# 2006 WNBA season

The 2006 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's tenth season. The league added one team: the Chicago Sky. The Sky were the first expansion team since 2000 when the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and the Seattle Storm came to the WNBA. On April 5, the WNBA held their draft. Seimone Augustus, guard out of Louisiana State University was the number one overall pick. She was selected by the Minnesota Lynx. Cappie Pondexter, guard out of Rutgers University went number two. She was selected by the Phoenix Mercury. The season started on May 20 with a game between the Sacramento Monarchs and the Phoenix Mercury. The game was televised by ABC. The Monarchs won the game 105–78. On July 12, The All Star Game was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The East All Stars defeated the West All Stars 98–82. Katie Douglas of the Connecticut Sun was named MVP in the game with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. The 2006 WNBA season concluded on August 13. Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks won the league MVP. Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun was named Coach of The Year. Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx was named Rookie of the Year. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their second WNBA Championship.

## Regular season standings

Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| z - Connecticut Sun | 26 | 8 | .765 | – | 14–3 | 12–5 | 15–5 |
| x - Detroit Shock | 23 | 11 | .676 | 3.0 | 14–3 | 9–8 | 14–6 |
| x - Indiana Fever | 21 | 13 | .618 | 5.0 | 12–5 | 9–8 | 12–8 |
| x - Washington Mystics | 18 | 16 | .529 | 8.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 12–8 |
| e - New York Liberty | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–13 | 7–13 |
| e - Charlotte Sting | 11 | 23 | .324 | 15.0 | 7–10 | 4–3 | 6–14 |
| e - Chicago Sky | 5 | 29 | .147 | 21.0 | 3–14 | 2–15 | 4–16 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^x$ | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 15–2 | 10–7 | 15–5 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^x$ | 21 | 13 | .618 | 4.0 | 14–3 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
| Houston Comets $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 12–5 | 6–11 | 11–9 |
| Seattle Storm $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 9–8 | 9–8 | 10–10 |
| Phoenix Mercury $^o$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 8–12 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars $^o$ | 13 | 21 | .382 | 12.0 | 6–11 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
| Minnesota Lynx $^o$ | 10 | 24 | .294 | 15.0 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 6–14 |

## Season award winners

| Award | Winner | Team |
| WNBA Finals MVP Award | Deanna Nolan | Detroit Shock |
| WNBA Most Valuable Player Award | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks |
| WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award | Tamika Catchings | Indiana Fever |
| WNBA Most Improved Player Award | Erin Buescher | Sacramento Monarchs |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Cheryl Ford | Detroit Shock |
| WNBA Rookie of the Year Award | Seimone Augustus | Minnesota Lynx |
| Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award | Dawn Staley | Houston Comets |
| WNBA Coach of the Year Award | Mike Thibault | Connecticut Sun |

## 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 5 | WNBA Finals Best of 5 | WNBA Finals Best of 5 |
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Washington | 0 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Washington | 0 | E1 | Connecticut | 1 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Connecticut | 1 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Detroit | 2 | | | |
| E2 | Detroit | 2 | E2 | Detroit | 2 | | | |
| E3 | Indiana | 0 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Indiana | 0 | | | | E2 | Detroit | 3 |
| | | | | | | W2 | Sacramento | 2 |
| W1 | Los Angeles | 2 | | | | | | | W2 | Sacramento | 2 |
| W4 | Seattle | 1 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Seattle | 1 | W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Los Angeles | 0 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Sacramento | 2 | | | |
| W2 | Sacramento | 2 | W2 | Sacramento | 2 | | | |
| W3 | Houston | 0 | | | | | | |

## Coaches
### Eastern Conference

* Charlotte Sting: Muggsy Bogues
* Chicago Sky: Dave Cowens
* Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
* Detroit Shock: Bill Laimbeer
* Indiana Fever: Brian Winters
* New York Liberty: Pat Coyle
* Washington Mystics: Richie Adubato

### Western Conference

* Houston Comets: Van Chancellor
* Los Angeles Sparks: Joe Bryant
* Minnesota Lynx: Suzie McConnell-Serio and Carolyn Jenkins
* Phoenix Mercury: Paul Westhead
* Sacramento Monarchs: John Whisenant
* San Antonio Silver Stars: Dan Hughes
* Seattle Storm: Anne Donovan