WNBA Finals - wikipedia WNBA Finals WNBA Finals logo The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women 's National Basketball Association ( WNBA ) and the conclusion of the league 's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Starting 2016 Verizon is the official sponsor. The series is played between the winners of the playoff semifinals. At the conclusion of the championship round, the winner of the WNBA Finals is presented the championship trophy. The WNBA Finals has been played at the conclusion of every WNBA season in history, the first being held in 1997. Since 2005, the winner of the WNBA Finals has been determined through a 2 -- 2 -- 1 format. The first, second, and fifth games of the series are played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season. Contents 1 History 2 Highlights 3 Finals appearances 3.1 Active franchises with no Finals appearances 4 Records 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Further information : WNBA Playoffs See also : List of WNBA franchise post-season droughts The WNBA Finals were originally a single championship game to decide the WNBA champion. However, in 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA Finals were turned into a best - of - three games series. In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a best - of - five format. This finale series was known as the WNBA Championship from 1997 to 2001, before changing to reflect its NBA counterpart. In 2016, the WNBA changed to its current playoff format seeding teams # 1 thru # 8 regardless of conference making it possible for two Eastern Conference or two Western Conference teams to meet in the Finals. Year Winner Result Loser Finals MVP 1997 Houston Comets 65 - 51 New York Liberty Cynthia Cooper 1998 Houston Comets 2 -- 1 Phoenix Mercury Cynthia Cooper 1999 Houston Comets 2 -- 1 New York Liberty Cynthia Cooper 2000 Houston Comets 2 -- 0 New York Liberty Cynthia Cooper 2001 Los Angeles Sparks 2 -- 0 Charlotte Sting Lisa Leslie 2002 Los Angeles Sparks 2 -- 0 New York Liberty Lisa Leslie 2003 Detroit Shock 2 -- 1 Los Angeles Sparks Ruth Riley Seattle Storm 2 -- 1 Connecticut Sun Betty Lennox 2005 Sacramento Monarchs 3 -- 1 Connecticut Sun Yolanda Griffith 2006 Detroit Shock 3 -- 2 Sacramento Monarchs Deanna Nolan 2007 Phoenix Mercury 3 -- 2 Detroit Shock Cappie Pondexter 2008 Detroit Shock 3 -- 0 San Antonio Silver Stars Katie Smith 2009 Phoenix Mercury 3 -- 2 Indiana Fever Diana Taurasi Seattle Storm 3 -- 0 Atlanta Dream Lauren Jackson 2011 Minnesota Lynx 3 -- 0 Atlanta Dream Seimone Augustus 2012 Indiana Fever 3 -- 1 Minnesota Lynx Tamika Catchings 2013 Minnesota Lynx 3 -- 0 Atlanta Dream Maya Moore 2014 Phoenix Mercury 3 -- 0 Chicago Sky Diana Taurasi 2015 Minnesota Lynx 3 -- 2 Indiana Fever Sylvia Fowles 2016 Los Angeles Sparks 3 -- 2 Minnesota Lynx Candace Parker 2017 Minnesota Lynx 3 -- 2 Los Angeles Sparks Sylvia Fowles Jump up ^ Due to the WNBA 's playoff structure in 1997, two Eastern Conference teams met in the championship game Jump up ^ Due to the WNBA 's playoff structure in 1998, two Western Conference teams met in the championship series Jump up ^ Due to the WNBA 's playoff structure in 2016, two Western Conference teams met in the Finals. Jump up ^ Due to the WNBA 's playoff structure in 2017, two Western Conference teams met in the Finals. Highlights In 2001, the # 4 seed Charlotte Sting was the lowest seed ever to make the WNBA Finals. The 2003 Finals was best known for rekindling a heated rivalry between the two teams ' head coaches, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Michael Cooper and former Detroit Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer. Both coaches were fierce NBA competitors who played in the NBA Finals against each other in 1988 and 1989. 2006 marked the first time that a # 1 seed did not participate in the WNBA Finals. Detroit and Sacramento were both # 2 seeds. The New York Liberty have the most Finals appearances ( 4 ) without winning a championship. The Minnesota Lynx are the 6th team to win multiple championships ( following Houston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix and Seattle, respectively ). 2006 marked the first time that the team with the best point - differential in the regular - season did not win the WNBA Finals or even advance to the WNBA finals. The Connecticut Sun had the best point differential in ' 06 but was ousted by the Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Detroit Shock hosted the three largest crowds in Finals History ( 22,076 in Game 3 of 2003 WNBA Finals, 19,671 in Game 5 of 2006 WNBA Finals and 22,076 in Game 5 of the 2007 WNBA Finals ) Only three Eastern Conference franchises have won the WNBA Finals : the 1997 Houston Comets ( who moved to the Western Conference the following year ) ; the Detroit Shock ( who are now in the Western Conference first as Tulsa, now as Dallas ) and the Indiana Fever in 2012. The 2007 game - five win by the Phoenix Mercury marked the first time in WNBA history that a team won the Finals while playing on their opponent 's home court. In 2008 the San Antonio Silver Stars became the first team in the history of the WNBA Finals to be swept in a five - game series losing to the Detroit Shock. The 2009 Finals series saw around a 60 % increase in viewership from the previous season 's series. The 2011 WNBA Finals was the first coached by two women. In 2014, the Chicago Sky became the first team to appear in the WNBA Finals with a sub -. 