2011 WNBA season

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2011 WNBA season
2011 WNBA season
Duration June 3 – October 7
Games 34
Teams 12
Total attendance 1,622,685
Average attendance 7,954
TV partner/s ABC, ESPN, NBA TV
Draft
Top draft pick United States Maya Moore
Picked by Minnesota Lynx
Regular season
Season MVP United States Tamika Catchings (Indiana)
Stat leaders
    Points D. Taurasi (21.6)
    Rebounds T. Charles (11.0)
    Assists L. Whalen (5.9)
Playoffs
East champions Atlanta Dream
  East runners-up   Indiana Fever
West champions Minnesota Lynx
  West runners-up   Phoenix Mercury
Finals
Finals champions Minnesota Lynx
  Runners-up   Atlanta Dream
Finals MVP United States Seimone Augustus (Minnesota)
WNBA seasons

← 2010

2012 →

The 2011 WNBA season is the 15th season of the Women's National Basketball Association.[1] The regular season began on June 3 with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Minnesota Lynx, featuring 2011 WNBA Draft top pick Maya Moore, in a game televised on NBA TV. Four games followed the next day, with the marquee matchup, televised on ABC, featuring the defending champion Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury in Seattle.

The Minnesota Lynx finished the regular season with the best record in the league at 27-7, and were the top seed in the Western Conference. The Indiana Fever were the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Lynx ultimately advanced to face the Atlanta Dream in the 2011 WNBA Finals.[2]

Contents

2010/2011 WNBA offseason [edit]

  • The new television deal with ESPN continued during the 2011 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 October 12, 2010, the New York Liberty named former Monarchs coach John Whisenant head coach and general manager.
  • On October 29, 2010, Pokey Chatman was named head coach and general manager of the Chicago Sky.
  • On November 1, 2010, the Washington Mystics announced that Julie Plank (head coach) and Angela Taylor (GM) would not be returning to the team and that Trudi Lacey would take over head coach and GM positions.
  • On December 3, 2010, Donna Orender, six-year league president, announced her resignation effective December 31.
  • On January 11, 2011, The San Antonio Silver Stars announced that Dan Hughes would resume head coaching duties.
  • The Washington Mystics announced a marquee sponsorship with Inova Health System on April 7, 2011. This marked the fifth team in the league to allow a sponsor to brand their uniforms.
  • On draft day, Adidas introduced the Revolution 30 technology, to be used on all WNBA team uniforms. The uniforms are 30% lighter than before and also enable moisture management.[3] Unlike their NBA and NBA D-League counterparts, however, all WNBA uniforms underwent complete redesigns.
  • NBA Commissioner David Stern announced on April 21, 2011 that Laurel J. Richie would assume role as president of the WNBA on May 16.
  • The New York Liberty will play home games for the next three seasons at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, due to summer renovations at Madison Square Garden.

Marquee sponsorship [edit]

On August 22, 2011, the WNBA announced a league-wide marquee sponsorship with Boost Mobile.[4] The deal would allow the Boost Mobile logo to be placed on ten of the 12 teams' jerseys (excluding Phoenix and San Antonio) in addition to branding on the courts and in arenas. A source said the deal is worth "roughly $10 million over its four years" and is the richest in league history.[5]

2011 WNBA Draft [edit]

Main article: 2011 WNBA Draft

The WNBA Draft lottery was held on November 2, 2010. The lottery teams were the Tulsa Shock, Minnesota Lynx, Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx (from Conn.). The top pick was awarded to Minnesota.

The 2011 WNBA Draft was held on April 11, 2011, in Bristol, Connecticut. Coverage of the first round was shown on ESPN (HD). Second and third round coverage was shown on ESPNU and NBA TV.

The top picks were:

  1. Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
  2. Elizabeth Cambage, Tulsa Shock
  3. Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago Sky
  4. Amber Harris, Minnesota Lynx (from Conn.)

