# 2004 WNBA season

The 2004 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's eighth season. The league had one fewer team than in 2003 as the Cleveland Rockers folded after the 2003 season. The season ended with the Seattle Storm winning their first WNBA Championship, as their head coach Anne Donovan became the first female coach to win a WNBA championship.

## Regular season standings

Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Connecticut Sun $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | – | 10–7 | 8–9 | 14–6 |
| New York Liberty $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | – | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
| Detroit Shock $^x$ | 17 | 17 | .500 | 1.0 | 8–9 | 9–8 | 11–9 |
| Washington Mystics $^x$ | 17 | 17 | .500 | 1.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 9–11 |
| Charlotte Sting $^o$ | 16 | 18 | .471 | 2.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 8–12 |
| Indiana Fever $^o$ | 15 | 19 | .441 | 3.0 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 8–12 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^x$ | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 15–2 | 10–7 | 16–6 |
| Seattle Storm $^x$ | 20 | 14 | .588 | 5.0 | 13–4 | 7–10 | 13–9 |
| Minnesota Lynx $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 12–10 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 12–10 |
| Phoenix Mercury $^o$ | 17 | 17 | .500 | 8.0 | 10–7 | 7–10 | 11–11 |
| Houston Comets $^o$ | 13 | 21 | .382 | 12.0 | 9–8 | 4–13 | 7–15 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars $^o$ | 9 | 25 | .265 | 16.0 | 6–11 | 3–14 | 6–16 |

## Season award winners

| Award | Winner | Team |
| WNBA Finals MVP Award | Betty Lennox | Seattle Storm |
| WNBA Most Valuable Player Award | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
| WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
| WNBA Most Improved Player Award | Kelly Miller/ Wendy Palmer (co-winners) | Indiana Fever/ Connecticut Sun |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Lauren Jackson | Seattle Storm |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
| WNBA Rookie of the Year Award | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Teresa Edwards | Minnesota Lynx |
| WNBA Coach of the Year Award | Suzie McConnell Serio | Minnesota Lynx |

## 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 | Connecticut | 2 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Washington | 1 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Washington | 1 | E1 | Connecticut | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Connecticut | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | New York | 0 | | | |
| E2 | New York | 2 | E2 | New York | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Detroit | 1 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Detroit | 1 | | | | E1 | Connecticut | 1 |
| | | | | | | W2 | Seattle | 2 |
| W1 | Los Angeles | 1 | | | | | | | W2 | Seattle | 2 |
| W4 | Sacramento | 2 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Sacramento | 2 | W4 | Sacramento | 1 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W4 | Sacramento | 1 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Seattle | 2 | | | |
| W2 | Seattle | 2 | W2 | Seattle | 2 | | | |
| W3 | Minnesota | 0 | | | | | | |

## Coaches
### Eastern Conference

* Charlotte Sting: Trudi Lacey and Tyrone Bogues
* Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
* Detroit Shock: Bill Laimbeer
* Indiana Fever: Brian Winters
* New York Liberty: Richie Adubato and Pat Coyle
* Washington Mystics: Michael Adams

### Western Conference

* Houston Comets: Van Chancellor
* Los Angeles Sparks: Michael Cooper, Karleen Thompson and Ryan Weisenberg
* Minnesota Lynx: Suzie McConnell Serio
* Phoenix Mercury: Carrie Graf
* Sacramento Monarchs: John Whisenant
* San Antonio Silver Stars: Dee Brown and Shell Dailey
* Seattle Storm: Anne Donovan