500 record. In 2016, the Los Angeles Sparks won by one point despite a later announcement by the WNBA that officials missed an earlier shot - clock violation at 1 : 14, which should not have counted. Finals appearances See also : List of WNBA franchise post-season droughts Statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual game wins and losses. Teams in red have folded and can no longer reach the WNBA Finals. Finals Team Wins Losses Pct. Years Won Years Lost 6 Minnesota Lynx. 667 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 2012, 2016 5 Los Angeles Sparks. 600 2001, 2002, 2016 2003, 2017 Houston Comets 0 1.000 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Detroit Shock. 750 2003, 2006, 2008 2007 Phoenix Mercury. 750 2007, 2009, 2014 1998 New York Liberty 0. 000 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 Indiana Fever. 333 2012 2009, 2015 Atlanta Dream 0. 000 2010, 2011, 2013 Seattle Storm 0 1.000 2004, 2010 Sacramento Monarchs. 500 2005 2006 Connecticut Sun 0. 000 2004, 2005 Charlotte Sting 0. 000 2001 Chicago Sky 0. 000 2014 San Antonio Silver Stars 0. 000 2008 Folded following 2006 season Folded following 2008 season Relocated to Tulsa following 2009 season & Dallas following 2015 season Folded following 2009 season Active franchises with no Finals appearances Washington Mystics - founded in 1998. Records This table shows a list of records through the history of the WNBA Finals. Finals records Milestone Player Team Date Information Points, individual Angel McCoughtry Atlanta Dream October 5, 2011 38 points Rebounds, individual Sylvia Fowles Minnesota Lynx October, 4, 2017 20 rebounds Assists, individual Nikki Teasley Diana Taurasi Los Angeles Sparks Phoenix Mercury August 29, 2002 September 7, 2014 11 assists Steals, individual Kristin Haynie Sacramento Monarchs August 30, 2006 5 steals Blocks, individual Brittney Griner Phoenix Mercury September 7, 2014 8 blocks Points, team N / A Phoenix Mercury September 29, 2009 120 points vs. Indiana ( OT ) Rebounds, team N / A Detroit Shock September 8, 2007 50 rebounds vs. Phoenix Assists, team N / A Los Angeles Sparks September 1, 2001 24 assists vs. Charlotte Steals, team N / A Connecticut Sun October 8, 2004 15 steals vs. Seattle Blocks, team N / A Minnesota Lynx October 2, 2011 11 blocks vs. Atlanta Career wins, coach Van Chancellor Cheryl Reeve Houston Comets Minnesota Lynx 1997 - 2000 2011 - 2017 4 wins Margin of victory N / A Phoenix Mercury September 9, 2014 29 - point win ( 97 - 68 ) over Chicago Attendance, one game N / A Detroit Shock September 16, 2003 September 16, 2007 22,076 See also WNBA Playoffs Category : Women 's National Basketball Association seasons WNBA Coach of the Year WNBA Finals MVP WNBA MVP WNBA Defensive Player of the Year WNBA Most Improved Player WNBA Rookie of the Year Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award References Jump up ^ WNBA Ogwunikes ' shot should not have counted October 21, 2016 External links WNBA.com WNBA Finals Playoffs Finals MVP Broadcasters Droughts 1990s 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 WNBA Championship prior to 2002 Women 's National Basketball Association ( 2017 ) Eastern Conference Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics Western Conference Dallas Wings Las Vegas Aces Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Seattle Storm Annual events Draft All - Star Game Playoffs Finals Statistics Career scoring Career rebounding Career assists Career steals Career blocks Career turnovers Season : Scoring leaders Rebounding leaders Assists leaders Steals leaders Blocks leaders Turnovers leaders Other Arenas Attendance Awards Coaches Defunct teams Expansion draft history LiveAccess MVP NBA Media ( NBA TV, WNBA on ESPN, Current broadcasters, Finals broadcasters ) Players ( Current rosters, Foreign players ) Rookie of the Year Seasons Teams ( All - Decade Team, Top 15 Team, Top 20 Team ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WNBA_Finals&oldid=804009598 '' Categories : Recurring sporting events established in 1997 Women 's National Basketball Association Finals Lists of sports championships Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français 한국어 Italiano 日本 語 Русский 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 October 2017, at 02 : 57. 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Question: how many games are there in the wnba finals
Answer: five