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2008 WNBA season

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2008 WNBA season
LeagueWomen's National Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationMay 17 – October 5, 2008
Number of games34
Number of teams14
Total attendance1,887,706
Average attendance7,932
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, NBA TV
2008 WNBA Draft
Top draft pickCandace Parker
Picked byLos Angeles Sparks
Regular season
Season MVPCandace Parker (Los Angeles)
Playoffs
Eastern championsDetroit Shock
  Eastern runners-upNew York Liberty
Western championsSan Antonio Silver Stars
  Western runners-upLos Angeles Sparks
Finals
ChampionsDetroit Shock
  Runners-upSan Antonio Silver Stars
Finals MVPKatie Smith (Detroit)
WNBA seasons

The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was the first WNBA season with a franchise in Atlanta as the Dream were announced in late 2007.

No WNBA All-Star Game was held due to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The regular season began with a televised (ABC) meeting between the defending champion Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 17.

2007–2008 off-season

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Atlanta Dream expansion draft

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Atlanta held their expansion draft on February 6, 2008, when they selected one player from each of the thirteen teams in the league.

Some of the players chosen were:

The Dream were then free to make trades with other teams in the league.

Draft

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On October 23, 2007, the WNBA draft lottery was held. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first pick. The Chicago Sky was awarded the number two pick, followed by the Minnesota Lynx at number three, the Atlanta Dream at number four, the Houston Comets at number five and the Washington Mystics at number six.

The 2008 WNBA draft was held on April 9 in Tampa, Florida. Coverage of the first round was shown on ESPN2. Second and third round coverage was shown on NBA TV.

The top draft picks were as follows:

  1. Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
  2. Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Sky
  3. Candice Wiggins, Minnesota Lynx
  4. Alexis Hornbuckle, Detroit Shock
  5. Matee Ajavon, Houston Comets
  6. Crystal Langhorne, Washington Mystics

Regular season

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Standings

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Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Detroit Shock x 22 12 .647 14–3 8–9 16–4
Connecticut Sun x 21 13 .618 1.0 13–4 8–9 13–7
New York Liberty x 19 15 .559 3.0 11–6 8–9 11–9
Indiana Fever x 17 17 .500 5.0 11–6 6–11 12–8
Chicago Sky o 12 22 .353 10.0 8–9 4–13 10–10
Washington Mystics o 10 24 .294 12.0 6–11 4–13 6–14
Atlanta Dream o 4 30 .118 18.0 1–16 3–14 2–18
Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
San Antonio Silver Stars x 24 10 .706 15–2 9–8 10–10
Seattle Storm x 22 12 .647 2.0 16–1 6–11 13–7
Los Angeles Sparks x 20 14 .588 4.0 12–5 8–9 12–8
Sacramento Monarchs x 18 16 .529 6.0 5–12 13–4 9–11
Houston Comets o 17 17 .500 7.0 13–4 4–13 10–10
Minnesota Lynx o 16 18 .471 8.0 10–7 6–11 8–12
Phoenix Mercury o 16 18 .471 8.0 9–8 7–10 8–12

All-star game

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There was no WNBA All-Star Game due to the break July 28 through August 27 for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This marks the first time since the game was started in the 1999 season that there was no All-Star contest.

Statistic leaders

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Category Player Team Statistic
Points per game Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury 24.1
Rebounds per game Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks 9.5
Assists per game Lindsay Whalen Connecticut Sun 5.4
Steals per game Alexis Hornbuckle Detroit Shock 2.3
Blocks per game Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks 2.9
Field goal percentage Sancho Lyttle Houston Comets .582
Three-point FG percentage Edwige Lawson-Wade
Lisa Willis
San Antonio Silver Stars
New York Liberty
.468
Free throw percentage Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars .937
Points per game Team stat Phoenix Mercury 88.53
Fewest points allowed Team stat Seattle Storm 70.77
Field goal percentage Team stat San Antonio Silver Stars .433

Playoffs and Finals

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This was the outlook for the 2008 WNBA playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round.

