# 2003 WNBA season

The 2003 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's seventh season. It was first season in which teams either folded or relocated, as well as the first to have teams that were not co-owned with NBA teams. The Orlando Miracle relocated to Connecticut and became the Connecticut Sun, the Utah Starzz relocated to San Antonio, Texas and became the San Antonio Silver Stars. Meanwhile, both the Miami Sol and the Portland Fire folded, while the Charlotte Sting became the second WNBA team without a brother NBA team. The schedule increased from 32 games per team to 34. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their first WNBA Championship.

## Regular season standings

Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Detroit Shock $^x$ | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 13–4 | 12–5 | 18–6 |
| Charlotte Sting $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 12–12 |
| Connecticut Sun $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 11–13 |
| Cleveland Rockers $^x$ | 17 | 17 | .500 | 8.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 13–11 |
| Indiana Fever $^o$ | 16 | 18 | .471 | 9.0 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 12–12 |
| New York Liberty $^o$ | 16 | 18 | .471 | 9.0 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 11–13 |
| Washington Mystics $^o$ | 9 | 25 | .265 | 16.0 | 3–14 | 6–11 | 7–17 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^x$ | 24 | 10 | .706 | – | 11–6 | 13–4 | 17–7 |
| Houston Comets $^x$ | 20 | 14 | .588 | 4.0 | 14–3 | 6–11 | 14–10 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^x$ | 19 | 15 | .559 | 5.0 | 12–5 | 7–10 | 13–11 |
| Minnesota Lynx $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 14–10 |
| Seattle Storm $^o$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 11–13 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars $^o$ | 12 | 22 | .353 | 12.0 | 9–8 | 3–14 | 10–14 |
| Phoenix Mercury $^o$ | 8 | 26 | .235 | 16.0 | 6–11 | 2–15 | 5–19 |

## Season award winners

| Award | Winner | Team |
| WNBA Finals MVP Award | Ruth Riley | Detroit Shock |
| WNBA Most Valuable Player Award | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston Comets |
| WNBA Most Improved Player Award | Michelle Snow | Houston Comets |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Chamique Holdsclaw | Washington Mystics |
| WNBA Rookie of the Year Award | Cheryl Ford | Detroit Shock |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Edna Campbell | Sacramento Monarchs |
| WNBA Coach of the Year Award | Bill Laimbeer | Detroit Shock |

## Playoffs

| First Round Best of 3 | First Round Best of 3 | First Round Best of 3 | Conference Finals Best of 3 | Conference Finals Best of 3 | Conference Finals Best of 3 | WNBA Finals Best of 3 | WNBA Finals Best of 3 | WNBA Finals Best of 3 |
| E1 | Detroit | 2 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Cleveland | 1 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Cleveland | 1 | E1 | Detroit | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Detroit | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E3 | Connecticut | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Charlotte | 0 | E3 | Connecticut | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Connecticut | 2 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Connecticut | 2 | | | | E1 | Detroit | 2 |
| | | | | | | W1 | Los Angeles | 1 |
| W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | | | | | | | W1 | Los Angeles | 1 |
| W4 | Minnesota | 1 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Minnesota | 1 | W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W3 | Sacramento | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Houston | 1 | W3 | Sacramento | 1 | | | |
| W3 | Sacramento | 2 | | | | | | |

## Coaches
### Eastern Conference

* Charlotte Sting: Trudi Lacey
* Cleveland Rockers: Dan Hughes
* Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
* Detroit Shock: Bill Laimbeer
* Indiana Fever: Nell Fortner
* New York Liberty: Richie Adubato
* Washington Mystics: Marianne Stanley

### Western Conference

* Houston Comets: Van Chancellor
* Los Angeles Sparks: Michael Cooper
* Minnesota Lynx: Suzie McConnell Serio
* Phoenix Mercury: John Shumate
* Sacramento Monarchs: Maura McHugh and John Whisenant
* San Antonio Silver Stars: Candi Harvey and Shell Dailey
* Seattle Storm: Anne Donovan