The 2009 WNBA season was the 12th for the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association in the United States. The Shock attempted to win the WNBA Finals, tying the record for most championships with the Houston Comets (4 but failed in the conference finals. On June 15, 2009, head coach Bill Laimbeer resigned as head coach of the Detroit Shock, due to family reasons and the desire to become an NBA head coach. Though he was unable to secure an NBA head coaching position, ESPN reported on August 30 that Laimbeer was offered, and accepted, an assistant coach position with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Shock is able to overcome the early struggles, and in 2008 championship Detroit Shock reached the playoffs in its seventh straight year. It was their final year in Detroit, as the Shock were purchased by Tulsa Hoops, and new ownership moved the team to Tulsa for 2010.
Offseason
Dispersal Draft Based on the Shock's 2008 record, they could have picked 11th in the Houston Comets dispersal draft. However, the Shock waived their pick.
WNBA draft The following are the Shock's selections in the 2009 WNBA draft. Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country 1 11 Shavonte Zellous Pittsburgh 2 18 (from Phx. via Atl.) Britany Miller Florida State 3 37 Tanae Davis-Cain Florida State
Transactions August 18: The Shock signed Nikki Teasley after Barbara Farris' seven-day contract expired. August 17: The Shock acquired Crystal Kelly from the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Kristin Haynie. August 4: The Shock signed Barbara Farris after Anna DeForge's seven-day contract expired. July 27: The Shock signed Anna DeForge. July 23: The Shock waived Anna DeForge. July 10: The Shock signed Anna DeForge. July 6: The Shock waived Barbara Farris. June 28: The Shock terminated the replacement contract of Sherill Baker. June 26: The Shock signed Sherill Baker to a replacement contract. June 18: The Shock terminated the replacement contract of Kelly Schumacher due to the return of Cheryl Ford. June 15: The Shock announced the resignation of Bill Laimbeer. Assistant coach Rick Mahorn was promoted to head coach, while assistant coach Cheryl Reeve took over general management duties. June 10: The Shock terminated Britany Miller's replacement contract and signed Kelly Schumacher to a replacement contract. June 8: The Shock signed Britany Miller to a replacement contract. June 3: The Shock waived Kristen Rasmussen, Tiera DeLaHoussaye, Britany Miller, and Sequoia Holmes. May 28: The Shock signed Barbara Farris. May 27: The Shock waived Tanae Davis-Cain. May 18: The Shock signed Kristen Rasmussen and Sequoia Holmes. April 22: The Shock signed Kristin Haynie. April 16: The Shock signed Tiera DeLaHoussaye to a training camp contract. April 9: The Shock traded Ashley Shields to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the 18th pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft. January 30: The Shock signed Ashley Shields to a training-camp contract. January 9: The Shock re-signed free agent Kara Braxton. August 19, 2008: The Shock signed Taj McWilliams-Franklin to a one-year extension. August 12, 2008: The Shock traded their second-round 2009 WNBA Draft pick to the Washington Mystics as part of the Taj McWilliams-Franklin acquisition. WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA Transactions
DateTradeApril 9, 2009To Detroit ShockTo Atlanta Dream 18th pick in 2009 Draft Ashley Shields
Free agents
Additions
PlayerSignedFormer team Taj McWilliams-Franklin August 19, 2008 re-signed Kara Braxton January 9, 2009 re-signed Kristin Haynie April 22, 2009 Atlanta Dream Crystal Kelly August 17, 2009 Sacramento Monarchs Nikki Teasley August 18, 2009 free agent
Subtractions PlayerLeftNew team Ashley Shields April 9, 2009 free agent Tanae Davis-Cain May 27, 2009 free agent Britany Miller June 3, 2009 free agent Kristin Haynie August 17, 2009 Sacramento Monarchs Sheri Sam 2009 free agent Elaine Powell 2009 free agent Kelly Schumacher 2009 free agent
Roster
Season standings
Schedule
Preseason
|- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || May 22 || 7:30pm || @ Chicago || 67-71 || Hornbuckle (14) || Miller (10) || DeLaHoussaye (5) || UIC Pavilion 3,283 || 0-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || May 27 || 11:00am || Chicago || 78-68 || Zellous (18) || Zellous (8) || Smith (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 3,952 || 1-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 3 || May 30 || 7:00pm || San Antonio || 62-55 || Zellous (13) || Sanni (6) || Hornbuckle (3) || Traverse City West H.S. 2,109 || 2-1
Regular season
|- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 1 || June 6 || 2:30pm || @ Los Angeles || ABC || 58-78 || Nolan (15) || Smith (7) || McWilliams (4) || STAPLES Center 13,154 || 0-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || June 8 || 7:30pm || Los Angeles || || 81-52 || Nolan (27) || Hornbuckle, McWilliams (7) || Haynie, Hornbuckle, Smith (3) || Palace of Auburn Hills 13,915 || 1-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 3 || June 10 || 7:30pm || Washington || || 69-75 || Smith, McWilliams (14) || Sanni, Zellous (7) || Nolan (6) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,329 || 1-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 4 || June 19 || 7:30pm || Indiana || || 54-66 || Nolan (13) || Hornbuckle, McWilliams (10) || Hornbuckle, Nolan, Smith (2) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,725 || 1-3 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 5 || June 21 || 6:00pm || @ Indiana || NBA TVFSI || 70-82 || Nolan (16) || Nolan (8) || Nolan (6) || Conseco Fieldhouse 7,610 || 1-4 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 6 || June 26 || 7:30pm || @ Atlanta || || 86-96 || Zellous (25) || McWilliams (9) || McWilliams, Nolan (2) || Philips Arena 5,935 || 1-5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 7 || June 28 || 6:00pm || Sacramento || || 86-72 || Zellous (18) || Ford (8) || McWilliams, Smith (3) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,277 || 2-5
|- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 8 || July 2 || 7:30pm || @ New York || MSG || 64-80 || Ford (13) || Ford, Hornbuckle (10) || Smith (5) || Madison Square Garden 8,018 || 2-6 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 9 || July 5 || 6:00pm || Connecticut || || 92-95 (OT) || Smith (28) || Hornbuckle (12) || McWilliams (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 6,981 || 2-7 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 10 || July 11 || 7:00pm || @ Connecticut || NBA TVWCTX || 79-77 (OT) || Smith (25) || Braxton (13) || Smith (3) || Mohegan Sun Arena 6,342 || 3-7 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 11 || July 15 || 10:00pm || @ Seattle || NBA TVFSN-NW || 66-62 || Smith (19) || Ford (8) || Nolan (7) || KeyArena 6,821 || 4-7 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 12 || July 18 || 10:00pm || @ Phoenix || || 90-97 || Smith (21) || McWilliams (12) || Smith (5) || US Airways Center 8,288 || 4-8 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 13 || July 19 || 9:00pm || @ Sacramento || || 69-65 || McWilliams (21) || McWilliams (12) || Braxton, Nolan, Smith, Zellous (3) || ARCO Arena 7,538 || 5-8 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 14 || July 22 || 12:00pm || Atlanta || || 95-98 (OT) || Braxton (25) || Braxton (12) || Nolan (9) || Palace of Auburn Hills 14,439 || 5-9 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 15 || July 31 || 7:30pm || Minnesota || || 91-83 || Nolan (22) || Ford (9) || McWilliams, Nolan (9) || Palace of Auburn Hills 9,314 || 6-9
|- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 16 || August 2 || 6:00pm|| Connecticut || || 65-83 || Nolan (20) || Ford (9) || Nolan (4) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,814 || 6-10 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 17 || August 4 || 7:30pm || New York || ESPN2 || 76-64 || Nolan (26) || Nolan (14) || McWilliams, Nolan, Smith (4) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,081 || 7-10 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 18 || August 7 || 7:00pm || @ Washington || || 66-70 || Braxton (14) || McWilliams (7) || Nolan (6) || Verizon Center 10,637 || 7-11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 19 || August 9 || 6:00pm || Chicago || || 64-58 || Zellous (19) || McWilliams (12) || Smith (4) || Palace of Auburn