# 2008 Detroit Shock season

The 2008 WNBA season was the 11th for the Detroit Shock, an American women's professional basketball team. The Shock returned to the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive year, winning their second WNBA Championship in three seasons, and their third in six years.
During the Finals, Katie Smith averaged a team high 21.7 points per game to be named WNBA Finals MVP. Similar to Kevin Garnett with the 2008 Boston Celtics, Taj McWilliams-Franklin won her first championship after 10 years in the league.

## Offseason

The following player was lost in the Atlanta Dream expansion draft:
* Katie Feenstra

### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 4 (from Atl. via Sea.) | Alexis Hornbuckle | United States | Tennessee |
| 1 | 11 (from SA) | Tasha Humphrey | United States | Georgia |
| 2 | 18 (from Atl.) | Olayinka Sanni | United States | West Virginia |
| 3 | 42 | Valeriya Berezhynska | United States | Rice |

## Transactions

* September 4: The Shock signed Ashley Shields.
* August 19: The Shock signed Ashley Shields to a seven-day contract.
* August 12: The Shock traded Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics for Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
* August 8: The Shock waived Stacey Lovelace.
* July 26: The Shock signed Kelly Schumacher.
* July 25: The Shock waived Nancy Lieberman.
* July 24: The Shock signed Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract.
* July 11: The Shock signed Stacey Lovelace.
* June 27: The Shock waived Chrissy Givens.
* June 22: The Shock traded LaToya Thomas to the Minnesota Lynx for Eshaya Murphy.
* June 18: The Shock waived Wanisha Smith and signed Chrissy Givens.
* May 15: The Shock waived Michelle Campbell and Wanisha Smith.
* May 8: The Shock signed Wanisha Smith to a training camp contract.
* May 7: The Shock signed free agent Sheri Sam.
* May 5: The Shock waived Valeriya Berezhynska, Natasha Lacy and Tyresa Smith.
* April 26: The Shock waived Chakhia Cole, Fantasia Goodwin and Samantha Mahoney.
* April 18: The Shock waived Nina Norman.
* April 17: The Shock signed Samantha Mahoney to a training camp contract.
* April 16: The Shock signed Chakhia Cole to a training camp contract.
* March 31: The Shock signed Elaine Powell to a training camp contract.
* March 10: The Shock re-signed free agents Cheryl Ford, Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith.
* March 4: The Shock signed Tyresa Smith and Michelle Campbell to training camp contracts.
* February 29: The Shock signed Nina Norman to a training camp contract.
* February 28: The Shock re-signed free agent Plenette Pierson and signed Chrissy Givens to a training camp contract.
* February 19: The Shock traded Swin Cash to the Seattle Storm in exchange for the 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
* February 6: The Shock traded Ivory Latta to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.

### Trades

| Date | Trade | Trade |
| February 6, 2008 | To Detroit Shock | To Atlanta Dream |
| February 6, 2008 | LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft | Ivory Latta |
| February 19, 2008 | To Detroit Shock | To Seattle Storm |
| February 19, 2008 | The 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft | Swin Cash |
| June 22, 2008 | To Detroit Shock | To Minnesota Lynx |
| June 22, 2008 | Eshaya Murphy | LaToya Thomas |
| August 12, 2008 | To Detroit Shock | To Washington Mystics |
| August 12, 2008 | Taj McWilliams-Franklin | Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy, and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft |

### Free agents
## Season Highlights

The Shock season opener resulted in a record-breaking debut for rookie guard Alexis Hornbuckle. Hornbuckle set a Shock record with seven steals to help the Shock beat the Houston Comets on May 17. Deanna Nolan scored a franchise-record 44 points (28 in the fourth quarter and overtime) in a 98-93 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on June 20.

### Malice at the Palace

* The Sparks–Shock brawl (also known as The Malice at the Palace II) was an altercation that occurred in a game between the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks on July 22, 2008 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. With 4.2 seconds before the game was officially over, the fighting began on the court after Plenette Pierson made a hard block out after a free throw on Candace Parker. This was the second brawl to occur at the Palace, the other being the Pacers–Pistons brawl.

