2001 WNBA Championship

The 2001 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2001 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Los Angeles Sparks, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Charlotte Sting, fourth-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' first title.

2001 WNBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Los Angeles Sparks Michael Cooper 2 Charlotte Sting Anne Donovan 0
Dates	August 30-September 1
MVP	Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks)
Hall of Famers	Sparks: Lisa Leslie (2015) Sting: Dawn Staley (2013) Coaches: Michael Cooper (2024, player) Anne Donovan (1995, player)
Eastern finals	Charlotte defeated New York, 2–1
Western finals	Los Angeles defeated Sacramento, 2–1
← 2000 WNBA Finals 2002 →

The Sparks made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sting also made their first Finals appearance.

Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had ever won a WNBA championship (1997-2000).

The Sparks had a 28–4 record (.875), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Sting (18–14). It did not matter, however, as the Sparks swept the Sting.

Road to the finals

Los Angeles Sparks		Charlotte Sting
28–4 (.875) 1st West, 1st overall	Regular season	18–14 (.562) 4th East, 8th overall
Defeated the (4) Houston Comets, 2–0	Conference Semifinals	Defeated the (1) Cleveland Rockers, 2–1
Defeated the (2) Sacramento Monarchs, 2–1	Conference Finals	Defeated the (2) New York Liberty, 2–1

Regular season series

The Sparks won the regular season series:

June 2

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2001)

Los Angeles Sparks 76, Charlotte Sting 67

Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte

June 19

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived December 14, 2001)

Charlotte Sting 69, Los Angeles Sparks 73

Staples Center, Los Angeles

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

ESPN

August 30

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2001)

Los Angeles Sparks 75, Charlotte Sting 66
Scoring by half: 35–39, 40–27
Pts: Leslie (24) Rebs: Leslie, Milton (8) Asts: Milton (5)		Pts: Stinson (18) Rebs: Feaster (5) Asts: Stinson (5)
L.A Sparks leads series, 1–0

Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte Attendance: 16,132 Referees: Melissa Barlow Michael Price Gary Zielinski

Game 2

NBC

September 1

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 31, 2001)

Charlotte Sting 54, Los Angeles Sparks 82
Scoring by half: 30–38, 24–44
Pts: Sutton-Brown (12) Rebs: Smith (8) Asts: Staley (5)		Pts: Leslie (24) Rebs: Leslie (13) Asts: Dixon (7)
L.A Sparks wins WNBA Finals, 2–0

STAPLES Center, Los Angeles Attendance: 13,141 Referees: Patty Broderick June Corteau Bob Trammell

Awards

• 2001 WNBA champion: Los Angeles Sparks
• Finals MVP: Lisa Leslie

Rosters

2001 Los Angeles Sparks Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight From F 00 Byears, Latasha 5' 11" (1.8m) 206 lb (93kg) DePaul G 21 Dixon, Tamecka 5' 9" (1.75m) 148 lb (67kg) Kansas G 5 Figgs, Ukari 5' 9" (1.75m) 142 lb (64kg) Purdue F 17 Grgin-Fonseca, Vedrana 6' 1" (1.85m) 160 lb (73kg) Croatia C 9 Leslie, Lisa 6' 5" (1.96m) 170 lb (77kg) USC G 40 Levandusky, Nicole 5' 8" (1.73m) 163 lb (74kg) Xavier F 4 Mabika, Mwadi 5' 11" (1.8m) 165 lb (75kg) Democratic Republic of the Congo C 51 Mapp, Rhonda 6' 2" (1.88m) 190 lb (86kg) NC State G 10 McCrimmon, Nicky 5' 8" (1.73m) 125 lb (57kg) USC F 8 Milton, Delisha 6' 1" (1.85m) 172 lb (78kg) Florida G 20 Willits, Wendy 5' 7" (1.7m) 141 lb (64kg) Arkansas	Head coach Michael Cooper (New Mexico) Assistant coaches Glenn McDonald Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

2001 Charlotte Sting Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight From G 20 Anderson, Keisha 5' 7" (1.7m) 125 lb (57kg) Wisconsin G 13 Edwards, Tonya 5' 10" (1.78m) 160 lb (73kg) Tennessee F 7 Enis, Shalonda 6' 1" (1.85m) 185 lb (84kg) Alabama C 3 Erb, Summer 6' 6" (1.98m) 240 lb (109kg) NC State F 21 Feaster, Allison 5' 11" (1.8m) 168 lb (76kg) Harvard University C 33 Machanguana, Clarisse 6' 5" (1.96m) 180 lb (82kg) Old Dominion G 8 Miller, Kelly 5' 9" (1.75m) 144 lb (65kg) Georgia F 23 Smith, Charlotte 6' 0" (1.83m) 148 lb (67kg) North Carolina G 5 Staley, Dawn 5' 6" (1.68m) 134 lb (61kg) Virginia G 32 Stinson, Andrea 5' 10" (1.78m) 158 lb (72kg) NC State C 55 Sutton-Brown, Tammy 6' 4" (1.93m) 203 lb (92kg) Rutgers	Head coach Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) Assistant coaches Trudi Lacey Cheryl Reeve Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured