# 1999 WNBA playoffs

The 1999 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 1999 season which ended with the Western Conference champion Houston Comets beating the Eastern Conference champion New York Liberty, 2-1. Cynthia Cooper was named the MVP of the Finals. The Comets completed a three-peat.

## Regular season standings

Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
| New York Liberty $^x$ | 18 | 14 | .563 | 12–8 | – |
| Detroit Shock $^x$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 12–8 | 3.0 |
| Charlotte Sting $^x$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 12–8 | 3.0 |
| Orlando Miracle $^o$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 9–11 | 3.0 |
| Washington Mystics $^o$ | 12 | 20 | .375 | 10–10 | 6.0 |
| Cleveland Rockers $^o$ | 7 | 25 | .219 | 5–15 | 11.0 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
| Houston Comets $^x$ | 26 | 6 | .813 | 16–4 | – |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^x$ | 20 | 12 | .625 | 12–8 | 6.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^x$ | 19 | 13 | .594 | 9–11 | 7.0 |
| Phoenix Mercury $^o$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 7–13 | 11.0 |
| Minnesota Lynx $^o$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 8–12 | 11.0 |
| Utah Starzz $^o$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 8–12 | 11.0 |
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.

## Playoffs
### Bracket

There were 12 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the three teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to three. The top seeded team in each conference got a bye for the first round.
| Conference Semi-Finals Single Game | Conference Semi-Finals Single Game | Conference Semi-Finals Single Game | 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 | New York | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | New York | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E3 | Charlotte | 1 | | | |
| E2 | Detroit | 54 | E3 | Charlotte | 1 | | | |
| E3 | Charlotte | 60 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Charlotte | 60 | | | | E1 | New York | 1 |
| | | | | | | W1 | Houston | 2 |
| | | | W1 | Houston | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W1 | Houston | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Los Angeles | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Los Angeles | 71 | W2 | Los Angeles | 1 | | | |
| W3 | Sacramento | 58 | | | | | | |
* Bold – Game or Series winner
* Italics – Team with home-court advantage

### Conference Semi-Finals
#### Charlotte Sting vs. Detroit Shock

* August 24
* Recap
Charlotte Sting 60, Detroit Shock 54 :
| Scoring by half: 22–26, 38–28 |||
| Pts: Andrea Stinson 16 Rebs: Andrea Stinson 14 Asts: Dawn Staley 5 | Pts: Wendy Palmer 10 Rebs: Wendy Palmer 9 Asts: Jennifer Azzi 3 |
* The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan Attendance: 6,917 Referees: Michael Price, Bob Trammell, June Courteau

#### Sacramento Monarchs vs. Los Angeles Sparks

* August 24
* Recap
Sacramento Monarchs 58, Los Angeles Sparks 71 :
| Scoring by half: 32–21, 26–50 |||
| Pts: Ruthie Bolton-Holifield 15 Rebs: Latasha Byears 10 Asts: Ruthie Bolton-Holifield 4 | Pts: Lisa Leslie 22 Rebs: Lisa Leslie 12 Asts: Gordana Grubin 9 |
* Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 8,569 Referees: Stan Gaxiola, Sally Bell, Jason Phillips

