The 2020 WNBA season will be the 24th season of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Washington Mystics are the defending champions. Planned changes to the league’s schedule included an increase from 34 to 36 regular season games for each team, the introduction of a mid-season Commissioner’s Cup tournament, and an increased number of games broadcast on ESPN and ABC. This is the first season under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the WNBA Players’ Association. On April 3, the season was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24.
2020 WNBA season | |
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League | Women’s National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | July 24 – October |
Number of games | 22 |
Number of teams | 12 |
TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV, CBSSN |
Top draft pick | Sabrina Ionescu |
Picked by | New York Liberty |
Women’s National Basketball Association
Sport | Basketball |
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Founded | April 22, 1996; 24 years ago |
Founder | David Stern |
Inaugural season | 1997 |
Commissioner | Cathy Engelbert |
Motto | “Watch Me Work” |
No. of teams | 12 |
Country | United States |
Headquarters | New York City |
Most recent champion(s) | Washington Mystics (1st title) |
Most titles | Houston Comets Minnesota Lynx (4 titles each) |
TV partner(s) | United States:
Canada:
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Schedule
Statistical leaders
The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2020 regular season.
Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | |||
Rebounds per game | |||
Assists per game | |||
Steals per game | |||
Blocks per game | |||
Field goal percentage | |||
Three point FG percentage | |||
Free throw percentage | |||
Points per game (team) | |||
Field goal percentage (team) |
Awards
Season award winners
Updated soon…
Draft
Draft lottery
Lottery chances
Team | Combined 2018–2019 Record | Lottery Chances (out of 1,000) |
---|---|---|
New York Liberty – WON | 17–51 | 442 |
Indiana Fever | 19–49 | 276 |
Dallas Wings | 25–43 | 178 |
Atlanta Dream | 31–37 | 104 |
First round
Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
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1 | Sabrina Ionescu | G | United States | New York Liberty | Oregon |
2 | Satou Sabally | F | Germany | Dallas Wings | Oregon |
3 | Lauren Cox | F/C | United States | Indiana Fever | Baylor |
4 | Chennedy Carter | G | United States | Atlanta Dream | Texas A&M |
5 | Bella Alarie | F | United States | Dallas Wings | Princeton |
6 | Mikiah Herbert Harrigan | F | Anguilla United Kingdom | Minnesota Lynx | South Carolina |
7 | Tyasha Harris | G | United States | Dallas Wings | South Carolina |
8 | Ruthy Hebard | F | United States | Chicago Sky | Oregon |
9 | Megan Walker | F | United States | New York Liberty | UConn |
10 | Jocelyn Willoughby | F/G | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Virginia |
11 | Kitija Laksa | F | Latvia | Seattle Stormv | South Florida/TTT Riga (Latvia) |
12 | Jazmine Jones | G | United States | New York Liberty | Louisville |
Second round
Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
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13 | Kylee Shook | F | United States | New York Liberty | Louisville |
14 | Kathleen Doyle | G | United States | Indiana Fever | Iowa |
15 | Leaonna Odom | F | United States | New York Liberty | Duke |
16 | Crystal Dangerfield | G | United States | Minnesota Lynx | UConn |
17 | Brittany Brewer | F | United States | Atlanta Dream | Texas Tech |
18 | Te’a Cooper | G | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Baylor |
19 | Joyner Holmes | F | United States | Seattle Storm | Texas |
20 | Beatrice Mompremier | F | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | Miami (FL) |
21 | Luisa Geiselsöder | C | Germany | Dallas Wings | Donau-Ries (Germany) |
22 | Leonie Fiebich | F | Germany | Los Angeles Sparks | Wasserburg (Germany) |
23 | Kaila Charles | G | United States | Connecticut Sun | Maryland |
24 | Jaylyn Agnew | F | United States | Washington Mystics | Creighton |
