Wikipedia

2015 WNBA season

The 2015 WNBA season was the 19th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season started on June 5 and concluded on September 13 and playoffs started on September 17 and concluded on October 14.[1]

2015 WNBA season
LeagueWomen's National Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationJune 5 – September 13, 2015
Number of games34
Number of teams12
Total attendance1,465,432
Average attendance7,183
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV
Top draft pickUnited States Jewell Loyd
Picked bySeattle Storm
Season MVPUnited States Elena Delle Donne (Chicago)
Eastern championsIndiana Fever
  Eastern runners-upNew York Liberty
Western championsMinnesota Lynx
  Western runners-upPhoenix Mercury
Finals championsMinnesota Lynx
  Runners-upIndiana Fever
Finals MVPUnited States Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota)
WNBA seasons

The Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 69–52 in game five of the Finals on October 14 to clinch a third WNBA title in five years.[2][3][4][5]

TV and Internet coverage

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Games aired on ESPN (1 regular season game), ESPN2 (10 regular season games), ABC (All-Star Game) and NBA TV (47 regular season games).

Notable occurrences

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  • On February 3, 2015, the Phoenix Mercury announced that superstar Diana Taurasi would not play in 2015. Her Russian club team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, offered her more than her WNBA season salary to rest during the 2015 WNBA season. Some in the league feared this would cause more star players to reach similar agreements.[6]
  • On June 4, 2015, Tulsa player Glory Johnson announced that she is pregnant and would miss all of the 2015 WNBA season.
  • On July 23, 2015, The WNBA approved the relocation of the Tulsa Shock to Dallas-Fort Worth. The move is the first franchise relocation or fold since the 2009 Sacramento Monarchs folded, and the Detroit Shock moved to Tulsa. At the time, the Shock were the only WNBA franchise to relocate twice.
  • On October 14, 2015, The Minnesota Lynx won their third WNBA title in five years, beating the Indiana Fever 3–2.
  • On November 4, 2015, shortly after the 2015 season concluded, WNBA President Laurel Richie announced her resignation, effective November 9, 2015. She was the league's 3rd president.

2015 WNBA draft

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Main article: 2015 WNBA draft

On August 21, 2014, the 2015 WNBA Draft Lottery took place. The Seattle Storm, who had a league-worst record of 12–22 last season, won the draft lottery and had the right to pick first in the 2015 draft. In the draft, held on April 16, the Storm made Jewell Loyd of Notre Dame the top pick.

Team standings

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Source:[7]

Eastern Conference
Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
x - New York Liberty 23 11 .676 – 12–5 11–6 13–9
x - Chicago Sky 21 13 .618 2 13–4 8–9 14–8
x - Indiana Fever 20 14 .588 3 11–6 9–8 13–9
x - Washington Mystics 18 16 .529 5 11–6 7–10 10–12
e - Atlanta Dream 15 19 .441 8 9–8 6–11 10–12
e - Connecticut Sun 15 19 .441 8 8–9 7–10 6–16
Western Conference
Western Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
z - Minnesota Lynx 22 12 .647 – 13–4 9–8 16–6
x - Phoenix Mercury 20 14 .588 2 13–4 7–10 15–7
x - Tulsa Shock 18 16 .529 4 12–5 6–11 11–11
x - Los Angeles Sparks 14 20 .412 8 9–8 5–12 10–12
e - Seattle Storm 10 24 .294 12 8–9 2–15 8–14
e - San Antonio Stars 8 26 .235 14 7–10 1–16 6–16

Notes

z – Clinched Conference
x – Clinched playoff spot
e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

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Main article: 2015 WNBA playoffs
Conference Semi-Finals:
Best-of-3 		Conference Finals:
Best-of-3 		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-5
         
E1 New York 2
E4 Washington 1
E1 New York 1
Eastern Conference
E3 Indiana 2
E2 Chicago 1
E3 Indiana 2
E3 Indiana 2
W1 Minnesota 3
W1 Minnesota 2
W4 Los Angeles 1
W1 Minnesota 2
Western Conference
W2 Phoenix 0
W2 Phoenix 2
W3 Tulsa 0
  • Bold – Series winner
  • Italics – Team with home-court advantage

