The 2010 WNBA season was the 14th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began with a televised (ESPN2) meeting between the defending champion Phoenix Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks in Phoenix, Arizona on May 15. The Connecticut Sun hosted the 10th Annual All-Star Game which was broadcast live on ESPN on July 10. This year, it was a contest between Geno Auriemma's USA Basketball team and a single team of WNBA All-Stars. The Finals was a series between the Seattle Storm and the Atlanta Dream which Seattle won 3–0.
2009–2010 WNBA offseason The new television deal with ESPN continued during the 2010 season (runs 2009–2016). For the first time ever, teams will be paid rights fees as part of this deal. As of the 2009 season, the maximum roster size per team was reduced from 13 to 11. Any team that falls below nine players able to play due to injury, pregnancy or any other factor outside of the control of the team will, upon request, be granted a roster hardship exception allowing the team to sign an additional player or players so that the team will have nine players able to play in an upcoming game or games. As soon as the injured (or otherwise sidelined) player(s) is able to play, the roster hardship player(s) – not any other player on the roster—must be waived. On September 29, 2009, Nolan Richardson was named head coach and general manager of a potential Tulsa, Oklahoma franchise. On October 20, 2009, the Detroit Shock announced that the franchise would relocate to Tulsa as well as move to the Western Conference. On November 20, 2009, the Sacramento Monarchs folded. On December 3, 2009, the New York Liberty announced that previously interim head coach Anne Donovan would be named head coach. On December 8, 2009, Cheryl Reeve was named head coach of the Minnesota Lynx. A dispersal draft was held on December 14, 2009, for all non-free agent Sacramento Monarchs players. On January 7, 2010, the Los Angeles Sparks named former player Jennifer Gillom head coach. On February 25, 2010, Sandy Brondello was named head coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars when Dan Hughes stepped aside from the position.
Transactions
Sacramento Monarchs dispersal draft
On December 14, 2009, the Sacramento Monarchs dispersal draft was held. This dispersal draft reassigned players from the Sacramento Monarchs who folded in November 2009, prior to the start of the 2010 WNBA season. The remaining twelve active teams in the WNBA each selected one player from the 2009 Monarchs roster in the one-round draft. Teams drafted in inverse order of their 2009 regular season finish. Three former Monarchs players, Kara Lawson, Hamchetou Maiga-Ba, and Ticha Penicheiro were unrestricted free agents and therefore not eligible for the draft. Teams selected based inversely on their 2009 regular season records. Four of the twelve teams making selections waived their picks.
The top four picks were: PickPlayerNationalityNew Team 1Nicole Powell New York Liberty 2Rebekkah Brunson Minnesota Lynx 3 DeMya Walker Connecticut Sun 4 Courtney Paris Chicago Sky
Draft
The WNBA Draft lottery was held on November 5, 2009. The lottery teams were the Sacramento Monarchs, Minnesota Lynx (from N.Y.), Minnesota Lynx, Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky. The top pick was awarded to Minnesota. Since Sacramento folded after the lottery, all the teams following Sacramento in the draft simply moved up a pick. Minnesota subsequently traded the first overall pick to Connecticut.
The 2010 WNBA Draft was held on April 8, 2010, in Secaucus, New Jersey. Coverage of the first round was shown on ESPN2 (HD). Second and third round coverage was shown on ESPNU and NBA TV.
The top picks were: Tina Charles, Connecticut Sun Monica Wright, Minnesota Lynx Kelsey Griffin, Minnesota Lynx Epiphanny Prince, Chicago Sky Jayne Appel, San Antonio Silver Stars
Regular season Standings
All-Star Game
The 2010 WNBA All-Star Game was hosted by the Connecticut Sun on July 10 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Coverage of the game began at 3:30pm on ESPN. This marks the third time the Sun have hosted the annual event. Unlike in previous years, this game was a contest between Geno Auriemma's USA basketball team and a team of WNBA all-stars.
