2008 WNBA season

The 2008 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's 12th season.

2007 WNBA Off-Season/2008 WNBA Draft

*On September 27, 2007, Phoenix Mercury coach Paul Westhead resigned and took a job as an assistant coach under P.J. Carlesimo for the Seattle Supersonics. Assistant coach Corey Gaines was named the team's new head coach on November 7.
*On October 2, 2007, the Washington Mystics announced that Tree Rollins would named the permanent head coach. Rollins was the interim head coach since the resignation of Richie Adubato on June 1.
*On October 18, 2007, the WNBA announced the league awarded an expansion franchise to the city of Atlanta, Georgia, bringing the league to fourteen teams to start in the 2008 season. The team hired Marynell Meadors as their head coach and general manager on November 27. The team name, the Atlanta Dream, was unveiled on January 23, 2008, with the expansion draft held on February 6.
*On October 23, 2007, The WNBA draft lottery was held. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first pick for the upcoming 2008 WNBA Draft. The Chicago Sky was awarded the number two pick, followed by the Minnesota Lynx at number three, Atlanta at number four, the Houston Comets at number five and the Washington Mystics at number six.
*On October 26, 2007, The Indiana Fever declined to pick up the option for head coach Brian Winters. Lin Dunn was named the team's new coach on December 12.
*On November 30, 2007, the Seattle Storm announced the resignation of head coach, Anne Donovan. Her replacement, Brian Agler, was named on January 9, 2008
*The WNBA Draft was held in Tampa, Florida on April 9, with Candace Parker chosen by the Los Angeles Sparks as the overall Number One pick.
*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 will be no All-Star contest.

2008 WNBA Season Summary

eason Highlights

*Candace Parker becomes the second and third player in WNBA history to dunk in a regular season game.
*A fight breaks out between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Detroit Shock resulting in four ejections and ten suspensions.
*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.
*50-year-old hall-of-famer Nancy Lieberman signs a contract with the Detroit Shock to play in one game. She played 9 minutes and had 2 assists.
*The expansion Atlanta Dream set a record for the longest losing streak in WNBA history with 17 losses to give them an 0-17 start to the season.
*One of the teams original franchises, the Houston Comets, is put up for sale with an uncertain future.
*For the first time in WNBA history, the defending champion (Phoenix Mercury) does not qualify for the playoffs.
*Former Washington Mystics head coach Tree Rollins is relieved of his duties halfway through the season. Assistant coach Jessie Kenlaw is named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
*The Detroit Shock swept the San Antonio Silver Stars three-games-to-none in the Finals for the first time (in a best-of-five format).
*Candace Parker won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award and the MVP Award. This is the first time in WNBA history and the third time in professional basketball history for the two awards to be won in the same year by the same player.

End-of-Season Business Report

*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%. [http://www.wnba.com/2008numbers_080916.html]

Regular Season Standings

Season Award Winners

All-WNBA Teams

*First Team
*Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
*Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks
*Lindsay Whalen, Connecticut Sun
*Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
*Sophia Young, San Antonio Silver Stars

*Second Team
*Sue Bird, Seattle Storm
*Becky Hammon, San Antonio Silver Stars
*Asjha Jones, Connecticut Sun
*Deanna Nolan, Detroit Shock
*Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm

All-Rookie Team

*Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
*Candice Wiggins, Minnesota Lynx
*Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Sky
*Nicky Anosike, Minnesota Lynx
*Matee Ajavon, Houston Comets
*Amber Holt, Connecticut Sun

All-Defensive Teams

*First Team
*Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks
*Tamika Catchings, Indiana Fever
*Sophia Young, San Antonio Silver Stars
*Ticha Penicheiro, Sacramento Monarchs
*Tully Bevilaqua, Indiana Fever

*Second Team
*Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Sky
*Deanna Nolan, Detroit Shock
*Lauren Jackson, Seattle Storm
*Rebekkah Brunson, Sacramento Monarchs
*Katie Smith, Detroit Shock

Playoffs

See also

*WNBA
*WNBA Playoffs
*WNBA Finals

External links

* [http://www.wnba.com WNBA Official Website]
* [http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/westhead_070927.html Westhead resigns post of Mercury Head Coach]
* [http://www.wnba.com/mystics/news/TREE_ROLLINS_NAMED_MYSTICS_HEA-238177-230.html Rollins remain Head Coach For The Mystics]
* [http://www.wnba.com/atlanta/index.html WNBA Awards an Expansion Franchise to Atlanta]
* [http://www.wnba.com/news/lottery_results_071024.html 2008 WNBA Draft Lottery Results]
* [http://www.wnba.com/fever/news/071026_winters.html Fever declines option for Brian Winters]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/wnba/mercury/2007-11-06-gaines-coach_N.htm Mercury promotes assistant coach Corey Gaines as Head Coach]
* [http://www.wnba.com/atlanta/meadors_hiring_071127.html Atlanta names Marynell Meadors Head Coach/General Manager]
* [http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/donovan071130.html?rss=true Anne Donovan resigns as Head Coach of the Seattle Storm]
* [http://www.wnba.com/fever/news/071212_dunn.html Indiana announces Lin Dunn as Head Coach]
* [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/storm/2004114382_webagler08.html Seattle announces Brian Agler as Head Coach]
* [http://www.wnba.com/dream/dream_080123.html Atlanta announces Team Name]
* [http://www.wnba.com/dream/expansion_analysis_080206.html Atlanta's Expansion draft results/analysis]

References