Season award winners

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Player of the Week award

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For games
played beginning 		Eastern Conference Western Conference
Player Team Player Team
June 5, 2015 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky DeWanna Bonner Phoenix Mercury
June 15, 2015 Elena Delle Donne (2) Skylar Diggins Tulsa Shock
June 22, 2015 Elena Delle Donne (3) Lindsay Whalen Minnesota Lynx
June 29, 2015 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks
July 6, 2015 Cappie Pondexter Chicago Sky Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
July 13, 2015 Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore (2)
July 20, 2015 Tina Charles (2) Maya Moore (3)
August 3, 2015 Elena Delle Donne (4) Chicago Sky Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury
August 10, 2015 Epiphanny Prince New York Liberty Maya Moore (4) Minnesota Lynx
August 17, 2015 Elena Delle Donne (5) Chicago Sky Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
August 24, 2015 Epiphanny Prince (2) New York Liberty Odyssey Sims Tulsa Shock
August 31, 2015 Courtney Vandersloot Chicago Sky Candace Parker (2) Los Angeles Sparks
September 7, 2015 Kelsey Bone Connecticut Sun Monique Currie Phoenix Mercury

Player of the Month award

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For games played Eastern Conference Western Conference
Player Team Player Team
June 2015 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky Skylar Diggins Tulsa Shock
July 2015 Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
August 2015 Epiphanny Prince New York Liberty Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks

Rookie of the Month award

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For games played Player Team
June 2015 Natalie Achonwa Indiana Fever
July 2015 Jewell Loyd Seattle Storm
August 2015 Kiah Stokes New York Liberty

Postseason awards

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Award Winner Position Team Votes/Statistic
Most Valuable Player Award Elena Delle Donne Forward / Guard Chicago Sky 38 out of 39[8]
Finals MVP Award Sylvia Fowles Center Minnesota Lynx
Rookie of the Year Award Jewell Loyd Guard Seattle Storm 21 out of 39
Most Improved Player Award Kelsey Bone Center Connecticut Sun 14 out of 39
Defensive Player of the Year Award Brittney Griner Center Phoenix Mercury 33 out of 39
Sixth Woman of the Year Award Allie Quigley Guard Chicago Sky 24 out of 39
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award DeLisha Milton-Jones Forward Atlanta Dream 11 out of 39
Peak Performer: Points Elena Delle Donne Forward / Guard Chicago Sky 23.4 PPG
Peak Performer: Rebounds Courtney Paris Center Tulsa Shock 9.3 RPG
Peak Performer: Assists Courtney Vandersloot Guard Chicago Sky 5.8 APG
Coach of the Year Award Bill Laimbeer Coach New York Liberty 23 out of 39
Team Guard Guard Forward Forward Center
All-WNBA First Team DeWanna Bonner Angel McCoughtry Elena Delle Donne Maya Moore Tina Charles
All-WNBA Second Team Epiphanny Prince Courtney Vandersloot Candace Parker Tamika Catchings Brittney Griner
All-Defensive First Team Briann January Angel McCoughtry Nneka Ogwumike Tamika Catchings Brittney Griner
All-Defensive Second Team Tanisha Wright DeWanna Bonner Sancho Lyttle Tina Charles Kiah Stokes
All-Rookie Team Jewell Loyd Brittany Boyd Ramu Tokashiki Natalie Achonwa Kiah Stokes
Ana Dabović

Coaches

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Eastern Conference

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Western Conference

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References

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  1. ^ WNBA Announces ESPN Schedule - Hartford Courant
  2. ^ "Minnesota Lynx capture third title in five years win in crucial Game 5". Fox Sports. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  3. ^ "Everything comes together at right time for WNBA champion Lynx". ESPN. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "Lynx capture 3rd title in 5 years with 69-52 win over Fever in Game 5". Chicago Tribune. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  5. ^ "Big Crowd and Defense Spur Lynx to Another Title". New York Times. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  6. ^ A Russian team paid Diana Taurasi to sit out 2015 WNBA season | SB Nation
  7. ^ "Standings - WNBA".
  8. ^ "Sky's Elena Delle Donne Named 2015 WNBA Most Valuable Player Presented By Samsung". WNBA. September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
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