team		Phoenix Mercury
Finals
WNBA champion		Seattle Storm
Runner-up		Atlanta Dream
Finals MVP		Lauren Jackson

The 2010 season of the Women's National Basketball Association was the 14th played season of the North American professional women's basketball league . The regular season began on May 15, 2010 and ended on August 22, 2010. The playoffs started three days later and ended on September 16 with the finals and the victory of the Seattle Storm .

Draft

• Main article: WNBA Draft 2010

Before the WNBA Draft 2010 , a dispersal draft was held for the Sacramento Monarchs players . On November 5, 2009 a lottery was held to determine the order in which the first five picks were selected. In the lottery, the Minnesota Lynx secured themselves from the Sacramento Monarchs. After the monarchs stopped playing, all teams moved up one place. On January 12th, the first round draft law of the Lynx was transferred to the Connecticut Sun in an exchange deal .

The draft finally took place on April 8, 2010, in which the Sun selected the American Tina Charles as the first pick . Due to further transactions between the teams, the Lynx had the right to select the next two players and chose Monica Wright and Kelsey Griffin . In total, the 12 franchises secured the rights to 36 players. The United States made up the majority with 30 players .

Top 5 picks

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

#	Player	nationality	Item	WNBA team	College / professional team
1.	Tina Charles	United States	C.	Connecticut Sun	University of Connecticut
2.	Monica Wright	United States	G	Minnesota Lynx	University of Virginia
3.	Kelsey Griffin	United States	F.	Minnesota Lynx	University of Nebraska
4th	Epiphanny Prince	United States	G	Chicago Sky	Rutgers University
5.	Jayne Appel	United States	C.	San Antonio Silver Stars	Stanford University

Special occurrences

Sacramento Monarchs end gaming operations

The league announced on November 20, 2009 that the Sacramento Monarchs will cease playing. On December 14th, a dispersal draft was held for the Monarchs players . First, Nicole Powell was chosen by the New York Liberty , the Minnesota Lynx chose Rebekkah Brunson and the Connecticut Sun chose DeMya Walker . 4 of the 12 teams waived this draft and thus did not sign any player from the Monarchs.

Advertising in the WNBA

In April 2010, Storm announced that they had signed a long-term sponsorship deal with Microsoft . According to Karen Bryant , general manager of Storm, the agreement will secure over $ 1 million in revenue for the franchise. However, this sponsorship agreement means that the team's logo will be replaced by the logo of the search engine Bing . In addition, in the KeyArena , the hometown of Storm, the Microsoft search engine is advertised. This makes the Storm, after the Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks, the third franchise in the WNBA with a main sponsor.

Regular season

mode

The 12 WNBA teams are divided into two conferences, with the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference each comprising six teams. In total, each team plays 34 season games during the regular season, of which each team plays half of the games at home or away. Within their own conference, the teams play against two teams a total of five times and against the remaining three teams four times. In addition, each team plays two more games against each team from the other conference.

Stars at the Sun

The Stars at the Sun game, which is not an official WNBA All-Star Game, was played on July 10, 2010 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Montville , Connecticut . At this event there was a clash between the Geno Auriemma's USA basketball team and a selection of WNBA All-Stars. The USA basketball team won the game by a clear 99:72.

July 10, 2010		Geno Auriemma's USA basketball team	99-72	WNBA All-Stars	Mohegan Sun Arena , Montville, Connecticut Visitors: 9,518 Referees: Michael Price Cameron Inouye Kurt Walker
		Points per quarter: 29:19, 20: 9, 26:16, 24:28
		Points: Fowles (23) Rebounds: Dupree , Fowles , Moore (8) Assists: Pondexter (6)		Points: Douglas (15) Rebounds: Harding (7) Assists: Harding (4)

Closing tables

Explanations:     = Playoff qualification,     = Conference winner

Eastern Conference
Pl	team	Sp	S.	N	%	GB	home	Away
1	Washington Mystics	34	22nd	12	64.7	-	13: 4	9: 8
2	New York Liberty	34	22nd	12	64.7	0	13: 4	9: 8
3	Indiana Fever	34	21st	13	61.8	1	12: 5	9: 8
4th	Atlanta Dream	34	19th	15th	55.9	3	10: 7	9: 8
5	Connecticut Sun	34	17th	17th	50	5	12: 5	5:12
6th	Chicago Sky	34	14th	20th	41.2	8th	7:10	7:10