Regular season [edit]

Standings [edit]

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Indiana Fever x 21 13 .618 – 13–4 8–9 13–9
Connecticut Sun x 21 13 .618 – 15–2 6–11 14–8
Atlanta Dream x 20 14 .588 1.0 11–6 9–8 14–8
New York Liberty x 19 15 .559 2.0 12-5 7–10 11–11
Chicago Sky o 14 20 .412 7.0 10–7 4–13 10–12
Washington Mystics o 6 28 .176 15.0 4–13 2–15 4–18
Western Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Minnesota Lynx x 27 7 .794 – 14–3 13–4 18–4
Seattle Storm x 21 13 .618 6.0 15–2 6–11 15–7
Phoenix Mercury x 19 15 .559 8.0 11–6 8–9 11–11
San Antonio Silver Stars x 18 16 .529 9.0 9–8 9–8 11–11
Los Angeles Sparks o 15 19 .441 12.0 10–7 5–12 10–12
Tulsa Shock o 3 31 .088 24.0 2–15 1–16 1–21

All-Star Game [edit]

Main article: 2011 WNBA All-Star Game

The 2011 WNBA All-Star Game was hosted by the San Antonio Silver Stars on July 23 at the AT&T Center. Coverage of the game began at 3:30pm (ET) on ABC. This marks the first time the Silver Stars have hosted the annual event. This is only the second time in league history that the showcase was played on the court of a Western Conference team.

July 23
3:30 pm EDT		 Report East 118, West 113    AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 12,540
Referees:
#4 Sue Blauch
#17 Scott Twardoski
#45 Tom Mauer		 ABC (HD)
Scoring by quarter: 33–36, 32–30, 27–26, 26–21
Pts: Cappie Pondexter (17)
Rebs: Angel McCoughtry (10)
Asts: Cappie Pondexter (7)		 Pts: Swin Cash (21)
Rebs: Swin Cash (12)
Asts: Diana Taurasi (7)

Statistic leaders [edit]

The following shows the leaders for each statistic during the 2011 regular season.

Category Player Team Statistic
Points per game Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury 21.6 PPG
Rebounds per game Tina Charles Connecticut Sun 11.0 RPG
Assists per game Lindsay Whalen Minnesota Lynx 5.9 APG
Steals per game Sancho Lyttle Atlanta Dream 2.36 SPG
Blocks per game Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky 2.00 BPG
Field goal percentage Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky 59.1% (263–445)
Three point FG percentage Jeanette Pohlen Indiana Fever 46.8% (29–62)
Free throw percentage DeWanna Bonner Phoenix Mercury 90.9% (90–99)
Points per game Team Stat Phoenix Mercury 88.97 PPG
Least points allowed Team Stat Seattle Storm 69.85 PPG
Field goal percentage Team Stat Phoenix Mercury 46.1%
Least FG% allowed Team Stat Minnesota Lynx 41.3%

Schedule [edit]

2011 WNBA preseason
2011 WNBA regular season
2011 WNBA postseason

Playoffs and Finals [edit]

Main article: 2011 WNBA Playoffs
See also: 2011 WNBA Finals
  Conference Semi-Finals
Best-of-3		 Conference Finals
Best-of-3		 WNBA Finals
Best-of-5
                           
  E1  Indiana 2  
E4  New York 1  
  E1  Indiana 1  
Eastern Conference
  E3  Atlanta 2  
E2  Connecticut 0
  E3  Atlanta 2  
    E3  Atlanta 0
  W1  Minnesota 3
  W1  Minnesota 2  
W4  San Antonio 1  
  W1  Minnesota 2
Western Conference
  W3  Phoenix 0  
W2  Seattle 1
  W3  Phoenix 2  

Season award winners [edit]

Player of the Week award [edit]

