2012 WNBA season
| 2012 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 18 – September 23, 2012 |
| Number of games | 34 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Total attendance | 1,520,112 |
| Average attendance | 7,452 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, NBA TV |
| Top draft pick |  Nneka Ogwumike |
| Picked by | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Season MVP | Tina Charles (Connecticut) |
| Eastern champions | Indiana Fever[1] |
| Eastern runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
| Western champions | Minnesota Lynx |
| Western runners-up | Los Angeles Sparks |
| Finals champions | Indiana Fever |
| Runners-up | Minnesota Lynx |
| Finals MVP | Tamika Catchings (Indiana) |
The 2012 WNBA season was the 16th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 18 and concluded on September 23 and playoffs started on September 27 and concluded on October 21.[2]
2011/2012 WNBA offseason
- The new television deal with ESPN continued during the 2012 season (runs 2009–2016). For the first time ever, teams will be paid rights fees as part of this deal.
- On January 3, 2012, the Tulsa Shock named former Indiana assistant coach Gary Kloppenburg head coach.
- On January 5, 2012, the Los Angeles Sparks named former Atlanta assistant coach Carol Ross head coach.
- The Seattle Storm trade three time WNBA champion Swin Cash to the Chicago Sky.
- The New York Liberty played home games for the next two seasons at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, due to summer renovations at Madison Square Garden.
2012 WNBA draft
The WNBA Draft lottery was held on November 10, 2011. The lottery teams were the Tulsa Shock, Minnesota Lynx (from Wash.), Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks. The top pick was awarded to Los Angeles.
The 2012 WNBA Draft was held on April 16, 2012, in Bristol, Connecticut. Coverage of the first round was shown on ESPN (HD). Second and third round coverage was shown on ESPNU and NBA TV.
Regular season
Due to the 2012 Summer Olympics, there was no All-Star Game this season as the Olympiad caused a break from mid-July through August.[3]
Standings
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Sun y | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 12–5 | 13–4 | 18–4 |
| Indiana Fever x | 22 | 12 | .647 | 3.0 | 13–4 | 9–8 | 15–7 |
| Atlanta Dream x | 19 | 15 | .559 | 6.0 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 12–10 |
| New York Liberty x | 15 | 19 | .441 | 10.0 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 10–12 |
| Chicago Sky o | 14 | 20 | .412 | 11.0 | 7–10 | 7–10 | 8–14 |
| Washington Mystics o | 5 | 29 | .147 | 20.0 | 4–13 | 1–16 | 3–19 |
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Lynx z | 27 | 7 | .794 | – | 16–1 | 11–6 | 17–5 |
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 24 | 10 | .706 | 3.0 | 16–1 | 8–9 | 15–7 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars x | 21 | 13 | .618 | 6.0 | 12–5 | 9–8 | 14–8 |
| Seattle Storm x | 16 | 18 | .471 | 11.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 11–11 |
| Tulsa Shock o | 9 | 25 | .265 | 18.0 | 6–11 | 3–14 | 5–17 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 7 | 27 | .206 | 20.0 | 3–14 | 4–13 | 4–18 |
Playoffs and finals
| Conference Semi-Finals Best-of-3 | Conference Finals Best-of-3 | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Atlanta | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Indiana | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Seattle | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minnesota | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | San Antonio | 0 | ||||||||||||
Season award winners
Player of the Week award
Player of the Month award
| For games played | Eastern Conference | Western Conference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team | |
| May 2012 | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June 2012 | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
| July 2012 | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
| August 2012 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever | Kristi Toliver | Los Angeles Sparks |
| September 2012 | Cappie Pondexter | New York Liberty | Candace Parker | Los Angeles Sparks |
Rookie of the Month award
| For games played | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| May 2012 | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks |
| June 2012 | Samantha Prahalis | Phoenix Mercury |
| July 2012 | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks |
| August 2012 | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks |
| September 2012 | Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks |
Postseason awards
Coaches
Eastern Conference
- Atlanta Dream: Marynell Meadors and Fred Williams
- Chicago Sky: Pokey Chatman
- Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
- Indiana Fever: Lin Dunn
- New York Liberty: John Whisenant
- Washington Mystics: Trudi Lacey
Western Conference
- Los Angeles Sparks: Carol Ross
- Minnesota Lynx: Cheryl Reeve
- Phoenix Mercury: Corey Gaines
- San Antonio Silver Stars: Dan Hughes
- Seattle Storm: Brian Agler
- Tulsa Shock: Gary Kloppenburg
See also
References
- ^ East, Tony (May 23, 2022). "Sights and sounds from the Indiana Fever 2012 WNBA Championship tenth anniversary celebration". The Next. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ Siegal, Rachel Margolis (May 16, 2012). "ESPN Unveils 12-Game Regular-Schedule for the 2012 WNBA Season". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ Voepel, Mechelle (July 19, 2014). "Phoenix is center of WNBA universe". ABC News. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ "Tina Charles Named 2012 WNBA Most Valuable Player of the Year". WNBA. September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2024.