First round Conference Finals WNBA Finals
         
1 Detroit 2
4 Indiana 1
1 Detroit 2
Eastern Conference
3 New York 1
2 Connecticut 1
3 New York 2
1 Detroit 3
1 San Antonio 0
1 San Antonio 2
4 Sacramento 1
1 San Antonio 2
Western Conference
3 Los Angeles 1
2 Seattle 1
3 Los Angeles 2

2008 WNBA season summary

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Season highlights

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End-of-season business report

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  • Regular-season attendance saw an increase of 2.21%.
  • There were 46 sellouts, more than triple the 17 for the 2007 regular season and double the previous record of 23 in 2004.
  • The WNBA on national television (ABC and ESPN2) finished up 19% both in ratings (0.32 vs 0.27) and viewership (413,000 vs. 346,000).
  • The WNBA finished up in key demographics on ESPN2—Women 18–34 (up 71%) and Men 18–34 (up 28%) – and on ABC—All Women (up 10%) and Women 18–34 (up 20%).
  • WNBA.com set all-time highs in visits and page views. Overall, WNBA.com received nearly 13 million visits and 59 million page views, up 35% and 20%, respectively.
  • WNBA.com set monthly traffic records in July with more than 3.8 million visits and 16 million page views.
  • On June 23, 2008, one day after Los Angeles Sparks rookie Candace Parker became the second WNBA player to dunk in a regular season game, WNBA.com set a single-day record with nearly 95,000 video streams.
  • League merchandise sales were up more than 36%, and WNBA jersey sales were up more than 46%.

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Season award winners

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Award Winner Position Team Votes
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award Candace Parker Forward Los Angeles Sparks 276.79 out of 300 pts[a][9]
WNBA Finals MVP Award Katie Smith Forward Detroit Shock
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Lisa Leslie Center Los Angeles Sparks 20 / 43
WNBA Most Improved Player Award Ebony Hoffman Forward Indiana Fever 31 / 44
WNBA Peak Performer: Points Diana Taurasi Forward Phoenix Mercury 24.1 PPG
WNBA Peak Performer: Rebounds Candace Parker Forward Los Angeles Sparks 9.5 RPG
WNBA Peak Performer: Assists Lindsay Whalen Guard Connecticut Sun 5.4 APG
WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award Candice Wiggins Guard Minnesota Lynx 27 / 42
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award Candace Parker Forward Los Angeles Sparks Unanimous
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Vickie Johnson Guard San Antonio Silver Stars 14 / 39
WNBA Coach of the Year Award Mike Thibault Coach Connecticut Sun 24 / 45
Team Guard Guard Forward Forward Center
All-WNBA First Team Lindsay Whalen Diana Taurasi Sophia Young Candace Parker Lisa Leslie
All-WNBA Second Team Sue Bird Becky Hammon Deanna Nolan Asjha Jones Lauren Jackson
All-Defensive First Team Tully Bevilaqua Ticha Penicheiro Tamika Catchings Sophia Young Lisa Leslie
All-Defensive Second Team Deanna Nolan Katie Smith Rebekkah Brunson Lauren Jackson Sylvia Fowles
All-Rookie Team Candice Wiggins Matee Ajavon Amber Holt Candace Parker Nicky Anosike
Sylvia Fowles
  1. ^ First place vote counts were not released by the WNBA. For the first time, an online fan vote was included in post-season award voting, accounting for 25% of the vote. The other 75% was from a panel of 45 national sportswriters and broadcasters.

Coaches

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Eastern Conference

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Western Conference

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mercury promotes assistant coach Corey Gaines as Head Coach
  2. ^ "WNBA Awards an Expansion Franchise to Atlanta". Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved October 18, 2007.
  3. ^ "Atlanta announces Team Name". Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  4. ^ The first ever outdoor professional basketball game is held at Arthur Ashe Stadium between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever. Over 19,000 fans attended the game.
  5. ^ Jeremy Kaufman. "Age Is Just A Number: Nancy Lieberman Plays At 50". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  6. ^ "After Wretched Start, Atlanta Dream Still Believes". The New York Times. July 13, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  7. ^ "Comets Owner Koch To Sell; WNBA Seeking To Keep Team In Houston". Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  8. ^ "WNBA.com: WNBA Closes Regular Season Up in Attendance, TV Ratings and Web Traffic". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  9. ^ "Sparks' Parker wins MVP, rookie of year honors". ESPN. October 3, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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