For games
played beginning		 Eastern Conference Western Conference
Player Team Player Team
June 3, 2011 Katie Douglas Indiana Fever Rebekkah Brunson Minnesota Lynx
June 13, 2011 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun Candice Dupree Phoenix Mercury
June 20, 2011 Cappie Pondexter New York Liberty Penny Taylor Phoenix Mercury
June 27, 2011 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun Swin Cash Seattle Storm
July 4, 2011 Cappie Pondexter New York Liberty Sue Bird Seattle Storm
July 11, 2011 Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky Rebekkah Brunson Minnesota Lynx
July 18, 2011 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx
July 25, 2011 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars
August 1, 2011 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx
August 8, 2011 Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury
August 15, 2011 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks
August 22, 2011 Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx
August 29, 2011 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun DeWanna Bonner Phoenix Mercury
September 5, 2011 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Katie Smith Seattle Storm

Player of the Month award [edit]

For games played Eastern Conference Western Conference
Player Team Player Team
June 2011 Tina Charles Connecticut Sun Rebekkah Brunson Minnesota Lynx
July 2011 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx
August 2011 Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky Lindsay Whalen Minnesota Lynx

Rookie of the Month award [edit]

For games played Player Team
June 2011 Danielle Adams San Antonio Silver Stars
July 2011 Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx
August 2011 Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx

Postseason awards [edit]

Award Winner Position Team Votes/Statistic
Most Valuable Player Award Tamika Catchings Forward Indiana Fever 292 out of 1,071
Finals MVP Award Seimone Augustus Guard/Forward Minnesota Lynx Unanimous
Rookie of the Year Award Maya Moore Forward Minnesota Lynx 38 out of 40
Most Improved Player Award Kia Vaughn Center New York Liberty 15 out of 40
Defensive Player of the Year Award Sylvia Fowles Center Chicago Sky 19 out of 40
Sixth Woman of the Year Award DeWanna Bonner Forward Phoenix Mercury 20 out of 40
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Sue Bird
Ruth Riley		 Guard
Center		 Seattle Storm
San Antonio Silver Stars		 8 out of 39
Peak Performer: Points Diana Taurasi Guard/Forward Phoenix Mercury 21.6 PPG
Peak Performer: Rebounds Tina Charles Center Connecticut Sun 11.0 RPG
Peak Performer: Assists Lindsay Whalen Guard Minnesota Lynx 5.9 APG
Coach of the Year Award Cheryl Reeve Coach Minnesota Lynx 36 out of 40
Team Guard Guard Forward Forward Center
All-WNBA First Team Lindsay Whalen Diana Taurasi Angel McCoughtry Tamika Catchings Tina Charles
All-WNBA Second Team Sue Bird Cappie Pondexter Penny Taylor Seimone Augustus Sylvia Fowles
All-Defensive First Team Tanisha Wright Angel McCoughtry Tamika Catchings Rebekkah Brunson Sylvia Fowles
All-Defensive Second Team Katie Douglas Armintie Price Swin Cash Sancho Lyttle Tina Charles
All-Rookie Team Courtney Vandersloot Danielle Robinson Maya Moore Danielle Adams Liz Cambage

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.wnba.com/news/2011_wnba_schedule.html
  2. ^ Playoffs 2011
  3. ^ "Adidas to introduce lighter, more advanced NBA uniforms". NBA.com. September 22, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Boost Mobile and WNBA Form First-Ever Leaguewide Marquee Sponsorship". WNBA.com. August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011. 
  5. ^ "WNBA lands Boost Mobile as top sponsor". Sports Business Journal. August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011. 

External links [edit]

Preceded by
2010 WNBA season		 WNBA seasons
2011		 Succeeded by
2012 WNBA season
Women's National Basketball Association seasons
1990s 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013
2011 WNBA season by team
Draft • Schedule • All-Star Game • Playoffs • Finals
Eastern Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics
Western Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury San Antonio Silver Stars Seattle Storm Tulsa Shock
←  2010 • WNBA season • 2012  →
Annual events: Draft · All-Star Game · Playoffs · Finals
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