The 2000 Houston Comets have long been the standard as the best WNBA championship team. But with Las Vegas running it back, is there a new No. 1?
We first ranked the WNBA championship teams before the 2021 Finals, and the top team came from the Comets dynasty: Houston's 2000 squad.
ESPN's Kevin Pelton ranked the former champs 1 through 27 using a similar statistical model to the one he developed toPelton then added playoff point differential and adjusted it for the regular-season performance of the opponents each team faced en route to the title to give more credit for beating another powerful opponent than a lesser competitor.
Candace Parker, a free-agent signee who was expected to be a big part of the Aces' 2023 title run, was sidelined by foot surgery in July. The Aces also lost starters Gray and Kiah Stokes before Game 4 and still won the title, illustrating how good the chemistry is for the team. The Las Vegas bench -- led by Clark, Cayla George, Sydney Colson and Kierstan Bell -- came through when they were needed most.
Their only loss in the playoffs came to Minnesota in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, but they bounced back to win the series with an 18-point Game 3 victory. In the WNBA Finals, Chicago was no match. Taurasi, who averaged 16.2 PPG in the regular season and 21.9 PPG in the playoffs, was WNBA Finals MVP for the second time. --The 2014 Phoenix team still holds the best winning percentage for any team outside the expansion era. Relative to that record, the Mercury's +9.
Ultimately, there was a melancholy feel to the 1999 championship for the Comets. Their former point guard Perrot died from cancer on Aug. 19. On Sept. 5, Houston secured"3 for 10" -- its motto in winning its third title in honor of Perrot, who wore No. 10. --After being denied by the Comets a year earlier, the Sparks became the first championship team besides Houston in the league's fifth season.
Nolan, a native of nearby Flint, Michigan, was Finals MVP as the Shock prevented Sacramento's attempt at a repeat. In the decisive Game 5, won 80-75 by Detroit, Nolan played all 40 minutes and scored 24 points. --A long-awaited title for Tamika Catchings came as something of a surprise after the Fever finished with the league's fourth-best record during the regular season. Indiana reached a different level in the playoffs, as Mechelle notes below.
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