2018 WNBA season
| 2018 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 18 – September 12, 2018 |
| Games | 34 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Average attendance | 6,721[1] |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, NBA TV |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  A'ja Wilson |
| Picked by | Las Vegas Aces |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Atlanta Dream |
| Season MVP | Breanna Stewart (Seattle) |
| Top scorer |  Liz Cambage (Dallas) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Seattle Storm |
| Runners-up | Washington Mystics |
| Finals MVP | Breanna Stewart (Seattle) |
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Minnesota Lynx are the defending champions. The regular season began on May 18, with the Phoenix Mercury hosting the Dallas Wings. The season ended with the Seattle Storm defeating the Washington Mystics 3-0 in the WNBA Finals. This was the third championship for the Storm. Seattle's Breanna Stewart was named regular season and finals MVP.
Draft
[edit]The Las Vegas Aces selected A'ja Wilson first in the 2018 WNBA Draft.[2] The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (Round 1 on ESPN2, Rounds 2 and 3 on ESPNU).
Retirement
[edit]- On August 21, 2017, Plenette Pierson announced her retirement at the conclusion of the 2017 season. Pierson played 15 seasons and won three championships with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx.[3]
- On February 3, 2018, Jia Perkins announced her retirement from the WNBA. Perkins played 14 seasons and won one championship with the Minnesota Lynx.[4]
Free agency
[edit]Free agency negotiations began on February 1.
Coaching changes
[edit]| Off-season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 2017 season | 2018 season |
| Seattle Storm | Gary Kloppenburg | Dan Hughes |
| New York Liberty | Bill Laimbeer | Katie Smith |
| Las Vegas Aces | Vickie Johnson | Bill Laimbeer |
| Atlanta Dream | Michael Cooper | Nicki Collen |
| Mid-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Dallas Wings | Fred Williams | Taj McWilliams-Franklin |
Transactions
[edit]Arena changes
[edit]In addition to the relocated Las Vegas Aces, two other teams announced permanent moves to new arenas for the 2018 season.
- The Chicago Sky moved from Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont, Illinois to the newly opened Wintrust Arena at the McCormick Place exhibition center on Chicago's Near South Side. The move was initially announced by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, owner and operator of McCormick Place, on July 25, 2017.[5] The Sky did not make their formal announcement until February 2, 2018.[6]
- The New York Liberty announced on February 8, 2018 that they would move their primary home from Madison Square Garden, where they had played since the league's first season in 1997, to the Westchester County Center in suburban White Plains, New York. The team planned to play 15 of its 17 home games in White Plains, with the remaining two at the Garden.[7]
Regular season
[edit]All-Star Game
[edit]The 2018 WNBA All-Star Game was hosted by the Minnesota Lynx on July 28 at the Target Center. Coverage of the game began at 3:30pm. This is the first time the Lynx have hosted the annual event. This season a new selection format was used. Fans, coaches, media and players would all vote for players to be selected to the All-Star Game. The top 22 players receiving votes based on this weighting were selected to the All-Star Game. There was not a restriction on number of players from one conference. The top 2 vote getters were captains of the two All-Star teams and selected their teams from the pool of the remaining 20 players. The 22 All-Stars were revealed on July 17, 2018. The rosters were revealed on July 19, 2018.[8]
July 28 3:30pm |
| Team Delle Donne 112, Team Parker 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–31, 23–23, 34–24, 35–34 | ||
| Pts: Moore, Quigley 18 Rebs: Four players 8 Asts: Diggins-Smith 8 |
Pts: Toliver 23 Rebs: Three players 6 Asts: Bird 8 | |
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 15,922 Referees: Maj Forsberg Janetta Graham Jeff Wooten |
Standings
[edit]Source:[9]
| # | Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta Dream (2) | 23 | 11 | .676 | – | 13–4 | 10–7 | 12–4 |
| 2 | Washington Mystics (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | 1 | 12–5 | 10–7 | 12–4 |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun (4) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 2 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 9–7 |
| 4 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 21 | .382 | 10 | 7–10 | 6–11 | 6–10 |
| 5 | e – New York Liberty | 7 | 27 | .206 | 16 | 4–13 | 3–14 | 6–10 |
| 6 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 28 | .176 | 17 | 2–15 | 4–13 | 3–13 |
| # | Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Storm (1) | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 13–4 | 13–4 | 11–5 |
| 2 | Phoenix Mercury (5) | 20 | 14 | .588 | 6 | 9–8 | 11–6 | 8–8 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Sparks (6) | 19 | 15 | .559 | 7 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 9–7 |
| 4 | Minnesota Lynx (7) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8 | 9–8 | 9–8 | 9–7 |
| 5 | Dallas Wings (8) | 15 | 19 | .441 | 11 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 7–9 |
| 6 | e –Las Vegas Aces | 14 | 20 | .412 | 12 | 8–9 | 6–11 | 4–12 |
Notes
- (#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name
- x – Qualified for playoffs
- e – Eliminated from playoffs
Statistic leaders
[edit]The following shows the leaders for each statistic during the 2018 regular season.[10]
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Liz Cambage | Dallas Wings | 23.0 PPG |
| Rebounds per game | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | 11.9 RPG |
| Assists per game | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | 8.6 APG |
| Steals per game | Maya Moore | Minnesota Lynx | 1.7 SPG |
| Blocks per game | Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | 2.6 BPG |
| Field goal percentage | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | 61.9% (237–383) |
| Three point FG percentage | Briann January | Phoenix Mercury | 47.0% (77–182) |
| Free throw percentage | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | 92.5% (172–186) |
| Points per game | Team Stat | Connecticut Sun | 87.6 PPG |
| Field goal percentage | Team Stat | Seattle Storm | 46.8% |