Third round
Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
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25 | Mikayla Pivec | G | United States | Atlanta Dream | Oregon State |
26 | Erica Ogwumike | G | United States | New York Liberty | Rice |
27 | Kobi Thornton | F | United States | Atlanta Dream | Clemson |
28 | Kamiah Smalls | G | United States | Indiana Fever | James Madison |
29 | Stella Johnson | G | United States | Phoenix Mercury | Rider |
30 | Japreece Dean | G | United States | Chicago Sky | UCLA |
31 | Haley Gorecki | G | United States | Seattle Storm | Duke |
32 | Kiah Gillespie | F | United States | Chicago Sky | Florida State |
33 | Lauren Manis | F | United States | Las Vegas Aces | Holy Cross |
34 | Tynice Martin | G | United States | Los Angeles Sparks | West Virginia |
35 | Juicy Landrum | G | United States | Connecticut Sun | Baylor |
36 | Sug Sutton | G | United States | Washington Mystics | Texas |
All-Star Game
Standings
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. | Cup |
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1 | Atlanta Dream | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
2 | Connecticut Sun | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
3 | Chicago Sky | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
4 | Dallas Wings | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
5 | Indiana Fever | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
6 | Las Vegas Aces | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
7 | Los Angeles Sparks | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
8 | Minnesota Lynx | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
9 | New York Liberty | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
10 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
11 | Seattle Storm | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
12 | Washington Mystics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
Coaches
Eastern Conference
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
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Atlanta Dream | Nicki Collen | Connecticut Sun (assistant) | 2 | 31–37 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Chicago Sky | James Wade | UMMC Ekaterinburg (assistant) | 1 | 20–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Connecticut Sun | Curt Miller | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 4 | 79–75 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Indiana Fever | Marianne Stanley | Washington Mystics (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New York Liberty | Walt Hopkins | Minnesota Lynx (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Washington Mystics | Mike Thibault | Connecticut Sun | 7 | 130–108 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Western Conference
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
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Dallas Wings | Brian Agler | Los Angeles Sparks | 1 | 10–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Las Vegas Aces | Bill Laimbeer | New York Liberty | 2 | 35–33 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Los Angeles Sparks | Derek Fisher | 1 | 22–12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Detroit Shock (assistant) | 10 | 231–109 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
Phoenix Mercury | Sandy Brondello | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 6 | 118–86 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Seattle Storm | Dan Hughes | San Antonio Stars | 2 | 44–24 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Awards
Most recent award winners
Award | Winner | Position | Team | Votes/Statistic | |
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Most Valuable Player Award | Elena Delle Donne | Guard–forward | Washington Mystics | 41 out of 43 | |
Finals MVP Award | Emma Meesseman | Center | Washington Mystics | ||
Rookie of the Year Award | Napheesa Collier | Forward | Minnesota Lynx | 29 out of 43 | |
Most Improved Player Award | Leilani Mitchell | Guard | Phoenix Mercury | 27 out of 43 | |