### Nancy Lieberman

In July, the Detroit Shock signed Nancy Lieberman, the franchise's first head coach and general manager, to a 7-day contract. The 50-year-old Lieberman broke her own record for being the oldest player in the WNBA. Lieberman, a Hall of Famer since 1999, was 39 years old when she played with Phoenix during the league's first year in 1997.
The 50-year-old Lieberman played nine minutes and had two assists. One of the assists included a no-look pass in the closing minutes of the Detroit Shock's 79-61 loss to the Houston Comets on July 24.
Lieberman made an appearance in the Shock's first game against the Los Angeles Sparks on July 22 due to the bench-clearing brawl. Five Shock players were suspended and Cheryl Ford suffered a season-ending injury, prompting coach Bill Laimbeer to offer Lieberman the seven-day contract.

## Season standings

| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Detroit Shock $^x$ | 22 | 12 | .647 | – | 14–3 | 8–9 | 16–4 |
| Connecticut Sun $^x$ | 21 | 13 | .618 | 1.0 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 13–7 |
| New York Liberty $^x$ | 19 | 15 | .559 | 3.0 | 11–6 | 8–9 | 11–9 |
| Indiana Fever $^x$ | 17 | 17 | .500 | 5.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 12–8 |
| Chicago Sky $^o$ | 12 | 22 | .353 | 10.0 | 8–9 | 4–13 | 10–10 |
| Washington Mystics $^o$ | 10 | 24 | .294 | 12.0 | 6–11 | 4–13 | 6–14 |
| Atlanta Dream $^o$ | 4 | 30 | .118 | 18.0 | 1–16 | 3–14 | 2–18 |

