The 2006 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's tenth season. The league added one team: the Chicago Sky. The Sky were the first expansion team since 2000 when the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and the Seattle Storm came to the WNBA. On April 5, the WNBA held their draft. Seimone Augustus, guard out of Louisiana State University was the number one overall pick. She was selected by the Minnesota Lynx. Cappie Pondexter, guard out of Rutgers University went number two. She was selected by the Phoenix Mercury. The season started on May 20 with a game between the Sacramento Monarchs and the Phoenix Mercury. The game was televised by ABC. The Monarchs won the game 105–78. On July 12, The All Star Game was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The East All Stars defeated the West All Stars 98–82. Katie Douglas of the Connecticut Sun was named MVP in the game with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. The 2006 WNBA season concluded on August 13. Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks won the league MVP. Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun was named Coach of The Year. Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx was named Rookie of the Year. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their second WNBA Championship.
2006 WNBA season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | May 20 – August 13, 2006 |
Number of games | 34 |
Number of teams | 14 |
Total attendance | 1,779,366 |
Average attendance | 7,476 |
TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, NBA TV |
2006 WNBA Draft | |
Top draft pick | Seimone Augustus |
Picked by | Minnesota Lynx |
Regular season | |
Season MVP | Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Detroit Shock |
Eastern runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
Western champions | Sacramento Monarchs |
Western runners-up | Los Angeles Sparks |
Finals | |
Champions | Detroit Shock |
Runners-up | Sacramento Monarchs |
Finals MVP | Deanna Nolan (Detroit) |
Regular season standings
editEastern Conference
Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
z - Connecticut Sun | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 14–3 | 12–5 | 15–5 |
x - Detroit Shock | 23 | 11 | .676 | 3.0 | 14–3 | 9–8 | 14–6 |
x - Indiana Fever | 21 | 13 | .618 | 5.0 | 12–5 | 9–8 | 12–8 |
x - Washington Mystics | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 12–8 |
e - New York Liberty | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–13 | 7–13 |
e - Charlotte Sting | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–3 | 6–14 |
e - Chicago Sky | 5 | 29 | .147 | 21.0 | 3–14 | 2–15 | 4–16 |
Western Conference
Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Sparks x | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 15–2 | 10–7 | 15–5 |
Sacramento Monarchs x | 21 | 13 | .618 | 4.0 | 14–3 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
Houston Comets x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 12–5 | 6–11 | 11–9 |
Seattle Storm x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 9–8 | 9–8 | 10–10 |
Phoenix Mercury o | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 8–12 |
San Antonio Silver Stars o | 13 | 21 | .382 | 12.0 | 6–11 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
Minnesota Lynx o | 10 | 24 | .294 | 15.0 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 6–14 |
Season award winners
editPlayoffs
editFirst Round Best of 3 | Conference Finals Best of 3 | WNBA Finals Best of 5 | ||||||||||||
E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
E4 | Washington | 0 | ||||||||||||
E1 | Connecticut | 1 | ||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
E2 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
E2 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||||||
E3 | Indiana | 0 | ||||||||||||
E2 | Detroit | 3 | ||||||||||||
W2 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||||||||
W4 | Seattle | 1 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | ||||||||||||
Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
W2 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
W2 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
W3 | Houston | 0 |
Coaches
editEastern Conference
edit- Charlotte Sting: Muggsy Bogues
- Chicago Sky: Dave Cowens
- Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
- Detroit Shock: Bill Laimbeer
- Indiana Fever: Brian Winters
- New York Liberty: Pat Coyle
- Washington Mystics: Richie Adubato