The 2015 WNBA season was the sixth and final season that the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA spent in Tulsa. It was the franchise's eighteenth overall season, as they played twelve seasons as the Detroit Shock. It was announced on July 20 that the team would be moving to Dallas during the offseason. Their season began on June 5, on the road against the Minnesota Lynx. The Shock lost that game 75–83, but their fortunes quickly turned around as they went on an eight-game winning streak after their opening night loss. During the streak, they got revenge on Minnesota, defeated San Antonio and Seattle twice each, and won three games by double-digits. The streak came to an end on June 30 in Seattle with a 74–69 loss. They finished June with an 8–2 record. July would prove to be a turn of fortune for the team. Skylar Diggins won Western Conference Player of the Week and Western Conference Player of the Month during the opening month, but tore her ACL on July 1, and was out for the rest of the season. After the injury, the Shock would lose their first two games of July. They would defeat Atlanta and Los Angeles to sit at 10–4 overall. However, form there, the team lost its next five straight games, with only their July 20 loss against Phoenix coming by double-digits. They finished the month 2–7 and were hovering around a .500 record. Their losing streak extended for another five games to begin August. They lost an overtime game against Phoenix and lost by double-digits to Los Angeles during the streak. The team used four home games at the end of the month, to build a five game winning streak to end the month. Their first win came on August 15 against New York. They continued the streak with an overtime win over Connecticut and they defeated Phoenix and Los Angeles by double digits during the run. They ended the month 5–5. They began September with an 85–67 win over Seattle, but ended their winning streak with a 92–73 loss to Los Angeles. They defeated San Antonio and Phoenix but lost to Chicago to end September 3–2 and the regular the season 18–16. This was the first winning season for the franchise in Tulsa.
Their first winning season also earned them their first playoff berth in Tulsa. They were the third seed in the Western Conference and faced Phoenix in the First Round. The Mercury won the regular season match-up between the two teams 3–2. Phoenix won the first game at home 88–55, in a blowout. The Shock could not stave off elimination at home, losing their only playoff game in Tulsa 91–67. A highlight of the season was Courtney Paris leading the league with 9.3 rebounds per game.
Transactions WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country 1 2 Amanda Zahui B. University of Minnesota 2 13 Brianna Kiesel Pittsburgh 3 25 Mimi Mungedi Nevada
Trades/Roster Changes
DateTrade February 2 Signed Courtney Paris February 5 Signed Karima Christmas-Kelly
Roster
Source:
Game log
Preseason
|- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 | May 22 | San Antonio | W 81–51 | Skylar Diggins (15) | Courtney Paris (9) | Odyssey Sims (5) | BOK Center2,937 | 1–0 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | May 28 | @ San Antonio | W 79–71 | Riquna Williams (18) | Courtney Paris (10) | Brianna Kiesel (5) | Freeman Coliseum3,822 | 2–0
Regular season
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | June 5 | @ Minnesota | L 75–83 | Plenette Pierson (18) | Courtney Paris (10) | Odyssey Sims (7) | Target Center9,020 | 0–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 | June 6 | Chicago | W 101–93 | Odyssey Sims (23) | Courtney Paris (9) | Skylar Diggins (8) | BOK Center7,256 | 1–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 3 | June 9 | Seattle | W 68–45 | Pierson, Sims (12) | Courtney Paris (11) | Skylar Diggins (5) | BOK Center4,149 | 2–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 4 | June 14 | @ San Antonio | W 73–62 | Skylar