The 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 14 when the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings and concluded on September 18, with a Seattle Storm defeat of the Chicago Sky.
The playoffs began on September 21, with a new playoff format. To increase the level of competition, instead of the top 4 seeds from each conference advancing, the 8 teams with the best overall records, regardless of conference, advanced.
The top two teams, in this case the Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks, each received a double bye to the semi-final round. The number 3 and number 4 seeds, in this case the New York Liberty and the Chicago Sky, received one bye to the second round. The playoffs began with the number 5 seed Indiana Fever facing the number 8 seed Phoenix Mercury and the number 6 seed Atlanta Dream facing the number 7 seed, the Seattle Storm. The winners of those single elimination games, Phoenix and Atlanta, advanced to a second round of single elimination. The teams were reseeded so that the team with the worse overall record played the number 3 seed and the next worse record played the number 4 seed.
The second round of playoffs saw battles between Phoenix and New York in the first game and Chicago and Atlanta in the second game. The winners, Phoenix and Chicago respectively, went on to compete with the top two teams in the league, Los Angeles and Minnesota. Minnesota swept the Phoenix Mercury in 3 games. Los Angeles faced Chicago in 4 games, winning 2 at home, losing the third, and capitalizing on the fourth.
The finals was a Western Conference showdown between the defending champions, the Minnesota Lynx, and the Los Angeles Sparks. It was the Sparks' first finals appearance since 2003, and they were seeking their first win since 2002. Los Angeles won the first game 78–76 on a buzzer beater from forward Alana Beard. Minnesota bounced back to drop the Sparks 79–60 in game 2. Back at home in Los Angeles, the Sparks clinched game 3 with the final score of 92–75, to get to one win away from the title. However, despite home court advantage, the Lynx stormed back to win game 4 at Staples Center, 85–79. In front of a sold out crowd in Minneapolis, the Sparks shocked the Lynx with a 77–76 victory in game five on October 20. The 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player and Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike had the game-winning shot from an offensive rebound to put the Sparks ahead with 3.1 seconds remaining. It was the Los Angeles Sparks third title in franchise history.
The league took a hiatus for much of August, allowing for the participation of its players in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Notable occurrences On March 15, the WNBA announced a new league-wide sponsor, Verizon Wireless. The Verizon logo appeared on all jerseys except those of the Stars and Sun, and Verizon received significant branding in arenas, on jerseys, and in telecasts via commercials. Verizon also sponsored the WNBA Playoffs, WNBA Finals, WNBA Tip-Off, WNBA Draft, and WNBA Inspiring Women Luncheon.
On March 28, the WNBA introduced new jerseys for the 2016 season. Teams no longer had white home jerseys. Teams used the away jersey from the previous year or a secondary color-based alternate jersey. The Sparks and Stars already used their secondary colors for jerseys, and thus had no significant change. The jerseys included special patches commemorating the 20th season for the league, along with the three remaining original franchises, and showed the WNBA Championships each franchise has won by displaying the trophies on the back collar.
The ESPN Networks aired 14 games (1 on ESPN, 13 on ESPN2) during the regular season and all playoff games. NBATV showed 42 games across the regular season.
On June 25, Becky Hammon's jersey no. 25 was retired by the San Antonio Stars after their game against the Atlanta Dream. Her jersey was the first to be retired by the Stars.
On July 15, Lauren Jackson returned to Seattle to see her jersey retired after the Storm defeated the Mystics. Her jersey was the first to be put in the rafters by the Seattle Storm.
Draft Seattle Storm selected Breanna Stewart first in the 2016 WNBA Draft at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (round 1 on ESPN2, rounds 2 and 3 on ESPNU).
Regular season Standings Source: Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Playoffs
Statistics Individual statistic leaders CategoryPlayerTeamStatistic Points per game Tina Charles New York Liberty 21.5 PPG Rebounds per game Tina Charles New York Liberty 9.9 RPG Assists per game Sue Bird Seattle Storm 5.8 APG Steals per game Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever 1.8 SPG Blocks per game Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury 3.1 BPG Three point percentage Emma Meesseman Washington Mystics 44.8% Free throw percentage Shenise Johnson Indiana Fever 93.8%
Awards Reference:
Individual AwardWinnerTeamPositionVotes/Statistic Most Valuable Player (MVP) Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks Forward 31 out of 39 Finals MVPCandace ParkerLos Angeles SparksForward Rookie of the Year Award Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm Forward 38 out of 39 Most Improved Player Elizabeth Williams Atlanta Dream Center 14 out of 39 Defensive Player of the Year Sylvia Fowles Minnesota Lynx Center 19 out of 39 Sixth Woman of the Year Jantel Lavender Los Angeles Sparks Center 26 out of 39 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever Guard 29 out of 39 Peak PerformersScoring Tina Charles New York Liberty Center 21.5 PPGRebounding 9.9 RPGAssists Sue Bird Seattle Storm Guard 5.8 APG Coach of the Year Cheryl Reeve Minnesota Lynx Coach 17 out of 39
Team AwardGuardGuardForwardForwardCenter All-WNBAFirst TeamSue BirdElena Delle DonneMaya MooreNneka OgwumikeTina CharlesSecond TeamJewell LoydDiana TaurasiAngel McCoughtryBreanna StewartSylvia Fowles All-DefensiveFirst Team Alana Beard Briann January Angel McCoughtry Nneka Ogwumike Sylvia FowlesSecond Team Tanisha Wright Jasmine Thomas Tamika Catchings Breanna Stewart Brittney Griner All-Rookie Team Tiffany Mitchell Moriah Jefferson Aerial Powers Breanna Stewart Imani Boyette
Players of the Week Week endingEastern ConferenceWestern ConferencePlayerTeamPlayerTeam May 23 Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx May 29 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks June 6 Tina Charles (2) New York Liberty Maya Moore (2) Minnesota Lynx June 13 Emma Meesseman Washington Mystics Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks June 20 Tina Charles (5) New York Liberty Candace Parker (2) Los Angeles Sparks June 27 Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury July 6 Nneka Ogwumike (2) Los Angeles Sparks July 11 Angel McCoughtry (2) Atlanta Dream Maya Moore (3) Minnesota Lynx July 18 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky Nneka Ogwumike (5) Los Angeles Sparks July 22 Tina Charles (6) New York Liberty September 6 Elena Delle Donne (2) Chicago Sky September 12 Tina Charles (7) New York Liberty Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm September 19 Jasmine Thomas Connecticut Sun Nneka Ogwumike (6) Los Angeles Sparks
Players of the Month MonthEastern ConferenceWestern ConferencePlayerTeamPlayerTeam May Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx June Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks July September Maya Moore (2) Minnesota Lynx
Rookies of the Month MonthPlayerTeam May Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm June July September
Coaches Eastern Conference Atlanta Dream: Michael Cooper Chicago Sky: Pokey Chatman Connecticut Sun: Curt Miller Indiana Fever: Stephanie White New York Liberty: Bill Laimbeer Washington Mystics: Mike Thibault
Western Conference Dallas Wings: Fred Williams Los Angeles Sparks: Brian Agler Minnesota Lynx: Cheryl Reeve Phoenix Mercury: Sandy Brondello San Antonio Stars: Dan Hughes Seattle Storm: Jenny Boucek
References