Defensive Player of the Year Award | Natasha Howard | Forward | Seattle Storm | 33 out of 43 | |
Sixth Woman of the Year Award | Dearica Hamby | Forward | Las Vegas Aces | 41 out of 43 | |
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Nneka Ogwumike | Forward | Los Angeles Sparks | 7 out of 43 | |
Peak Performer: Points | Brittney Griner | Center | Phoenix Mercury | 20.7 PPG | |
Peak Performer: Rebounds | Jonquel Jones | Center | Connecticut Sun | 9.7 RPG | |
Peak Performer: Assists | Courtney Vandersloot | Guard | Chicago Sky | 9.1 APG | |
Coach of the Year Award | James Wade | Coach | Chicago Sky | 27 out of 43 | |
Basketball Executive of the Year Award | Cheryl Reeve | General manager | Minnesota Lynx | 4 out of 11 |
Retired numbers
No. | Team | Player | Pos. | Tenure |
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9 | Los Angeles Sparks | Lisa Leslie | C | 1997–2009 |
11 | Penny Toler | G | 1997–99 | |
24 | Indiana Fever | Tamika Catchings | SF | 2002–16 |
25 | Las Vegas Aces | Becky Hammon | G | 2007–14 |
13 | Minnesota Lynx | Lindsay Whalen | G | 2004–18 |
7 | Phoenix Mercury | Michele Timms | G | 1997–2001 |
13 | Penny Taylor | G/F | 2004–16 | |
22 | Jennifer Gillom | F | 1997–2002 | |
32 | Bridget Pettis | G | 1997–2006 | |
15 | Seattle Storm | Lauren Jackson | F/C | 2001–12 |
Attendance
Year | Team | League | ||||||||||||||
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ATL | CHI | CON | DAL | IND | LA | LV | MIN | NY | PHX | SA | SEA | TUL | WAS | Regular season | Postseason | |
2010 | 6,293 | 4,293 | 7,486 | — | 8,265 | 9,468 | — | 7,622 | 11,069 | 8,982 | 8,041 | 8,322 | 4,812 | 9,357 | 7,834 | 10,822 |
2011 | 6,487 | 5,536 | 7,056 | — | 8,054 | 10,316 | — | 8,447 | 7,702[b] | 9,167 | 8,751 | 8,659 | 4,828 | 10,449 | 7,954 | 9,232 |
2012 | 5,453 | 5,573 | 7,266 | — | 7,582 | 10,089 | — | 9,683 | 6,779[b] | 7,814 | 7,850 | 7,486 | 5,203 | 8,639 | 7,452 | 9,195 |
2013 | 5,853 | 6,601 | 6,548 | — | 8,164 | 9,869 | — | 9,381 | 7,189[b] | 8,557 | 7,914 | 6,981 | 5,474 | 7,838 | 7,531 | 7,574 |
2014 | 5,864 | 6,685 | 5,980 | — | 7,900 | 8,288 | — | 9,333 | 8,949 | 9,557 | 7,719 | 6,717 | 5,566 | 8,377 | 7,578 | 8,200 |
2015 | 6,122 | 6,894 | 5,557 | — | 7,485 | 9,065 | — | 9,364 | 9,159 | 9,946 | 4,831 | 6,516 | 5,167 | 7,714 | 7,318 | 8,799 |
2016 | 5,614 | 7,009 | 5,837 | 5,298 | 8,575 | 9,638 | — | 9,266 | 9,724 | 10,351 | 6,385 | 7,230 | — | 6,929 | 7,655 | 8,719 |
2017 | 4,452 | 6,583 | 6,728 | 3,872 | 7,538 | 11,350 | — | 10,407 | 9,989 | 9,913 | 6,386 | 7,704 | — | 7,771 | 7,716 | — |
2018 | 4,194 | 6,358 | 6,569 | 4,752 | 6,311 | 10,642 | 5,307 | 10,036 | 2,823 | 9,950 | — | 8,109 | — | 6,136 | 6,769 | — |
2019 | 4,270 | 6,835 | 6,841 | 4,999 | 5,887 | 11,307 | 4,669 | 9,069 | 2,239 | 10,193 | — | 7,562 | — | 4,546 | 6,535 | — |
Media coverage
Right now, WNBA games are broadcast all through the U.S. by ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Twitter, NBA TV, and CBS Sports Network.
In the early years, two women’s-situated networks, Lifetime and Oxygen, additionally communicate games including the main round of the WNBA. NBC showed games from 1997 to 2002 as a major aspect of their NBA on NBC coverage before the class moved the rights to ABC/ESPN.
In 2007, the WNBA and ESPN came to a 8-year TV understanding. The understanding would be the first to pay TV rights expenses to the association’s groups. At no other time had an understanding guaranteed rights expenses to a ladies’ expert group. The understanding ran from 2009 to 2016 and is worth a huge number of dollars.
In June 2007, the WNBA marked an agreement augmentation with ESPN. The new TV bargain runs from 2009 to 2016. At least 18 games will be communicated on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 each season; the rights to communicate the primary ordinary season game and the All-Star game are held by ABC. Furthermore, at least 11 postseason games will be communicated on any of the three stations.[94] Along with this arrangement, came the first-historically speaking rights expenses to be paid to a ladies’ pro athletics group. Over the eight years of the agreement, “a great many dollars” will be “scattered to the group’s groups”.