Western Conference
Pl	team	Sp	S.	N	%	GB	home	Away
1	Seattle Storm	34	28	6th	82.4	-	17: 0	11: 6
2	Phoenix Mercury	34	15th	19th	44.1	13	9: 8	6:11
3	San Antonio Silver Stars	34	14th	20th	41.2	14th	8: 9	6:11
4th	Los Angeles Sparks	34	13	21st	38.2	15th	8: 9	5:12
5	Minnesota Lynx	34	13	21st	38.2	15th	7:10	6:11
6th	Tulsa Shock	34	6th	28	17.6	22nd	4:13	2:15

Playoffs

mode

After the four teams from each conference have qualified, the playoffs, which are held in the knockout system, start. Each conference then plays its winner in the conference semifinals (German conference semi-finals) and in the conference final (German conference finals), who then takes part in the finals. The team that is highest on the seeding list always meets the lowest seeded team. The series within the conference are played in the best-of-three mode, which means that a team needs two wins to reach the next round. The final will be played in the best-of-five mode. The team with the better record always has the home advantage in all duels. For games that are tied after the regular playing time of 40 minutes, overtime follows. The quarters continue to last ten minutes and play continues until one team has scored more points than the opposing team at the end of an overtime.

Playoff tree

	Conference semifinals					Conference Finals					WNBA finals
	1	Washington Mystics	0
	4th	Atlanta Dream	2
						4th	Atlanta Dream	2
	Eastern Conference
						2	New York Liberty	0
	2	New York Liberty	2
	3	Indiana Fever	1
											E4	Atlanta Dream	0
											W1	Seattle Storm	3
	1	Seattle Storm	2
	4th	Los Angeles Sparks	0
						1	Seattle Storm	2
	Western Conference
						3	Phoenix Mercury	0
	2	Phoenix Mercury	2
	3	San Antonio Silver Stars	0

Conference semifinals (round 1)

Eastern Conference

Washington Mystics (1) - Atlanta Dream (4)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
August 25	Atlanta	95	90	Washington
August 27	Washington	77	101	Atlanta
Atlanta wins the series 2-0.

In the regular season, the Washington Mystics met the Atlanta Dream four times , with the Mystics winning the last three games. The last duel between the two took place three days before the playoffs. The Mystics clearly prevailed with 90:81, which made the Mystics the favorite for the ascent.

In the first game in the series, an extraordinarily strong first half was enough for the dream to lay the foundation for the away win. The Dream scored 48 points in the first half, which was a negative season record for the Mystics. The Mystics were subsequently unable to make up the 15 point deficit at halftime, which meant that the second game in the series was already a final for the Eastern Conference winner.

The second game was similar to the first. After the Mystics were just leading after the first quarter, they suffered a bitter setback in the second quarter, as in the first game - the Dream scored 33 points and only allowed 7 points. The Mystics could not make up the high deficit at halftime, which meant that the second game and subsequently the entire series were lost.

The most outstanding player of the series with 28 points in the first and 21 points in the second game was Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream.

New York Liberty (2) - Indiana Fever (3)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
26th of August	Indiana	73	85	new York
29th August	new York	67	75	Indiana
August 1st	Indiana	74	77	new York
New York wins the series 2-1.

The duel between last year's finalists from Indiana and New York Liberty was the closest series of the entire playoffs. Both teams ended the season with almost the same record and in the four regular season games, each team was able to play one home and one away game decide.

The Liberty won the first game with a solid team performance with a 12-point lead. The most outstanding player in the first game in this series was Cappie Pondexter with 28 points.

On August 29, the only game in the series took place in Indiana, which the Fever could win with a strong defensive performance.

The third game in the series was also the closest. The lead changed seven times in this game and it was also drawn seven times. Nonetheless, Liberty won the game and the series with a good last quarter. As in the first game, the most outstanding player was Cappie Pondexter, who this time scored 30 points and was responsible for almost half of Liberty's points.

Western Conference

Seattle Storm (1) - Los Angeles Sparks (4)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
August 25	Los Angeles Sparks	66	79	Seattle
August 28th	Seattle	81	66	Los Angeles Sparks
Seattle wins the series 2-0.

The Seattle Storm went against the Los Angeles Sparks as the clear favorite in this series. The Storm were not only able to finish the regular season by far as the best team, but also won all five games in the regular season against the Sparks.

The Sparks had no chance against the Storm without their star forward Candace Parker and could only score more points than the Storm in one quarter of the entire series. With this success, the Storm made it into the Western Conference finals for the first time since winning the WNBA championship in 2004 . For the past five years, the Sparks have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs (three of them against the Sparks).