Diggins (21) | Courtney Paris (19) | Plenette Pierson (3) | Freeman Coliseum7,305 | 3–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 5 | June 16 | San Antonio | W 88–61 | Plenette Pierson (20) | Courtney Paris (13) | Brianna Kiesel (8) | BOK Center5,005 | 4–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 6 | June 19 | @ Washington | W 86–82 | Plenette Pierson (24) | Courtney Paris (14) | Skylar Diggins (5) | Capital One Arena7,099 | 5–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 7 | June 21 | @ Minnesota | W 86–78 | Skylar Diggins (26) | Courtney Paris (11) | Skylar Diggins (8) | Target center8,823 | 6–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 8 | June 26 | New York | W 71–62 | Riquna Williams (11) | Karima Christmas-Kelly (6) | Diggins, Williams (4) | BOK Center5,125 | 7–1 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 9 | June 28 | Seattle | W 93–89 | Skylar Diggins (31) | Christmas-Kelly, Paris (9) | Skylar Diggins (6) | BOK Center4,985 | 8–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | June 30 | @ Seattle | L 69–74 | Riquna Williams (23) | Courtney Paris (7) | Brianna Kiesel (5) | KeyArena4,352 | 8–2
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | July 2 | @ Phoenix | L 55–86 | Karima Christmas-Kelly (11) | Karima Christmas-Kelly (10) | Karima Christmas-Kelly (4) | US Airways Center8,996 | 8–3 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 12 | July 3 | @ Los Angeles | L 95–98 | Karima Christmas-Kelly (20) | Courtney Paris (10) | Plenette Pierson (5) | Staples Center6,358 | 8–4 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 13 | July 7 | @ Atlanta | W 85–75 | Plenette Pierson (24) | Courtney Paris (10) | Kiesel, Paris (4) | Philips Arena6,744 | 9–4 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 14 | July 11 | Los Angeles | W 82–67 | Karima Christmas-Kelly (24) | Courtney Paris (6) | Odyssey Sims (6) | BOK Center6,144 | 10–4 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 15 | July 15 | @ Indiana | L 80–83 | Riquna Williams (31) | Courntey Paris (8) | Plenette Pierson (4) | Bankers Life Fieldhouse6,435 | 10–5 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | July 17 | @ San Antonio | L 58–65 | Odyssey Sims (14) | Baugh, Paris (6) | Riquna Williams (3) | Freeman Coliseum9,080 | 10–6 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 17 | July 19 | Minnesota | L 72–79 | Riquna Williams (19) | Paris, Sims (7) | Sims, Williams (4) | BOK Center5,987 | 10–7 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 18 | July 21 | Washington | L 69–76 | Karima Christmas-Kelly (15) | Courtney Paris (19) | Odyssey Sims (3) | BOK Center6,147 | 10–8 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | July 30 | Phoenix | L 66–78 | Odyssey Sims (16) | Courtney Paris (7) | Odyssey Sims (4) | BOK Center4,637 | 10–9
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 20 | August 1 | Minnesota | L 80–86 | Riquna Williams (35) | Paris, Pierson (8) | Odyssey Sims (6) | BOK Center4,776 | 10–10 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | August 4 | @ Phoenix | L 84–87 (OT) | Christmas-Kelly, Williams (17) | Courtney Paris (16) | Plenette Pierson (4) | US Airways Center8,824 | 10–11 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 22 | August 6 | @ Los Angeles | L 57–84 | Plenette Pierson (14) | Courtney Paris (6) | Riquna Williams (4) | Staples Center8,056 | 10–12 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 23 | August 9 | Atlanta | L 90–98 | Riquna Williams (35) | Courtney Paris (11) | Christmas-Kelly, Sims (4) | BOK Center5,345 | 10–13 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 24 | August 12 | @ Connecticut | L 74–80 | Christmas-Kelly, Sims (15) | Courtney Paris (9) | Odyssey Sims (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena4,682 | 10–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 25 | August 15 | @ New York | W 81–76 | Odyssey Sims (27) | Courtney