2022 WNBA season
2022 WNBA season | |
---|---|
League | Women's National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | May 6 – September 18 |
Number of games | 36 |
Number of teams | 12 |
Total attendance | 1,215,359 |
Average attendance | 5,679 |
TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2,[1] CBS, CBSSN, NBA TV[2] |
Top draft pick | Rhyne Howard |
Picked by | Atlanta Dream |
Season MVP | A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas) |
Finals champions | Las Vegas Aces |
Runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
Finals MVP | Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas) |
The 2022 WNBA season was the 26th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Chicago Sky were the defending champions.
The WNBA's second Commissioner's Cup took place during the regular season, with the Las Vegas Aces winning over the Sky.[3] In the playoffs, the Aces were the first seed and won the Finals over the Connecticut Sun.
The regular season was expanded to 36 games per team, is the most games scheduled in a single WNBA season.[4] A 36-game season was originally scheduled for 2020, but the plan was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] This season also marked the return of an all-series playoffs, which was last used in 2015, instead of the prior schedule of two rounds of single-elimination games and byes for the higher seeded teams. The first round series used a 2–1 format, with the higher seed hosting the first two games (differing from the 1–1–1 format used up to 2015). The semifinals and finals remained best-of-five series.[6] The playoffs began on August 17 and concluded on September 18.[7]
In May 2022, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that during this upcoming season, the league would honor the Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner with a “BG42” floor decal in a notable spot on the court of all 12 teams. The Mercury center has been detained in Russia since February 2022 after customs officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage at an airport.[8] The "BG42" floor decal was also prominently found on the Mercury's parent team, the Phoenix Suns, during the rest of the year after she was detained in Russia.
Contents
2022 WNBA draft
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The Washington Mystics won the first pick in the 2022 WNBA draft in the draft lottery. They were followed by the Indiana Fever for second, Atlanta Dream for third, and Los Angeles Sparks for fourth. The Sparks had traded their pick to the Dallas Wings before the lottery,[9] who subsequently sent the pick to the Fever in a trade that helped Dallas secure Teaira McCowan.[10] As part of a three-team trade, Washington and Atlanta swapped lottery picks, resulting in each team receiving 2022's third and first picks respectively.[11] The Fever ended up with four top-10 picks, and seven overall.
Lottery picks
Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | School / club team |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rhyne Howard | United States | Atlanta Dream (from Washington)[lower-alpha 1] | Kentucky |
2 | NaLyssa Smith | United States | Indiana Fever | Baylor |
3 | Shakira Austin | United States | Washington Mystics (from Atlanta)[lower-alpha 1] | Ole Miss |
4 | Emily Engstler | United States | Indiana Fever (from Los Angeles via Dallas)[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] | Louisville |
Media coverage
In March 2022, the league announced plans to feature the broadcasts of nine regular season games on ABC, five on ESPN, and ten on ESPN2—totaling 25 games, including the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game. The league also revealed that those same channels will air the entire 2022 postseason, which could consist of as many as 27 games.[1]
The remaining national broadcast schedule was released in April and May 2022—including two regular season games on CBS and 38 on CBS Sports Network, 46 on NBA TV, 16 on Amazon Prime Video, 20 on Facebook Watch, and 12 on Twitter.[2][12] Prime Video also streamed the 2022 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Final.[13]
Transactions
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The free agency negotiation period started on January 15, while players could sign to a team as soon as February 1.[4]
Coaching changes
Off-season | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 2021 season | 2022 season | Reference | ||||
Atlanta Dream | Darius Taylor (interim) | Tanisha Wright | [14] | ||||
Las Vegas Aces | Bill Laimbeer | Becky Hammon | [15] | ||||
New York Liberty | Walt Hopkins | Sandy Brondello | [16] | ||||
Phoenix Mercury | Sandy Brondello | Vanessa Nygaard | [17] | Mid-season | |||
Team | Departing Coach | New Coach | Reference | ||||
Indiana Fever | Marianne Stanley | Carlos Knox | [18] | ||||
Los Angeles Sparks | Derek Fisher | Fred Williams | [19] |
Regular season
All-Star Game
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July 10, 2022
1:00 p.m. ET |
Team Wilson 134, Team Stewart 112 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 23–28, 36–11, 33–38, 42–35 | ||
Pts: Kelsey Plum (30) Rebs: Sylvia Fowles (9) Asts: Courtney Vandersloot (8) |
Pts: Jonquel Jones (29) Rebs: Jonquel Jones (13) Asts: Sue Bird/Skylar Diggins-Smith (6) |
Standings
# |
Team
|
W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Schedule
Note: Games highlighted in ██ represent Commissioner’s Cup games.