Phoenix Mercury (2) - San Antonio Silver Stars (3)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
26th of August	San Antonio	93	106	Phoenix
August 28th	Phoenix	92	73	San Antonio
Phoenix wins the series 2-0.

This playoff duel already existed last season, which the Phoenix Mercury won . Both teams finished the regular season with a similar record and the Mercury and Silver Stars could each win two games in the direct duels . So there was no clear favorite on paper.

The Silver Stars, led by Becky Hammon , had no chance against a superbly playing Candice Dupree . Dupree finished the first game with 32 points and 8 rebounds. In the second game she even managed a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds . Furthermore also get Penny Taylor and Diana Taurasi each a double-double.

Conference Finals (Round 2)

Eastern Conference

New York Liberty (2) - Atlanta Dream (4)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
5th September	Atlanta	81	75	new York
7th of September	Detroit	93	105	Atlanta
Atlanta wins the series 2-0.

The New York Liberty went into the duel against the Atlanta Dream as an easy favorite due to home rights . Both teams were able to win two games each in the regular season.

The first game took place in New York and was very even for a long time. After the third quarter it was even 56:56. In the fourth quarter, the two teams never separated by more than four points. 55 seconds before the end it was even 74:74. The Dream finally prevailed with 81:75 due to a good defensive performance (one block and one steal).

The second game was also very even. After the third quarter it was 73:73, which means that both teams went into the fourth quarter with a draw like in the first game. An outstanding performance by Angel McCoughtry in the last quarter (she scored 12 of 42 points in the last quarter) was enough for the Dream to defeat Liberty. The most outstanding player on the Liberty side was Cappie Pondexter who finished the game with 36 points and 9 assists.

Western Conference

Seattle Storm (1) - Phoenix Mercury (2)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
September 2nd	Phoenix	74	82	Seattle
5th September	Seattle	91	82	Phoenix
Seattle wins the series 2-0.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Seattle Storm met the Phoenix Mercury . The Storm were able to win all games in the regular season against the Mercury, which is why they were the clear favorites in this duel.

The Storm started the series very well and determined it to happen from the very first minute. At halftime, the Storm were already 47:33. In the second half, the Mercury were able to score more points than the Storm in both quarters, but the deficit was already too big, so the first game went relatively clearly to the Storm with 82:74. The most outstanding player was Lauren Jackson with 23 points and 17 rebounds.

In the second game, the Storm escaped defeat with a strong final spurt. The Mercury were leading with 3:21 minutes to go with 88:76 and are already the sure winners. But from this moment on, the Storm did not allow a single point and used the majority of their litters on it. 2.8 seconds before the end of the game, Sue Bird used a 3-point throw and thus secured the Storm entry into the finals.

Finals (round 3)

Seattle Storm (W1) - Atlanta Dream (E4)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
12th September	Atlanta	77	79	Seattle
September 14th	Atlanta	84	87	Seattle
16th September	Seattle	87	84	Atlanta
Seattle wins the series 3-0. Lauren Jackson was named the Finals MVP.

In the finals, the Seattle Storm met the Atlanta Dream . While the Storm made it into the finals in 2004 , the Dream made it into the finals for the first time in their history. Due to the better final balance in the regular season, the Storm secured the home advantage. In the regular season, the Storm met the Dream twice and were able to win both duels.

The first game was very even. The lead changed nine times and eleven times there was a draw between the two teams. Several players played a very strong game on both sides. The game was finally decided in the last second by a jump shot by Sue Bird .

The second game, like the first, was very even over long stretches. This is also reflected in the twelve changes in leadership over the course of the game. After three quarters the Dream were only four points behind the Storm and came close to two points thanks to a successful jump shot by Iziane Castro Marques . But after that the Storm slowly but surely managed to pull away a little. In the final phase, the Dream work their way closer to the Storm again, but at this point the lead was already too big, which is why the Storm also won the second game.

In the third game, the Dream already had their backs against the wall. The third game was also very even for a long time. Just before the end of the third quarter, the two teams were only two points apart, but in the final 70 seconds Lauren Jackson scored five points in a row, giving the Storms a seven-point lead into the final quarter. In the last quarter, the Storm managed their lead confidently and in the meantime even increased it to twelve points. In the "Finsh", the Dream came closer to one point with one run. At this point there were only seven seconds left to play. Angel McCoughtry then fouled Camille Little who thus had two free throws. Little transformed this, which left the dream for almost six seconds to send the game into overtime with a 3-point throw. The final play ran over McCoughtry who had scored 35 points by then. McCoughtry failed with their attempt from the 3-point line whereby the Storm could win the WNBA championship for the first time since 2004 .