Statistic leaders The following shows the leaders for each statistic during the 2010 regular season. CategoryPlayerTeamStatistic Points per game Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury 22.6 PPG Rebounds per game Tina Charles Connecticut Sun 11.7 RPG Assists per game Ticha Penicheiro Los Angeles Sparks 6.9 APG Steals per game Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever 2.26 SPG Blocks per game Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky 2.59 BPG Field goal percentage Candice Dupree Phoenix Mercury 66.4% (231–348) Three point FG percentage Leilani Mitchell New York Liberty 48.6% (72–148) Free throw percentage Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars 96.0% (97–101) Points per game Team Stat Phoenix Mercury 93.88 PPG Least points allowed Team Stat Washington Mystics 73.27 PPG Field goal percentage Team Stat Phoenix Mercury 47.3% Least FG% allowed Team Stat Seattle Storm 41.3%
Schedule
| rowspan=2|Thu April 8 || 3:00 ||colspan=3| 2010 WNBA Draft: first round ||colspan=5| ESPN2 || Secaucus, New Jersey |- | 4:00 ||colspan=3| 2010 WNBA Draft: later rounds ||colspan=5| ESPNU, NBA TV || Secaucus, New Jersey |- | rowspan=1|Fri April 30 || 1:00 || Chicago || @ || Minnesota || || 87–78CHI || Wright, Young (18) || Marginean (9) || Whitcomb (5) || Concordia University 633 |- | rowspan=1|Sat May 1 || 10:00 || China || @ || Los Angeles || || 78–58LA || Junaid (15) || Mohammed (12) || Penicheiro (7) || Viejas Arena 3,874 |- | rowspan=1|Sun May 2 || 4:00 || Phoenix || @ || Seattle || || 77–58SEA || Williams (19) || Paris (9) || Lacey (5) || KeyArena 4,912 |- | rowspan=2|Tue May 4 || 11:00am || Atlanta || @ || Connecticut || || 86–79CON || Charles (21) || Charles (9) || Price (5) || Mohegan Sun Arena 3,779 |- | 8:00 || China || @ || San Antonio || || 91–57SA || N/A || N/A || N/A || Incarnate Word N/A |- | rowspan=1|Wed May 5 || 11:30am || New York || @ || Washington || || 65–60WAS || Coleman (15) || McWilliams-Franklin (11) || Mitchell (4) || Verizon Center 7,152 |- | rowspan=1|Thu May 6 || 12:30 || Minnesota || @ || Chicago || || 74–65CHI || Kraayeveld (20) || 4 players (6) || Whalen (10) || Allstate Arena N/A |- | rowspan=2|Fri May 7 || 12:00 || Chicago || @ || Indiana || || 69–63IND || Murphy (20) || Owino (11) || Battle (4) || Conseco Fieldhouse 7,291 |- | 7:30 || Poland || @ || Connecticut || || 89–46CON || Charles, Kotsopoulos (15) || Charles (9) || Montgomery (5) || Mohegan Sun Arena 5,059 |- | rowspan=2|Sat May 8 || 3:30 || San Antonio || @ || Los Angeles || || 86–77SA || Snell (17) || Clark (7) || Bobbitt, Darling, Quinn (4) || Walter Pyramid 1,521 |- | 10:00 || China || @ || Phoenix || || 106–78PHO || Johnson (21) || Bonner, Liwei (7) || Zengyu (8) || US Airways Center 2,393 |- | rowspan=2|Sun May 9 || 2:00 || Washington || @ || Atlanta || || 77–58WAS || Currie (16) || Atkinson, Langhorne (8) || 4 players (3) || Eblen Center 2,219 |- | 2:00 || Seattle || @ || Tulsa || || 90–80TUL || Jackson (15) || Black (8) || Lacy, Pierson, Wright (4) || BOK Center N/A |- | rowspan=1|Mon May 10 || 12:30 || Indiana || @ || Chicago || || 84–71CHI || Murphy (15) || Davenport (8) || Canty (6) || Allstate Arena N/A |- | rowspan=1|Tue May 11 || 10:30am || Connecticut || @ || New York || || 89–84 (3OT)NY || Charles (22) || Charles, Walker (13) || Pondexter (8) || Madison Square Garden 19,763
! style="background:#094480; color:white" | 2010 WNBA regular season
| rowspan=5|Sat 15 || 2:00 || Los Angeles || @ || Phoenix || ESPN2 || 78–77PHO || Parker (24) || Parker (12) || Riley (4) || US Airways Center 14,772 |- | 3:30 || Chicago || @ || Connecticut || CN100 || 74–61CON || Jekabsone-Zogota (18) || Charles, Griffin (10) || Christon (4) || Mohegan Sun Arena 8,072
| 7:00 || Washington || @ || Indiana || || 72–65WAS || Currie (21) || Langhorne (8) || January (5) || Conseco Fieldhouse 9,752
