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By Ellen Labrecque Wnba Champions

By Ellen Labrecque Wnba Champions

WNBA WNBA CHAMPIONS

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL Champions All-Time Best WNBA Players The Story of the WNBA WNBA Champions WNBA Records & Trivia

WNBA Superstars LABRECQUE WNBA Young Stars

BY ELLEN LABRECQUE

WNBA Champions

BY ELLEN LABRECQUE 2018 WNBA champion Storm

Published by The Child’s World® 1980 Lookout Drive • Mankato, MN 56003-1705 800-599-READ • www.childsworld.com

Photographs: Cover: Kamil Krzaczynski/AP Images. Interior: AP Images: Carolyn Kaster 2; Rich Pedroncelli 5; Alex Brandon 6, 14; David J. Phillip 9; Jeff Wheeler/ Star Tribune 10; Mark J. Terrill, 13; Matt Marton 18; Cal Sport Media 21. Imagn/USA Today Sports: Brad Mills 17.

Copyright © 2020 by The Child’s World® All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781503835313 LCCN 2019944744

Printed in the of America Contents

The Best of the Best ...... 4 Mystics ...... 7 Comets ...... 8 Lynx ...... 11 Sparks ...... 12 Shock ...... 15 ...... 16 ...... 19 and Fever ...... 20

Glossary ...... 22 Find Out More . . . . . 23 Index and About the Author . 24

The Best of the Best

he most exciting WNBA game ever was on October 20, 2016. It was Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. T The played the . The best-of-five series was tied 2–2. Three seconds remained. The Lynx led 76–75. Sparks forward grabbed an offensive . She hit the game-winning shot with three seconds to go! The Sparks won, 77–76. Let’s meet other great WNBA champions!

WNBA champions get to hold up this large trophy for winning the WNBA Finals. The smaller, glass trophy goes to the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP).

4 5 6

ne fact was certain—there would be a first-time WNBA champion in 2019. Both teams O in that year’s WNBA Finals were after their first title. After five exciting games, the Washington Mystics were the champs! They won the final game over the Sun, 89–78. Washington star had 21 points. Her teammate, , had 22. “I’m very happy to be one of the players who brought this team its first championship,” said Delle Donne.

In the 2019 WNBA Finals, Elena Delle Donne (in red) wore a mask to protect a broken nose.

7

he Comets are the only WNBA team to win four titles in a row (1997–2000). They were led by T the “big three”—Cynthia Cooper, , and . The Comets were the first great WNBA team. “We made people stand up and watch,” said Thompson. Winning was awesome, but the Comets also faced heartbreak. guard died of cancer during their third season.

Team: The players dedicated their Houston Comets last two titles to their former Championship Titles: 4 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000) teammate. WNBA Seasons: 1997–2008 Kim Perrot celebrated two titles with Houston.

8 9 Sacramento Monarchs and

he Monarchs started in 1997. The team won its only championship in 2005. It beat the . Yolanda “Yo Yo” Griffith T Team: of the Monarchs averaged 18.5 Sacramento Monarchs points and 9.8 rebounds. She Championship Titles: 1 (2005) was the Finals MVP. The Fever Years in League: scorched their way to their first 1997-2009 title in 2012. In the WNBA Finals, they defeated the defending Team: champion Minnesota Lynx. Indiana Fever In the fourth and final game, Championship Titles: 1 (2012) Indiana won 87–78.

Years in League: 2000–Present Indiana’s Tammy Sutton-Brown, , and (left to right) show off their brand-new 2012 championship T-shirts.

20 21 Glossary (uh-SIST) a pass that (POYNT GARD) helps a teammate score a the basketball player who basket directs the offense averaged (AV-uh-rijd) in rallied (RALL-eed) came from sports, reached a similar behind to win number over time rebound (REE-bownd) to grab (SEN-ter) the tallest the ball after a missed shot player on a team, she usually plays closest to the basket sweep (SWEEP) in sports, to win all of the games in a short dedicated (DED-ih-kay-ted) series honored in another’s memory three-pointer (THREE-POYNT-er) defending champion (deh- a basket made from outside FEND-ing CHAMP-ee-un) the an arc on the court, worth three team that most recently was points the best in the league underdog (UN-der-dog) a forward (FOR-werd) a position team or a player who is not that plays near the basket and expected to win often scores and rebounds

22 Find Out More

IN THE LIBRARY

Delle Donne, Elena. Full-Court Press. New York, NY: Harper Entertainment, 2018. (Note: This is a novel by the Washington Mystics’ star player.)

Levit, Joe. Basketball’s G.O.A.T.: , LeBron James, and More (Sports’ Greatest of All Time). New York, NY: Lerner Publishing, 2019.

Sports Illustrated Kids. My First Book of Basketball. New York, NY: Kids, 2018.

ON THE WEB

Visit our Web site for links about the WNBA champions: childsworld.com/links

Note to Parents, Teachers, and Librarians: We routinely verify our Web links to make sure they are safe and active sites. So encourage your readers to check them out!

23 Index

Bird, Sue, 16 Obama, President Barack, 15 Catchings, Tamika, 20 Ogwumike, Nneka, 4 , 19 Parker, Candace, 12 Connecticut Sun, 7, 20 Perrot, Kim, 8 Cooper, Cynthia, 8 Phoenix Mercury, 19 Delle Donne, Elena, 7 Riley, Ruth, 15 , 15 Sacramento Monarchs, 20 Douglas, Katie, 20 Seattle Storm, 2, 16 Fowles, Sylvia, 11 Sutton-Brown, Tammy, 20 Griffith, Yolanda “Yo Yo,” 20 Swoopes, Sheryl, 8 Griner, Brittany, 19 Taurasi, Diana, 19 Houston Comets, 8, 11, 12 Teasley, Nikki, 12 Indiana Fever, 20 Thompson, Tina, 8 Langhorne, Crystal, 16 Washington Mystics, 7 Los Angeles Sparks, 4, 12, 15 White House, 15 Meesseman, Emma, 7 WNBA Finals, 4, 7, 11, 20 Minnesota Lynx, 4, 11, 12, 20 WNBA Finals MVP, 4, 19, 20 Moore, Maya, 11 About the Author

Ellen Labrecque has written more than 100 books for children. A former editor at Sports Illustrated Kids Magazine, she loves covering and watching the WNBA. She played basketball in college, where she was named to the Academic All-America team. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her husband and two kids.

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WNBA WNBA CHAMPIONS

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL Champions BASKETBALL All-Time Best WNBA Players The Story of the WNBA WNBA Champions WNBA Records & Trivia

WNBA Superstars LABRECQUE WNBA Young Stars

BY ELLEN LABRECQUE

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