In 2013, the WNBA and ESPN marked a six-year augmentation on the communicate arrangement to cover 2017–2022. In the new arrangement, an aggregate of 30 games would be indicated each season on ESPN systems. Each group would get around $1 million every year.
On April 22, 2019, CBS Sports Network reached a multi-year arrangement to broadcast 40 customary season end of the week and primetime WNBA games, starting in the 2019 season.
A few groups offer games on nearby radio, while all groups have a few games communicate on neighborhood TV channels:
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From 2010 to 2011, the customary season communicate drew 270,000 watchers a development of 5 percent from 2010’s numbers.[98] As sponsorships kept on developing with bargains from ESPN to air WNBA games on ESPN and ESPN 2. The group experienced some accomplishment on the advanced bleeding edge. It saw increments on its portable site visits by 26 percent alongside a significant increment in its internet based life space; Instagram developed by 51 percent this previous year.
All-time franchise history
Team | Years | Attendance Avg. | W | L | PCT | Playoffs | Playoffs W | Playoffs L | Playoffs PCT | Titles |
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Atlanta Dream | 2008–present | 6,455 | 160 | 180 | .471 | 7 | 15 | 18 | .455 | 0 |
Charlotte Sting | 1997–2006 | 6,851 | 143 | 179 | .444 | 6 | 6 | 13 | .316 | 0 |
Chicago Sky | 2006–present | 5,054 | 179 | 229 | .439 | 4 | 7 | 12 | .368 | 0 |
Cleveland Rockers | 1997–2003 | 8,885 | 108 | 112 | .491 | 4 | 6 | 9 | .400 | 0 |
Connecticut Sun (total) 1 | 1999–present | 7,132 | 339 | 299 | .531 | 10 | 21 | 21 | .500 | 0 |
Connecticut Sun | 2003–present | 6,887 | 279 | 231 | .547 | 9 | 20 | 19 | .513 | 0 |
Dallas Wings (total) 2 | 1998–present | 7,382 | 296 | 372 | .443 | 10 | 30 | 22 | .577 | 3 |
Dallas Wings | 2016–present | 27 | 41 | .397 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | |
Detroit Shock | 1998–2009 | 8,463 | 210 | 186 | .530 | 7 | 30 | 19 | .612 | 3 |
Houston Comets | 1997–2008 | 9,592 | 241 | 149 | .618 | 9 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 4 |
Indiana Fever | 2000–present | 8,138 | 310 | 296 | .512 | 13 | 35 | 33 | .515 | 1 |
Las Vegas Aces (total) 3 | 1997–present | 7,692 | 291 | 405 | .418 | 9 | 10 | 23 | .303 | 0 |
Las Vegas Aces | 2018–present | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | |
Los Angeles Sparks | 1997–present | 9,080 | 424 | 272 | .609 | 17 | 45 | 38 | .542 | 3 |
Miami Sol | 2000–2002 | 8,556 | 48 | 48 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0 |
Minnesota Lynx | 1999–present | 8,008 | 347 | 291 | .544 | 9 | 41 | 19 | .683 | 4 |
New York Liberty | 1997–present | 10,873 | 371 | 325 | .533 | 15 | 27 | 36 | .429 | 0 |
Orlando Miracle | 1999–2002 | 7,927 | 60 | 68 | .469 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0 |
Phoenix Mercury | 1997–present | 9,307 | 358 | 338 | .514 | 12 | 36 | 29 | .554 | 3 |
Portland Fire | 2000–2002 | 8,321 | 37 | 59 | .385 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
Sacramento Monarchs | 1997–2009 | 8,287 | 224 | 200 | .527 | 9 | 24 | 19 | .558 | 1 |
San Antonio Stars | 2003–2017 | 7,857 | 204 | 306 | .400 | 7 | 8 | 18 | .308 | 0 |
Seattle Storm | 2000–present | 7,697 | 303 | 303 | .500 | 13 | 19 | 22 | .463 | 2 |
Tulsa Shock | 2010–2015 | 5,173 | 59 | 145 | .289 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 |
Utah Starzz | 1997–2002 | 7,334 | 87 | 99 | .468 | 2 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 0 |
Washington Mystics | 1998–present | 11,288 | 273 | 395 | .409 | 10 | 8 | 21 | .276 | 1 |
List of WNBA seasons
