2002 WNBA Finals
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| Dates: | August 29 – August 31 | |||||||||
| MVP: | Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks) | |||||||||
| Television: | ESPN2, NBC | |||||||||
| East Finals: | New York defeated Washington, 2–1 | |||||||||
| West Finals: | Los Angeles defeated Utah, 2–0 | |||||||||
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The 2002 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2002 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' second title. As of 2012, this is the last time a WNBA franchise won back to back championships.
The Liberty made their fourth appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sparks made their second straight Finals appearance.
The Sparks went into the series as defending champions. 2002 marked their second WNBA championship. (The Houston Comets hold the record with four championships won.)
The Sparks had a 25–7 record (.781), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (18–14).
Road to the finals
| Los Angeles Sparks | New York Liberty | |
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| 25–7 (.781) 1st West, 1st overall |
Regular season | 18–14 (.562) 1st East, 4th overall |
| Defeated the (4) Seattle Storm, 2–0 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (4) Indiana Fever, 2–1 |
| Defeated the (3) Utah Starzz, 2–0 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (3) Washington Mystics, 2–1 |
Regular season series
The teams had split the regular season series:
Game summaries
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.
Game 1
August 29 7:30pm |
| Los Angeles Sparks 71, New York Liberty 63 | ||
| Scoring by half: 35-35, 36-28 | ||
| Pts: Mabika 20 Rebs: Byears 11 |
Pts: Hammon 18 Rebs: Weatherspoon 7 | |
Game 2
August 31 3:30pm |
| New York Liberty 66, Los Angeles Sparks 69 | ||
| Pts: Johnson, Whitmore 17 Rebs: Phillips 8 |
Pts: Leslie 17 Rebs: Byears 11 | |
Nikki Teasley hit a series-winning three pointer with 02.1 seconds left. Teresa Weatherspoon tried to repeat history by trying to make a halfcout heave at the buzzer, but the shot was blocked and the Sparks win their second consecutive title.
Awards
- 2002 WNBA Champion: Los Angeles Sparks
- Finals MVP: Lisa Leslie
Rosters
| 2002 Los Angeles Sparks Finals roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2002 New York Liberty Finals roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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