Lauren Jackson was named the Finals MVP .

Game 1

12th September	Summary	Atlanta Dream 77, Seattle Storm 79			KeyArena , Seattle Visitors: 15,084 Referees: Daryl Humphrey Denise Brooks Michael Price
		Points per quarter: 17-22, 22-17, 14-20, 24-20
		Points: McCoughtry , Marques 19 rebounds: Lyttle 14 assists: Price 3		Points: Jackson 26 rebounds: Little 11 Assists: Bird 8

Game 2

September 14th	Summary	Atlanta Dream 84, Seattle Storm 87			KeyArena , Seattle Visitors: 13,898 Referees: Eric Brewton Cameron Inouye Scott Twardoski
		Points per quarter: 21-19, 26-30, 18-20, 19-18
		Points: McCoughtry , Marques 21 rebounds: McCoughtry 9 assists: Miller 8		Points: Jackson 26 rebounds: Little 9 Assists: Bird 5

Game 3

16th September	Summary	Seattle Storm 87 , Atlanta Dream 87			Philips Arena , Atlanta Visitors: 10,522 Referees: Sue Blauch Lamont Simpson Kurt Walker
		Points per quarter: 28-24, 15-20, 24-16, 20-24
		Points: Cash 18 Rebounds: Jackson 9 Assists: Bird 7		Points: McCoughtry 35 rebounds: de Souza 14 assists: Miller 5

WNBA championship team

(Participation in at least one playoff game)

WNBA Champion Seattle Storm

Guards: Sue Bird , Alison Lacey , Tanisha Wright Guard forwards: Svetlana Abrosimova Forwards: Swin Cash , Camille Little , Jana Veselá , Le'coe Willingham Forward Centers: Lauren Jackson (Finals MVP) Center: Ashley Robinson Head Coach: Brian Agler   General Manager: Karen Bryant

WNBA awards and trophies awarded

Award	Player	team	comment
WNBA Finals MVP Award	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm	-
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm	323 of 1,002 votes
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award	Tamika catchings	Indiana Fever	30 votes out of 39
WNBA Most Improved Player Award	Leilani Mitchell	New York Liberty	29 out of 39 votes
WNBA Peak Performer (points)	Diana Taurasi	Phoenix Mercury	22.3 points per game
WNBA Peak Performer (Rebounds)	Tina Charles	Connecticut Sun	11.7 rebounds per game
WNBA Peak Performer (Assists)	Ticha Penicheiro	Los Angeles Sparks	6.9 assists per game
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award	Tina Charles	Connecticut Sun	39 votes out of 39
WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award	DeWanna Bonner	Phoenix Mercury	16 out of 39 votes
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award	Tamika catchings	Indiana Fever	10 out of 38 votes
WNBA Coach of the Year Award	Brian Agler	Seattle Storm	17 out of 39 votes

All-WNBA teams

All-WNBA First Team
Guards:	(NYL) Cappie Pondexter - Diana Taurasi
Forwards:	Lauren Jackson - Tamika Catchings
Center:	Sylvia Fowles

All-WNBA Second Team
Guards:	Sue Bird - Katie Douglas
Forwards:	Crystal Langhorne - Angel McCoughtry
Center:	Tina Charles

All-rookie team

All-rookie team

Epiphanny Prince - (NYL) Kalana Greene - (MIN) Monica Wright Kelsey Griffin - Tina Charles

All-Defensive Team

All-Defensive First Team
Guards:	Tanisha Wright - (NYL) Cappie Pondexter
Forwards:	Tamika Catchings - Angel McCoughtry
Center:	Sylvia Fowles

All-Defensive Second Team
Guards:	Lindsey Harding - Tully Bevilaqua - Katie Douglas
Forwards:	Lauren Jackson - (MIN) Rebekkah Brunson
Center:	Sancho Lyttle

Web links

• Final Standings 2010 on WNBA.com ( Memento from December 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• WNBA Award Winners 2010 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• WNBA Playoffs 2010 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• Statistics for the WNBA 2010 season on basketball-reference.com (Engl.)
• Key dates in the WNBA history (Engl.)

swell

1. ↑ Jayda Evans: Storm announces Bing logo on jerseys, Microsoft partnership. The Seattle Times, April 21, 2010, accessed January 25, 2011 .