Season | Teams | Champion | Commissioner’s Cup | Season MVP | Top Draft Pick | Rookie of the Year | All-Star Game |
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2010 | 12 | Seattle Storm (2) | Not established until 2020 | Lauren Jackson (3) Seattle Storm | Tina Charles Connecticut Sun | Tina Charles Connecticut Sun | Stars at the Sun |
2011 | 12 | Minnesota Lynx | Not established until 2020 | Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever | Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx | Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx | AT&T Center, San Antonio 118-113, EAST |
2012 | 12 | Indiana Fever | Not established until 2020 | Tina Charles Connecticut Sun | Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks | Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks | No game held |
2013 | 12 | Minnesota Lynx (2) | Not established until 2020 | Candace Parker (2) Los Angeles Sparks | Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury | Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky | Mohegan Sun Arena, Connecticut 102-98, WEST |
2014 | 12 | Phoenix Mercury (3) | Not established until 2020 | Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx | Chiney Ogwumike Connecticut Sun | Chiney Ogwumike Connecticut Sun | US Airways Center, Phoenix 125-124 (OT), EAST |
2015 | 12 | Minnesota Lynx (3) | Not established until 2020 | Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky | Jewell Loyd Seattle Storm | Jewell Loyd Seattle Storm | Mohegan Sun Arena, Connecticut 117-112, WEST |
2016 | 12 | Los Angeles Sparks (3) | Not established until 2020 | Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks | Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm | Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm | No game held |
2017 | 12 | Minnesota Lynx (4) | Not established until 2020 | Sylvia Fowles Minnesota Lynx | Kelsey Plum San Antonio Stars | Allisha Gray Dallas Wings | KeyArena, Seattle 130-121 WEST |
2018 | 12 | Seattle Storm (3) | Not established until 2020 | Breanna Stewart Seattle Storm | A’ja Wilson Las Vegas Aces | A’ja Wilson Las Vegas Aces | Target Center, Minneapolis Team Parker 119, Team Delle Donne 112 |
2019 | 12 | Washington Mystics | Not established until 2020 | Elena Delle Donne (2) Washington Mystics | Jackie Young Las Vegas Aces | Napheesa Collier Minnesota Lynx | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas Team Wilson 129, Team Delle Donne 126 |
2020 | 12 | No game held |
WNBA Finals
Season | Champion | Runner-Up | Format | Result | Finals MVP | ||
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Team | Coach | Team | Coach | ||||
2010 | Seattle Storm | Brian Agler | Atlanta Dream | Marynell Meadors | Best-of-five | 3–0 | Lauren Jackson |
2011 | Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Seimone Augustus | ||||
2012 | Indiana Fever | Lin Dunn | Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | 3–1 | Tamika Catchings | |
2013 | Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Atlanta Dream | Fred Williams | 3–0 | Maya Moore | |
2014 | Phoenix Mercury | Sandy Brondello | Chicago Sky | Pokey Chatman | Diana Taurasi | ||
2015 | Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Indiana Fever | Stephanie White | 3–2 | Sylvia Fowles | |
2016 | Los Angeles Sparks | Brian Agler | Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Candace Parker | ||
2017 | Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Los Angeles Sparks | Brian Agler | Sylvia Fowles | ||
2018 | Seattle Storm | Dan Hughes | Washington Mystics | Mike Thibault | 3–0 | Breanna Stewart | |
2019 | Washington Mystics | Mike Thibault | Connecticut Sun | Curt Miller | 3–2 | Emma Meesseman |