The 2014 WNBA season was the 18th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season started in May and concluded in September to accommodate the 2014 Women's World Championship.
Notable occurrences The New York Liberty returned to the renovated Madison Square Garden after three years of playing at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Indiana Fever head coach Lin Dunn announced her retirement on May 8; effective at the end of the season.
Draft
On December 12, 2013, the 2014 WNBA Draft Lottery took place. The Connecticut Sun, who had a league-worst record of 10-24 last season, won the draft lottery and had the right to pick first in the 2014 draft. In the draft, held on April 14, the Sun made Chiney Ogwumike of Stanford University the top pick.
Media coverage Games aired on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC and NBA TV. The Washington Mystics made history in May 2014 when they debuted Kiswe Mobile's Mystics Live and became the first U.S. professional sports team to stream live games within the venue via a mobile application.
Regular season The timing of the 2014 WNBA schedule and the draft were not finalized at its normal timeframe, as the league and players were negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement during the 2013 season.Open Thread: WNBA Finals Game 1 and NFL Sunday Night Football at 8:30 PM ET The previous agreement expired during the 2013 WNBA Finals and a new CBA was reached on February 17, 2014.
On February 6, 2014, the 2014 regular season schedule was announced. The regular season schedule began on May 16 and concluded on August 17.
It was announced on January 22 that the 2014 WNBA All-Star Game would take place on July 19 at 3:00 PM EDT in Phoenix, Arizona.
Standings Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Playoffs
Awards Reference:
Individual Award Winner Team Position Votes/Statistic Most Valuable Player (MVP) Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx Forward 35 out of 38 Finals MVP Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury Guard Rookie of the Year Chiney Ogwumike Connecticut Sun Forward 23 out of 38 Most Improved Player Skylar Diggins Tulsa Shock Guard 29 out of 38 Defensive Player of the Year Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury Center 31 out of 38 Sixth Woman of the Year Allie Quigley Chicago Sky Guard 26 out of 38 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Becky Hammon San Antonio Stars Guard 24 out of 37 Peak PerformersScoring Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx Forward 23.9 PPGRebounding Courtney Paris Tulsa Shock Center 10.2 RPGAssists Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury Guard 5.6 APG Coach of the Year Sandy Brondello Phoenix Mercury Coach 33 out of 38
Team Award Guard Guard Forward Forward Center All-WNBA First Team Skylar Diggins Diana Taurasi Maya Moore Candace Parker Brittney Griner Second Team Danielle Robinson Seimone Augustus Angel McCoughtry Nneka Ogwumike Tina Charles Lindsay Whalen All-Defensive First Team Briann January Tanisha Wright Angel McCoughtry Sancho Lyttle Brittney Griner Second Team Danielle Robinson Alana Beard Maya Moore Tamika Catchings Sylvia Fowles All-Rookie Team Odyssey Sims Bria Hartley Kayla McBride Alyssa Thomas Chiney Ogwumike
Players of the Week Week ending Eastern Conference Western Conference Player Team Player Team May 25 Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx June 1 Briann January Indiana Fever Lindsay Whalen June 8 Erika de Souza Atlanta Dream Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury June 15 Alex Bentley Connecticut Sun Skylar Diggins Tulsa Shock June 22 Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury June 29 Sancho Lyttle Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks July 6 Tina Charles New York Liberty Diana Taurasi (2) Phoenix Mercury July 13 Angel McCoughtry (2) Atlanta Dream Maya Moore (5) Minnesota Lynx July 18 Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever July 27 Ivory Latta Washington Mystics August 3 Tina Charles (2) New York Liberty August 10 Allie Quigley Chicago Sky Brittney Griner (2) Phoenix Mercury August 17 Shoni Schimmel Atlanta Dream Kristi Toliver Los Angeles Sparks
Players of the Month MonthEastern ConferenceWestern Conference PlayerTeamPlayerTeam May Elena Delle Donne Chicago Sky Maya Moore Minnesota Lynx June Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury July Tina Charles New York Liberty Maya Moore (3) Minnesota Lynx August Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever
Rookies of the Month MonthPlayerTeam May Chiney Ogwumike (2) Connecticut Sun June July Odyssey Sims (2) Tulsa Shock August
Coaches Eastern Conference Atlanta Dream: Michael Cooper Chicago Sky: Pokey Chatman Connecticut Sun: Anne Donovan Indiana Fever: Lin Dunn New York Liberty: Bill Laimbeer Washington Mystics: Mike Thibault
Western Conference Los Angeles Sparks: Carol Ross and Penny Toler Minnesota Lynx: Cheryl Reeve Phoenix Mercury: Sandy Brondello San Antonio Stars: Dan Hughes Seattle Storm: Jenny Boucek Tulsa Shock: Fred Williams
See also WNBA WNBA draft WNBA All-Star Game WNBA Playoffs WNBA Finals
References