## Schedule
### Regular season

2008 Game Log: Regular Season :
May
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
1
May 17
Houston
85-66
Smith (21)
Ford (11)
Ford (4)
Palace of Auburn Hills 13,824
1-0
2
May 18
@ Minnesota
70-84
Smith (17)
Ford (9)
Nolan (6)
Target Center 9,972
1-1
3
May 21
Indiana
76-71
Braxton (22)
Ford (10)
Nolan (8)
Palace of Auburn Hills 6,842
2-1
4
May 23
@ Atlanta
88-76
Nolan (33)
Ford (13)
Nolan (8)
Philips Arena 11,609
3-1
5
May 25
New York
72-62
Pierson (25)
Braxton, Powell (7)
Nolan (7)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,068
4-1
6
May 31
@ Indiana
74-65
Smith (19)
Ford (8)
Nolan, Powell (3)
Conseco Fieldhouse 9,219
5-1 :
June
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
7
June 4
Seattle
77-67
Smith (33)
Ford (11)
Nolan (8)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,108
6-1
8
June 6
@ Sacramento
84-70
Smith (30)
Braxton, Ford, Nolan (6)
Nolan (9)
ARCO Arena 6,663
7-1
9
June 7
@ Seattle
67-75
Smith (18)
Pierson (10)
Hornbuckle, Pierson (3)
KeyArena 7,105
7-2
10
June 11
@ Los Angeles
73-80
Smith (16)
Pierson, Smith (7)
Smith (4)
STAPLES Center 8,520
7-3
11
June 14
@ Phoenix
89-79
Humphrey (28)
Hornbuckle (15)
Nolan (8)
US Airways Center 7,696
8-3
12
June 20
Minnesota
98-93 (OT)
Nolan (44)
Ford (14)
Pierson (4)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,916
9-3
13
June 22
@ Atlanta
97-76
Ford (20)
Ford (12)
Nolan (7)
Philips Arena 7,865
10-3
14
June 24
@ Connecticut
68-85
Nolan (17)
Ford (11)
Smith (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,501
10-4
15
June 26
Connecticut
70-61
Nolan (13)
Ford (9)
Smith (4)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,636
11-4
16
June 28
@ Chicago
59-76
Murphy (13)
Ford (8)
Hornbuckle, Sam (4)
UIC Pavilion 3,407
11-5
17
June 29
Atlanta
100-92
Braxton (26)
Braxton (9)
Nolan (11)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,798
12-5 :
July
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
18
July 1
@ San Antonio
72-79 (OT)
Smith (17)
Ford, Sam (8)
Smith (9)
AT&T Center 5,656
12-6
19
July 8
Connecticut
88-82
Pierson (23)
Braxton (8)
Nolan (8)
Palace of Auburn Hills 7,623
13-6
20
July 11
Washington
79-66
Smith (23)
Braxton, Ford (7)
Nolan (4)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,596
14-6
21
July 12
@ New York
64-74
Smith, Pierson (13)
Ford (12)
Nolan (4)
Madison Square Garden 8,661
14-7
22
July 16
Chicago
66-63
Ford (14)
Pierson (8)
Nolan, Smith (4)
Palace of Auburn Hills 15,210
15-7
23
July 18
@ Washington
99-62
Nolan (26)
Braxton, Hornbuckle (6)
Sam (8)
Verizon Center 6,834
16-7
24
July 20
Sacramento
85-88
Nolan (27)
Ford (10)
Smith (6)
Palace of Auburn Hills 9,138
16-8
25
July 22
Los Angeles
81-84
Smith (20)
Ford (9)
Hornbuckle, Smith (5)
Palace of Auburn Hills 12,930
16-9
26
July 24
@ Houston
61-79
Nolan (23)
Nolan, Sam (9)
Nolan (4)
Reliant Arena 7,261
16-10
27
July 27
San Antonio
64-76
Nolan (25)
Braxton (9)
Smith (6)
Palace of Auburn Hills 9,537
16-11 :
August
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
Summer Olympic break
28
August 29
New York
83-69
Nolan (26)
Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7)
Smith (6)
Palace of Auburn Hills 11,516
17-11
29
August 31
@ Chicago
81-82 (OT)
Smith (23)
McWilliams-Franklin (11)
Nolan (6)
UIC Pavilion 4,197
17-12 :
September
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceRecord
30
September 5
Indiana
90-68
Pierson (20)
Pierson (6)
McWilliams-Franklin, Pierson (4)
Palace of Auburn Hills 9,287
18-12
31
September 6
@ Washington
84-69
McWilliams-Franklin (21)
Nolan (10)
Smith (8)
Verizon Center 9,976
19-12
32
September 9
Phoenix
89-78
Nolan (18)
Braxton, Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (8)
Pierson, Smith (5)
Palace of Auburn Hills 7,495
20-12
33
September 11
Washington
78-66
Nolan (17)
McWilliams-Franklin (8)
Smith (6)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,145
21-12
34
September 14
@ New York
61-59
Nolan, Pierson (11)
Hornbuckle, Nolan (7)
Powell (4)
Madison Square Garden 10,042
22-12 :

### Postseason

2008 Game Log: Postseason :
Eastern Conference Semifinals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1
September 19
@ Indiana
81-72
Nolan (22)
Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7)
Powell, Smith (3)
Conseco Fieldhouse 7,613
1-0
2
September 21
Indiana
82-89
Nolan, Pierson (16)
Pierson, Powell (7)
Pierson (5)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,219
1-1
3
September 23
Indiana
80-61
Nolan (21)
Hornbuckle (8)
Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (4)
Palace of Auburn Hills 8,296
2-1 :
Eastern Conference Finals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1
September 26
@ New York
56-60
Nolan (22)
Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (7)
4 players (2)
Madison Square Garden 14,711
1-0
2
September 28
New York
64-55
Nolan (22)
Taj McWilliams-Franklin (11)
4 players (2)
EMU Convocation Center 7,965
1-1
3
September 29
New York
75-73
Nolan (21)
Taj McWilliams-Franklin (8)
Nolan, Smith (3)
EMU Convocation Center 7,429
2-1 :
WNBA Finals
GameDateOpponentScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation/AttendanceSeries
1
October 1
@ San Antonio
77-69
Smith (25)
Smith (9)
Nolan (4)
AT&T Center 9,380
1-0
2
October 3
@ San Antonio
69-61
Smith (22)
Nolan (7)
Smith (6)
AT&T Center 16,012
2-0
3
October 5
San Antonio
76-60
Smith (18)
Braxton, Hornbuckle (9)
Hornbuckle, Nolan (5)
EMU Convocation Center 8,952
3-0 :

