The 2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

. The regular season began on May 24, and playoffs concluded on October 10. The

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded ...

won their second league championship, defeating the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real e ...

three games to none in the

2013 WNBA Finals The 2013 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2013 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Atlanta D ...

. The year represented a positive turning point for the long-struggling league. Both attendance and television viewership were up, driven by an influx of talented rookies, multiple teams reported that they were near a break-even point, and at least one franchise announced that it was profitable.

2013 WNBA Draft

The WNBA Draft lottery was held on September 26, 2012. The lottery teams were the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference ...

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

Tulsa Shock The Tulsa Shock were a professional basketball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Detroit, Michigan before the 1998 WNBA season began ...

and

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the ...

. The top pick was awarded to Phoenix Mercury. Center

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

was drafted first overall by the

TV and Internet coverage

About 70+ games were aired on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

, ABC and

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regular ...

. WNBA LiveAccess will offer complement - approximately 190 live games.

Regular season

The WNBA touted three exciting rookies --

of the

Elena Delle Donne Elena Delle Donne (born September 5, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Delle Donne played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 200 ...

of the

, and Skylar Diggins of the

—as "three to see" going into the 2013 season. Griner - a tall, athletic center who had been dominant in college—was seen as such a potential game-changer that many picked the Mercury to win the WNBA championship.How the Minnesota Lynx swept the Phoenix Mercury to advance to the 2013 WNBA Finals
/ref> It was Delle Donne, however, who turned out to have the breakout season, leading the Sky to the best record in the Eastern Conference, and their first trip to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

. Griner was hampered by injuries, but her Phoenix team finished third in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, and made it to the conference finals. The

finished with the best record in the WNBA for the third consecutive season, behind the play of

Seimone Augustus Seimone Delicia Augustus (born April 30, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overa ...

, Lindsay Whalen, and

Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greatest ...

. Joining the Sky in the playoffs were the defending WNBA champion

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

, who finished fourth after surviving a rash of injuries during the season; the

, led by league scoring champion

Angel McCoughtry Angel Lajuane McCoughtry (born September 10, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. McCoughtry compl ...

; and the

, who were hoping to win their first playoff game since 2004. The

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

finished second in the West, behind the play of league MVP

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los ...

. They lost to Phoenix in the conference semifinals. Finally, the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

surprised many by earning the final entry into the playoffs, allowing veteran and future hall-of-famer

Tina Thompson Tina Marie Thompson (born February 10, 1975) is an American former WNBA professional basketball player who served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018-2022. Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Bas ...

to retire from a playoff team.

Standings

Playoffs and Finals

The opening round of the WNBA playoffs saw a rash of road team victories. Only the

and

went unbeaten on their home floors. The

, the top overall seed in the East, were swept by the Fever, while the

lost to the top-seeded Lynx in two games. In the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

series, the road team won the first two games of the series, before Atlanta finally prevailed at home. Finally, in the matchup between the

and

, the road teams went 3-0, with Phoenix advancing. The conference finals were over quickly. Both the

and

swept their opponents, setting up a rematch of the

2011 WNBA Finals The 2011 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2011 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, swept the champion ...

. In the Finals, the Lynx once again swept the Dream, becoming the second WNBA team to sweep through the playoffs since the best-of-five finals format was adopted.

Awards

Players of the Week

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week.

Players of the Month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Rookie of the Month

The following players were named the Rookie of the Month.

Postseason awards

Coaches

Eastern Conference

: Fred Williams *

Pokey Chatman Dana "Pokey" Chatman (born June 18, 1969) is currently an assistant coach for the Seattle Storm in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Chatman is the former head coach of the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky of the WNBA. She is al ...

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

Anne Donovan Anne Theresa Donovan (November 1, 1961 – June 13, 2018) was an American women's basketball player and coach. From 2013 to 2015, she was the head coach of the Connecticut Sun. In her playing career, Donovan won a national championship with Ol ...

Lin Dunn Lin Dunn (born May 10, 1947) is an American women's basketball coach, currently general manager with the Indiana Fever. She is most known for being the first coach and general manager for the Seattle Storm. She has more than 500 wins to her name. ...

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was ...

Bill Laimbeer William J. Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Pistons. Known for his rough and violent style of play, he played a big part in the P ...

Mike Thibault Michael Francis Thibault (born September 28, 1950) is an American basketball head coach, formerly of the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA, and now of the Washington Mystics. In 2013, Thibault became the WNBA's all time most successful coach with 212 ...

Western Conference

Carol Ross Carol Ross (born June 11, 1959) is an American college and professional basketball coach. Ross has served as the head women's basketball coach for the University of Florida and the University of Mississippi, and also as the head coach of the Los ...

Cheryl Reeve Cheryl Reeve (born September 20, 1966) is an American basketball head coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Reeve has coached the Lynx to four league championships. In WNBA history, she has the highest w ...

: Corey Gaines and Russ Pennell *

San Antonio Silver Stars The San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before th ...

: Dan Hughes *

Brian Agler Brian Agler (born August 2, 1958) is an American women's professional basketball coach. He previously coached the Dallas Wings from 2019 to 2020. He also had previously been head coach of the Seattle Storm and the Los Angeles Sparks, each of whom ...

Gary Kloppenburg Gary Robert Kloppenburg (born January 6, 1953) is an American basketball coach. Early life and college career Kloppenburg was born in 1953, when his father Bob Kloppenburg was head coach at Lindsay High School in Lindsay, California. When Bob Klo ...

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:WNBA 2013 in American women's basketball 2012–13 in American basketball by league 2013–14 in American basketball by league Women's National Basketball Association seasons