All times Eastern
Statistical leaders
The following shows the leaders in each statistical category during the 2022 regular season through games played on August 14, 2022.[20][21][22]
Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | 21.8 ppg |
Rebounds per game | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | 9.8 rpg |
Assists per game | Natasha Cloud | Washington Mystics | 7.0 apg |
Steals per game | Brittney Sykes | Los Angeles Sparks | 2.0 spg |
Blocks per game | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | 1.9 bpg |
Field goal percentage | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | 62.2% |
Three point FG percentage | Moriah Jefferson | Minnesota Lynx | 47.4% |
Free throw percentage | Allie Quigley | Chicago Sky | 95.0% |
Points per game (team) | Las Vegas Aces | 90.4 ppg | |
Field goal percentage (team) | Chicago Sky | 48.1% |
Playoffs and Finals
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Round One: Best-of-3 |
Semifinals: Best-of-5 |
Finals: Best-of-5 |
||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | ||||||||||||
8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | ||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||
4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | ||||||||||||
4 | Seattle Storm | 2 | ||||||||||||
5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | ||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||
3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 | ||||||||||||
2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | ||||||||||||
7 | New York Liberty | 1 | ||||||||||||
2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | ||||||||||||
3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | ||||||||||||
3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | ||||||||||||
6 | Dallas Wings | 1 | ||||||||||||
Bold Series winner
Season award winners
Player of the Week Award
Date Awarded | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
May 16 | Rhyne Howard | Atlanta | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas | [23] |
May 23 | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut | Jackie Young | Las Vegas | [24] |
May 31 | Kelsey Mitchell | Indiana | A'ja Wilson (2) | Las Vegas | [25] |
June 6 | Jonquel Jones | Connecticut | Kelsey Plum | Las Vegas | [26] |
June 13 | Sabrina Ionescu | New York | Breanna Stewart | Seattle | [27] |
June 21 | Kahleah Copper | Chicago | A'ja Wilson (3) | Las Vegas | [28] |
June 27 | Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles | [29] |
July 8 | Sabrina Ionescu (2) | New York | Aerial Powers | Minnesota | [30] |
July 18 | Elena Delle Donne | Washington | Skylar Diggins-Smith | Phoenix | [31] |
July 25 | Alyssa Thomas (2) | Connecticut | A'ja Wilson (4) | Las Vegas | [32] |
August 1 | Courtney Vandersloot (2) | Chicago | Kelsey Plum (2) | Las Vegas | [33] |
August 8 | Sabrina Ionescu (3) | New York | Teaira McCowan | Dallas | [34] |
August 15 | Sabrina Ionescu (4) | New York | A'ja Wilson (5) | Las Vegas | [35] |
Player of the Month Award
Month | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | Reference | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | ||
May | Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut | A'ja Wilson | Las Vegas | [36] |
June | Sabrina Ionescu | New York | Breanna Stewart | Seattle | [37] |
July | Alyssa Thomas (2) | Connecticut | A'ja Wilson (2) | Las Vegas | [38] |
August | Sabrina Ionescu (2) | New York | Teaira McCowan | Dallas | [39] |
Rookie of the Month Award
Month | Player | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
May | Rhyne Howard | Atlanta | [40] |
June | Rhyne Howard (2) | Atlanta | [41] |
July | Rhyne Howard (3) | Atlanta | [42] |
August | Rhyne Howard (4) | Atlanta | [43] |
Coach of the Month Award
Month | Coach | Team | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
May | Becky Hammon | Las Vegas | [44] |
June | James Wade | Chicago | [45] |
July | James Wade (2) | Chicago | [46] |
August | Vickie Johnson | Dallas | [47] |
Postseason awards
Award | Winner | Position | Team | Votes/Statistic | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Most Valuable Player Award | A'ja Wilson | Forward | Las Vegas | 31 of 56 votes[48] | |
Finals MVP Award | Chelsea Gray | Guard | Las Vegas | ||