## Player stats
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Deanna Nolan | 34 | 34 | 33.6 | .465 | .374 | .863 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 15.8 |
| Katie Smith | 34 | 34 | 33.9 | .383 | .360 | .887 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 14.7 |
| Plenette Pierson | 28 | 0 | 23.2 | .457 | .000 | .752 | 4.9 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 11.9 |
| Taj McWilliams-Franklin | 7 | 7 | 26.2 | .422 | 1.000 | .909 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 10.7 |
| Cheryl Ford | 24 | 24 | 26.5 | .481 | .000 | .560 | 8.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 10.1 |
| Kara Braxton | 33 | 10 | 17.9 | .415 | .000 | .743 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 8.9 |
| Tasha Humphrey | 22 | 16 | 13.5 | .500 | .385 | .955 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 7.3 |
| Alexis Hornbuckle | 34 | 0 | 22.0 | .354 | .356 | .636 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 5.4 |
| Elaine Powell | 16 | 16 | 19.6 | .490 | .500 | .750 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 3.6 |
| Olayinka Sanni | 31 | 9 | 10.5 | .500 | .000 | .649 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| Ashley Shields | 7 | 0 | 6.3 | .364 | .333 | .750 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 3.1 |
| Sheri Sam | 32 | 15 | 14.9 | .309 | .286 | .692 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| Eshaya Murphy | 13 | 3 | 9.4 | .300 | .263 | .667 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.5 |
| Kelly Schumacher | 7 | 0 | 12.7 | .375 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 |
| Stacey Lovelace | 7 | 2 | 6.3 | .286 | .400 | .667 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| LaToya Thomas | 7 | 0 | 5.7 | .267 | .000 | .000 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| Chrissy Givens | 3 | 0 | 3.3 | .000 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Wanisha Smith | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Nancy Lieberman | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Detroit Shock Regular Season Stats

### Postseason

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Deanna Nolan | 9 | 9 | 38.8 | .359 | .341 | .939 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 17.6 |
| Katie Smith | 9 | 9 | 34.3 | .410 | .354 | .758 | 4.0 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 15.3 |
| Taj McWilliams-Franklin | 9 | 9 | 32.6 | .490 | .500 | .864 | 7.0 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 12.9 |
| Kara Braxton | 9 | 9 | 20.0 | .500 | .000 | .650 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 8.6 |
| Plenette Pierson | 6 | 0 | 17.8 | .474 | .000 | .846 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 7.8 |
| Alexis Hornbuckle | 9 | 0 | 24.4 | .429 | .375 | .750 | 4.9 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 6.3 |
| Elaine Powell | 9 | 9 | 19.0 | .588 | .000 | .818 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| Olayinka Sanni | 9 | 0 | 7.3 | .438 | .000 | .500 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| Kelly Schumacher | 8 | 0 | 11.9 | .438 | .000 | .000 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.8 |
| Sheri Sam | 6 | 0 | 5.0 | .286 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Ashley Shields | 3 | 0 | 1.3 | .200 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
Detroit Shock Playoff Stats

## Awards and honors

* Katie Smith, WNBA Player of the Week (June 2–8)
* Deanna Nolan, WNBA Player of the Week (June 16–22 and July 14–20)
* Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
* Katie Smith, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
* Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Second Team
* Katie Smith, WNBA Finals MVP