| 8:00 || Atlanta || @ || San Antonio || FSSW || 75–70ATL || Castro Marques (23) || de Souza (15) || Lehning (6) || AT&T Center 9,409
| 8:00 || Minnesota || @ || Tulsa || NBA TVCST || 80–74MIN || Houston (21) || Black (10) || Whalen (6) || BOK Center 7,806
| rowspan=4|Sun 16 || 4:00 || Chicago || @ || New York || NBA TVCN100MSG || 85–82NY || Fowles (23) || Perkins (7) || Mitchell (9) || Madison Square Garden 12,088 |- | 7:00 || Washington || @ || Minnesota || FSNN || 87–76WAS || Currie (27) || Langhorne, Melvin (9) || Whalen (7) || Target Center 9,985
| 7:00 || Indiana || @ || Atlanta || SSO || 66–62ATL || Catchings (18) || de Souza (11) || Douglas, Miller (6) || Philips Arena 7,337
| 9:00 || Los Angeles || @ || Seattle || KONG || 81–67SEA || Jackson (23) || Parker (11) || Penicheiro (6) || KeyArena 9,686
| rowspan=1|Wed 19 || 10:00 || Minnesota || @ || Seattle || KING || 79–76SEA || Cash (24) || Anosike (10) || Bird (10) || KeyArena 6,687
| rowspan=1|Thu 20 || 12:30 || San Antonio || @ || Tulsa || NBA TVFSSWFSOK || 83–74SA || Young (24) || Snow (15) || Hammon (7) || BOK Center 4,636
| rowspan=2|Fri 21 || 7:00 || New York || @ || Washington || || 77–61WAS || Harding (21) || Langhorne (11) || Pondexter (8) || Verizon Center 10,158
| 7:00 || Connecticut || @ || Atlanta || NBA TVCSN-NEFSSO || 97–82ATL || McCoughtry (32) || Lyttle (17) || Lehning (10) || Philips Arena 4,092
| rowspan=3|Sat 22 || 8:00 || Los Angeles || @ || San Antonio || NBA TVFSSW || 88–81SA || Milton-Jones (20) || Snow (12) || Milton-Jones (6) || AT&T Center 7,862
| 8:00 || Indiana || @ || Chicago || CN100 || 92–86 (OT)IND || Catchings (28) || Fowles (12) || Douglas, Murphy (6) || Allstate Arena 6,477
| 10:00 || Seattle || @ || Phoenix || || 95–89 (OT)SEA || Jackson (25) || Bonner (12) || Bird (8) || US Airways Center 10,144
| rowspan=4|Sun 23 || 3:00 || Washington || @ || Connecticut || || 80–65CON || Langhorne (16) || Charles (8) || Harding (5) || Mohegan Sun Arena 7,614 |- | 4:00 || Atlanta || @ || New York || || 86–77ATL || McCoughtry, Pondexter (21) || Bales, de Souza (10) || McCoughtry (6) || Madison Square Garden 9,548
| 6:00 || Chicago || @ || Indiana || CN100FSI || 69–61IND || Murphy (16) || Fowles, Murphy (9) || Douglas (4) || Conseco Fieldhouse 7,665
| 7:00 || Tulsa || @ || Minnesota || || 94–82TUL || Houston (23) || Black (17) || Lacy (7) || Target Center 6,822
| rowspan=2|Tue 25 || 7:00 || Phoenix || @ || Tulsa || ESPN2 || 110–96PHO || Taurasi (35) || Dupree (14) || Lacy, Taylor (7) || BOK Center 4,100
| 10:00 || Washington || @ || Seattle || || 82–76SEA || Currie (24) || Jackson (7) || Bird (7) || KeyArena 6,612
| rowspan=2|Thu 27 || 7:30 || Minnesota || @ || Connecticut || || 105–79CON || Montgomery (23) || Charles (10) || Lawson, Montgomery (6) || Mohegan Sun Arena 6,401
| 8:00 || Seattle || @ || Chicago || CN100 || 84–75CHI || Fowles (19) || Jackson (11) || Bird, Canty (4) || Allstate Arena 2,923
| rowspan=3|Fri 28 || 8:00 || New York || @ || San Antonio || || 77–71NY || Pondexter (21) || McCarville, Powell (7) || Hammon (8) || AT&T Center 5,293
| 10:00 || Atlanta || @ || Phoenix || || 96–93ATL || Taurasi (30) || Lyttle (17) || Taylor (7) || US Airways Center 7,986
| 10:30 || Washington || @ || Los Angeles || PRIME || 81–75LA || Parker (30) || Langhorne, Parker (10) || Harding (8) || Staples Center 13,154
| rowspan=2|Sat 29 || 8:00 || Chicago || @ || Minnesota || CN100 || 73–58CHI || Fowles (18) || Brunson (9) || Canty, Prince (4) || Target Center 6,129
| 8:00 || Indiana || @ || Tulsa || NBA TVFSOK || 79–74TUL || Holt (16) || Black (11) || Catchings (7) || BOK Center 4,005
| rowspan=3|Sun 30 || 3:00 || Seattle || @ || San Antonio || || 84–56SEA || Jackson (27) || Cash (8) || Bird (6) || AT&T Center 4,924
| 4:00 || Connecticut || @ || Washington || || 69–65WAS || Currie (18) || Langhorne (16) || Harding (9) || Verizon Center 8,602