Paris (10) | Odyssey Sims (7) | Madison Square Garden9,857 | 11–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 26 | August 18 | Phoenix | W 74–59 | Riquna Williams (18) | Courtney Paris (11) | Riquna Williams (6) | BOK Center4,566 | 12–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 27 | August 21 | Connecticut | W 84–76 (OT) | Riquna Williams (22) | Karima Christmas-Kelly (8) | Karima Christmas-Kelly (5) | BOK Center4,225 | 13–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 28 | August 28 | Los Angeles | W 76–66 | Sims, Williams (15) | Courtney Paris (13) | Sims, Williams (4) | BOK Center4,776 | 14–14 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 29 | August 30 | Indiana | W 76–70 | Odyssey Sims (30) | Courtney Paris (6) | Odyssey Sims (5) | BOK Center4,512 | 15–14
|- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 30 | September 3 | @ Seattle | W 85–67 | Odyssey Sims (24) | Christmas-Kelly, Jackson, Paris (8) | Odyssey Sims (4) | KeyArena4,352 | 16–14 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 31 | September 6 | @ Los Angeles | L 73–92 | Pierson, Sims (21) | Courtney Paris (6) | Odyssey Sims (6) | Staples Center10,114 | 16–15 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 32 | September 8 | San Antonio | W 74–64 | Odyssey Sims (27) | Paris, Plaisance, Sims (7) | Kiesel, Sims (2) | BOK Center4,145 | 17–15 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | September 11 | @ Chicago | L 71–92 | Vicki Baugh (22) | Tiffany Jackson (9) | Brianna Kiesel (8) | Allstate Arena7,753 | 17–16 |- style="background:#bbffbb;" | 34 | September | Phoenix | W 91–87 | Brianna Kiesel (28) | Amanda Zahui B. (8) | Brianna Kiesel (5) | BOK Center6,064 | 18–16
Playoffs
|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1 | September 17 | @ Phoenix | L 55–88 | Odyssey Sims (18) | Courtney Paris (7) | Odyssey Sims (3) | US Airways Center8,509 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc;" | 2 | September 19 | Phoenix | L 67–91 | Odyssey Sims (22) | Courtney Paris (8) | Odyssey Sims (7) | BOK Center3,261 | 0–2
Standings
Playoffs
Statistics
Source:
Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Skylar Diggins 9 9 32.1 40.5% 44.8% 91.8% 2.7 5.0 1.6 0.3 17.8 Odyssey Sims 23 19 31.4 36.9% 20.7% 84.7% 3.4 3.8 1.1 0.0 16.0 Karima Christmas-Kelly 32 32 28.7 39.6% 38.6% 78.2% 5.0 1.7 1.1 0.3 10.6 Plenette Pierson 30 29 28.1 43.7% 36.2% 80.8% 4.1 1.9 1.0 0.4 12.8 Riquna Williams 29 20 28.0 35.2% 34.6% 85.0% 3.4 2.6 1.5 0.5 15.6 Courtney Paris 34 34 25.0 48.6% — 42.5% 9.3 1.3 0.4 1.2 6.6 Brianna Kiesel 34 15 18.1 33.3% 23.1% 75.5% 0.8 1.9 0.8 0.1 5.1 Jordan Hooper 34 5 17.1 35.8% 34.2% 68.4% 2.1 0.3 0.4 0.1 4.7 Vicki Baugh 34 6 15.7 47.3% 0.0% 73.8% 4.1 0.6 0.5 0.4 5.4 Tiffany Jackson 12 0 14.6 50.0% — 83.3% 4.3 0.7 0.5 0.4 4.1 Amanda Zahui B. 31 0 9.7 36.1% 33.3% 75.0% 2.4 0.3 0.2 0.6 3.4 Theresa Plaisance 25 1 8.2 28.1% 32.0% 70.0% 1.9 0.2 0.2 0.2 1.9 Brittany Hrynko 2 0 1.5 0.0% 0.0% — — — — — —
Playoffs Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Odyssey Sims 2 2 33.5 33.3% 27.3% 78.6% 4.0 5.0 2.0 0.0 20.0 Karima Christmas-Kelly 2 2 32.5 21.1% 0.0% 87.5% 5.0 1.0 1.5 0.5 7.5 Plenette Pierson 2 2 27.0 35.7% 33.3% — 5.5 0.5 1.0 0.5 10.5 Jordan Hooper 2 2 26.0 21.1% 18.8% 71.4% 4.5 — — — 8.0 Courtney Paris 2 2 21.0 45.5% — 25.0% 7.5 1.0 1.0 — 5.5 Brianna Kiesel 2 0 16.5 21.4% 0.0% 100.0% 2.5 0.5 — — 6.0 Vicki Baugh 2 0 16.0 28.6% — — 3.0 — 0.5 — 2.0 Riquna Williams 1 0 16.0 16.7% 0.0% — 2.0 1.0 1.0 — 2.0 Tiffany Jackson 2 0 10.5 0.0% — 50.0% 2.0 — 1.0 — 0.5 Amanda Zahui B. 2 0 6.0 0.0% 0.0% — 1.5 — — 0.5 — Theresa Plaisance 2 0 3.5 0.0% 0.0% — — 0.5 — — —
Awards and honors
Recipient Award Date awarded Ref. Skylar Diggins Western Conference Player of the Week June 23 Western Conference Player of the Month - June July 6 Odyssey Sims Western Conference Player of the Week August 31 Courtney Paris Peak Performer:Rebounds September 17
References