### Conference Finals
#### Houston Comets vs. Los Angeles Sparks

* August 26
* Recap
Houston Comets 60, Los Angeles Sparks 75 :
| Scoring by half: 29–33, 31–42 |||
| Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 17 Rebs: Tina Thompson 7 Asts: Cynthia Cooper 7 | Pts: Lisa Leslie 23 Rebs: Frett, Leslie 7 each Asts: Gordana Grubin 7 |
| Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 |||
* Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 10,099 Referees: Patty Broderick, Teresa Dahlem, Courtney Kirkland
* August 29
* Recap
Los Angeles Sparks 55, Houston Comets 83 :
| Scoring by half: 28–34, 27–49 |||
| Pts: Lisa Leslie 11 Rebs: Lisa Leslie 8 Asts: Lisa Leslie 4 | Pts: Cynthia Cooper 22 Rebs: Tammy Jackson 10 Asts: Cynthia Cooper 9 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Compaq Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 14,883 Referees: Gary Zielinski, Bill Stokes, Melissa Barlow
* August 30
* Recap
Los Angeles Sparks 62, Houston Comets 72 :
| Scoring by half: 38–35, 24–37 |||
| Pts: Lisa Leslie 20 Rebs: Leslie, Mabika 7 each Asts: Mwadi Mabika 5 | Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 23 Rebs: Cynthia Cooper 7 Asts: Cynthia Cooper 12 |
| Houston wins series, 2–1 |||
* Compaq Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 11,692 Referees: June Courteau, Lisa Mattingly, Michael Price

#### New York Liberty vs. Charlotte Sting

* August 27
* Recap
New York Liberty 67, Charlotte Sting 78 :
| Scoring by half: 36–33, 31–45 |||
| Pts: Crystal Robinson 17 Rebs: Robinson, Wicks 6 each Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 8 | Pts: Mapp, Staley, Stinson 16 each Rebs: Vicky Bullett 11 Asts: Dawn Staley 9 |
| Charlotte leads series, 1–0 |||
* Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina Attendance: 10,840 Referees: Sally Bell, Derek Collins, Lisa Mattingly
* August 29
* Recap
Charlotte Sting 70, New York Liberty 74 :
| Scoring by half: 29–39, 41–35 |||
| Pts: Andrea Stinson 27 Rebs: Stinson, Mapp, Smith 6 each Asts: Andrea Stinson 4 | Pts: Teresa Weatherspoon 19 Rebs: Kym Hampton 10 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 9 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 13,510 Referees: Stan Gaxiola, Karen Wilhite, Scott Yarbrough
* August 30
* Recap
Charlotte Sting 54, New York Liberty 69 :
| Scoring by half: 26–32, 28–37 |||
| Pts: Andrea Stinson 24 Rebs: Rhonda Mapp 6 Asts: Dawn Staley 6 | Pts: Crystal Robinson 18 Rebs: Kym Hampton 11 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 11 |
| New York wins series, 2–1 |||
* Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 12,929 Referees: Jason Phillips, Patty Broderick, Bill Stokes

## WNBA Championship

* September 2
* Recap
Houston Comets 73, New York Liberty 60 :
| Scoring by half: 29–20, 44–40 |||
| Pts: Cynthia Cooper 29 Rebs: Tammy Jackson 8 Asts: Cynthia Cooper 6 | Pts: Sophia Witherspoon 18 Rebs: Sue Wicks 11 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 10 |
| Houston leads series, 1–0 |||
* Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 17,113 Referees: Derek Collins, Gary Zielinski, Sally Bell
* September 4
* Recap
New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 67 :
| Scoring by half: 23–37, 45–30 |||
| Pts: Crystal Robinson 21 Rebs: Kym Hampton 9 Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 5 | Pts: Tina Thompson 15 Rebs: Swoopes, Tzekova 6 each Asts: Cynthia Cooper 6 |
| Series tied, 1–1 |||
* Compaq Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 16,285 Referees: June Courteau, Patty Broderick, Jason Phillips
* September 5
* Recap
New York Liberty 47, Houston Comets 59 :
| Scoring by half: 25–33, 22–26 |||
| Pts: Sue Wicks 11 Rebs: Sue Wicks 9 Asts: Crystal Robinson 3 | Pts: Cynthia Cooper 24 Rebs: Tammy Jackson 11 Asts: Sonja Henning 2 |
| Houston wins series, 2–1 |||
* Compaq Center, Houston, Texas Attendance: 16,285 Referees: Sally Bell, Michael Price, Stan Gaxiola

## Aftermath

The two teams would meet each other again in the 2000 WNBA Finals.