2001 WNBA Championship

2001 WNBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Los Angeles Sparks Michael Cooper 2 Charlotte Sting Anne Donovan 0
Dates:	August 30-September 1
MVP:	Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks)
Television:	NBC
Referees:
Game 1: Barlow, Price, Zielinski
Game 2: Broderick, Corteau, Trammell
East Finals:	Charlotte defeated New York, 2–1
West Finals:	Los Angeles defeated Sacramento, 2–1
WNBA Finals ← 2000 2002 →

The 2001 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2001 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Charlotte Sting, fourth-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' first title.

The Sparks made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sting also made their first Finals appearance.

Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had ever won a WNBA championship (1997-2000).

The Sparks had a 28-4 record (.875), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Sting (18-14). It did not matter, however, as the Sparks swept the Sting.

Road to the finals

Regular season series

The Sparks won the regular season series:

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

Game 2

Awards

• 2001 WNBA Champion: Los Angeles Sparks
• Finals MVP: Lisa Leslie

Rosters

2001 Los Angeles Sparks Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From 4.0 !F 00 USA ! Byears, Latasha 7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 206 lb (93 kg) DePaul 1.5 !G 21 USA ! Dixon, Tamecka 7000175260000000000♠5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 148 lb (67 kg) Kansas 1.5 !G 5 USA ! Figgs, Ukari 7000175260000000000♠5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 142 lb (64 kg) Purdue 4.0 !F 17 Croatia ! Grgin-Fonseca, Vedrana 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Croatia 6.0 !C 9 USA ! Leslie, Lisa 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Southern California 1.5 !G 40 USA ! Levandusky, Nicole 7000172720000000000♠5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Xavier 4.0 !F 4 Democratic Republic of the Congo ! Mabika, Mwadi 7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Democratic Republic of the Congo 6.0 !C 51 USA ! Mapp, Rhonda 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) North Carolina State 1.5 !G 10 USA ! McCrimmon, Nikki 7000172720000000000♠5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 125 lb (57 kg) Southern California 4.0 !F 8 USA ! Milton, Delisha 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Florida 1.5 !G 20 USA ! Willits, Wendy 7000170180000000000♠5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 141 lb (64 kg) Arkansas	Head coach Michael Cooper (New Mexico) Assistant coaches Glenn McDonald Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

2001 Charlotte Sting Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From 1.5 !G 20 USA ! Anderson, Keisha 7000170180000000000♠5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 125 lb (57 kg) Wisconsin 1.5 !G 13 USA ! Edwards, Tonya 7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Tennessee 4.0 !F 7 USA ! Enis, Shalonda 7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Alabama 6.0 !C 3 USA ! Erb, Summer 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) North Carolina State 4.0 !F 21 USA ! Feaster, Allison 7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Harvard University 6.0 !C 33 Mozambique ! Machanguana, Clarisse 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Old Dominion 1.5 !G 8 USA ! Miller, Kelly 7000175260000000000♠5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 144 lb (65 kg) Georgia 4.0 !F 23 USA ! Smith, Charlotte 7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 148 lb (67 kg) North Carolina 1.5 !G 5 USA ! Staley, Dawn 7000167640000000000♠5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 134 lb (61 kg) Virginia 1.5 !G 32 USA ! Stinson, Andrea 7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 158 lb (72 kg) North Carolina State 6.0 !C 55 CAN ! Sutton-Brown, Tammy 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Rutgers	Head coach Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) Assistant coaches Trudi Lacey Cheryl Reeve Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

External links