Rookie of the Year Award | Rhyne Howard | Guard | Atlanta | 53 of 56 votes[49] | |
Most Improved Player Award | Jackie Young | Guard | Las Vegas | 32 of 56 votes[50] | |
Defensive Player of the Year Award | A'ja Wilson | Forward | Las Vegas | 20 of 56 votes[51] | |
Sixth Player of the Year Award | Brionna Jones | Forward | Connecticut | 53 of 56 votes[52] | |
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Sylvia Fowles | Center | Minnesota | 36 of 56 votes[53] | |
Peak Performer: Points | Breanna Stewart | Forward | Seattle | 21.8 ppg | |
Peak Performer: Rebounds | Sylvia Fowles | Center | Minnesota | 9.8 rpg | |
Peak Performer: Assists | Natasha Cloud | Guard | Washington | 7.0 apg | |
Coach of the Year Award | Becky Hammon | Head Coach | Las Vegas | 27 of 56 votes[54] | |
Basketball Executive of the Year Award | James Wade | Head Coach | Chicago | 11 votes[55] | |
Team | Members | ||||
All-WNBA First Team[56] | A'ja Wilson | Breanna Stewart | Kelsey Plum | Skylar Diggins-Smith | Candace Parker |
All-WNBA Second Team | Alyssa Thomas | Sabrina Ionescu | Nneka Ogwumike | Jonquel Jones | Sylvia Fowles |
All-Defensive First Team[57] | Natasha Cloud (G) | Ariel Atkins (G) | A'ja Wilson (F) | Breanna Stewart (F) | Sylvia Fowles (C) |
All-Defensive Second Team[58] | Brittney Sykes (G) | Gabby Williams (F) | Alyssa Thomas (F) | Jonquel Jones (F) | Ezi Magbegor (C) |
All-Rookie Team[59] | Rhyne Howard | NaLyssa Smith | Shakira Austin | Queen Egbo | Rebekah Gardner |
Coaches
Eastern Conference
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta Dream | Tanisha Wright | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Chicago Sky | James Wade | UMMC Ekaterinburg (assistant) | 3 | 48–40 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Connecticut Sun | Curt Miller | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) | 6 | 111–75 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
Indiana Fever | Marianne Stanley | Washington Mystics (assistant) | 2 | 12–42 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New York Liberty | Sandy Brondello | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Washington Mystics | Mike Thibault | Connecticut Sun | 9 | 151–147 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
Western Conference
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years with team | Record with team | Playoff Appearances | Finals Appearances | WNBA Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dallas Wings | Vickie Johnson | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) | 1 | 14–18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Las Vegas Aces | Becky Hammon | San Antonio Spurs (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Los Angeles Sparks | Derek Fisher | New York Knicks | 3 | 49–39 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Minnesota Lynx | Cheryl Reeve | Detroit Shock (assistant) | 12 | 267–127 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
Phoenix Mercury | Vanessa Nygaard | Las Vegas Aces (assistant) | 0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Seattle Storm | Noelle Quinn | Seattle Storm (associate head coach) | 1 | 16–10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- Year with team does not include 2022 season.
- Records are from time at current team and are through the end of the 2021 regular season.
- Playoff appearances are from time at current team only.
- WNBA Finals and Championships do not include time with other teams.
- Coaches shown are the coaches who began the 2022 season as head coach of each team.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 April 6, 2022: Washington to Atlanta[11]
- Atlanta acquired the #1 Overall Pick in 2022
- Washington acquired the #3 Overall Pick in 2022, the #14 Pick in 2022, and the right to swap picks with Los Angeles in 2023
- ↑ March 8, 2022: Dallas to Indiana[10]
- Dallas acquired Teaira McCowan, a 2022 first-round pick, and Chicago's 2023 first-round pick
- Indiana acquired 2022 first-round picks and a 2023 first-round pick
- ↑ June 2, 2021: Los Angeles to Dallas[9]
- Los Angeles acquired 2021 first-round and 2022 second-round picks
- Dallas acquired a 2022 first-round pick
References
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