Hills 6,893 || 8-11 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 20 || August 11 || 7:00pm || @ Washington || || 81-77 || Nolan (23) || McWilliams (13) || McWilliams, Zellous (4) || Verizon Center 10,398 || 9-11 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 21 || August 13 || 7:30pm || @ Atlanta || || 75-80 || Nolan (20) || McWilliams (10) || McWilliams (5) || Philips Arena 5,641 || 9-12 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 22 || August 15 || 7:00pm || @ Indiana || || 59-82 || Zellous (16) || Braxton (10) || McWilliams, Zellous (3) || Conseco Fieldhouse 9,963 || 9-13 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 23 || August 18 || 7:30pm || Seattle || || 75-79 || Nolan (29) || McWilliams (8) || Smith (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,392 || 9-14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 24 || August 22 || 8:00pm || @ Chicago || || 76-67 || Smith (10) || Ford (9) || 4 players (4) || UIC Pavilion 5,167 || 10-14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 25 || August 23 || 6:00pm || San Antonio || || 99-87 || Smith (31) || McWilliams, Nolan (7) || Hornbuckle (7) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,130 || 11-14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 26 || August 25 || 7:00pm || @ Connecticut || || 90-70 || Smith (19) || Kelly (8) || Zellous (5) || Mohegan Sun Arena 6,811 || 12-14 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 27 || August 27 || 7:30pm || Atlanta || || 87-83 || Nolan (29) || Ford (12) || Hornbuckle (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 5,695 || 13-14 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 28 || August 29 || 3:00pm || @ San Antonio || ESPN2 || 88-100 (OT) || Nolan (34) || Braxton (7) || Teasley (5) || AT&T Center 7,735 || 13-15
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 29 || September 1 || 7:30pm || Phoenix || || 101-99 || Ford (22) || Ford (11) || Teasley, Zellous (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 5,239 || 14-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 30 || September 4 || 7:30pm || Indiana || || 70-63 (OT) || Nolan (22) || Ford (12) || Nolan (4) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,230 || 15-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 31 || September 6 || 6:00pm || Chicago || || 84-75 || Nolan (19) || Nolan (8) || Braxton, Hornbuckle, Nolan (4) || Palace of Auburn Hills 6,619 || 16-15 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 32 || September 9 || 8:00pm || @ Minnesota || || 72-75 || Ford (16) || Ford (12) || Ford, Teasley, Zellous (4) || Target Center 7,423 || 16-16 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 33 || September 10 || 7:30pm || New York || NBA TVMSG || 94-87 (OT) || Nolan (34) || Braxton, McWilliams (8) || Hornbuckle, Zellous (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 8,178 || 17-16 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 34 || September 12 || 8:00pm || @ Chicago || || 80-69 || Zellous (20) || McWilliams (10) || Nolan, Zellous (4) || UIC Pavilion 5,334 || 18-16
| All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess
Postseason
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || September 16 || 8:00pm || Atlanta || ESPN2 || 94-89 || Nolan (25) || Ford (10) || Hornbuckle (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 6,122 || 1-0 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || September 18 || 7:30pm || @ Atlanta || NBA TV || 94-79 || Nolan (22) || Braxton, Hornbuckle (8) || Braxton, Nolan (5) || Gwinnett Arena 4,780 || 2-0
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || September 23 || 8:00pm || Indiana || ESPN2 || 72-56 || Zellous (23) || Braxton, Ford (9) || Zellous (5) || Palace of Auburn Hills 7,214 || 1-0 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 2 || September 25 || 7:00pm || @ Indiana || NBA TV || 75-79 || Nolan (23) || Ford (13) || Hornbuckle, Nolan, Zellous (3) || Conseco Fieldhouse 9,210 || 1-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 3 || September 26 || 7:00pm || @ Indiana || NBA TV || 67-72 || Nolan (16) || Ford (11) || Hornbuckle, McWilliams, Nolan (4) || Conseco Fieldhouse 18,165 || 1-2
Regular season statistics
Player statistics