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)
Hall of Famers	Sparks: Lisa Leslie (2015) Sting: Dawn Staley (2013) Coaches: Michael Cooper (2024, player) Anne Donovan (1995, player)
Eastern Finals	Charlotte defeated New York, 2–1
Western Finals	Los Angeles defeated Sacramento, 2–1
← 2000 WNBA Finals 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 F 00 Byears, Latasha 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 206 lb (93 kg) DePaul G 21 Dixon, Tamecka 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 148 lb (67 kg) Kansas G 5 Figgs, Ukari 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 142 lb (64 kg) Purdue F 17 Grgin-Fonseca, Vedrana 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Croatia C 9 Leslie, Lisa 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) USC G 40 Levandusky, Nicole 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Xavier F 4 Mabika, Mwadi 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Democratic Republic of the Congo C 51 Mapp, Rhonda 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) NC State G 10 McCrimmon, Nicky 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 125 lb (57 kg) USC F 8 Milton, Delisha 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Florida G 20 Willits, Wendy 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 G 20 Anderson, Keisha 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 125 lb (57 kg) Wisconsin G 13 Edwards, Tonya 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Tennessee F 7 Enis, Shalonda 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Alabama C 3 Erb, Summer 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) NC State F 21 Feaster, Allison 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Harvard University C 33 Machanguana, Clarisse 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Old Dominion G 8 Miller, Kelly 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 144 lb (65 kg) Georgia F 23 Smith, Charlotte 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 148 lb (67 kg) North Carolina G 5 Staley, Dawn 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 134 lb (61 kg) Virginia G 32 Stinson, Andrea 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 158 lb (72 kg) NC State C 55 Sutton-Brown, Tammy 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

This page was last edited on 9 April 2024, at 00:25