2003 Detroit Shock season

The 2003 WNBA season was the sixth for the Detroit Shock. The Shock won the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. This season was better known as, "From Worst To First".

2003 Detroit Shock season
WNBA champions
Coach	Bill Laimbeer
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Attendance	7,862 per game
Results
Record	25–9 (.735)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Won WNBA Finals
← 2002 season 2004 season →

Offseason

Dispersal Draft

Pick	Player	Nationality	Team	Previous Team
1	Ruth Riley (C)	United States	Detroit Shock	(from Duke)

WNBA draft

Cheryl Ford (daughter of NBA great Karl Malone) helped the Detroit Shock win a WNBA Championship in her first season.

Pick	Player	Nationality	School
3rd	Cheryl Ford
5th	Kara Lawson
28th	Syreeta Bromfield

^[1]

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Detroit Shock x	25	9	.735	–	13–4	12–5	18–6
Charlotte Sting x	18	16	.529	7.0	13–4	5–12	12–12
Connecticut Sun x	18	16	.529	7.0	10–7	8–9	11–13
Cleveland Rockers x	17	17	.500	8.0	11–6	6–11	13–11
Indiana Fever o	16	18	.471	9.0	11–6	5–12	12–12
New York Liberty o	16	18	.471	9.0	11–6	5–12	11–13
Washington Mystics o	9	25	.265	16.0	3–14	6–11	7–17

Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
May 31	Charlotte	67-70	Loss	0-1
June 5	Connecticut	103-89	Win	1-1
June 7	@ San Antonio	74-55	Win	2-1
June 14	@ Washington	93-56	Win	3-1
June 17	Los Angeles	87-78 (OT)	Win	4-1
June 20	New York	88-83	Win	5-1
June 22	@ Connecticut	82-73 (OT)	Win	6-1
June 24	Indiana	68-60	Win	7-1
June 27	@ New York	75-69	Win	8-1
June 28	Phoenix	65-68	Loss	8-2
July 1	San Antonio	99-88	Win	9-2
July 3	Charlotte	79-92	Loss	9-3
July 6	@ Indiana	54-85	Loss	9-4
July 8	Connecticut	66-50	Win	10-4
July 8	@ Charlotte	58-65	Loss	10-5
July 16	@ Indiana	70-68	Win	11-5
July 18	Seattle	74-61	Win	12-5
July 19	@ Cleveland	58-57	Win	13-5
July 22	Cleveland	74-71	Win	14-5
July 24	@ Charlotte	61-67	Loss	14-6
July 27	Washington	81-71	Win	15-6
July 29	@ Cleveland	77-65	Win	16-6
Aug 1	@ New York	62-60	Win	17-6
Aug 2	Indiana	78-58	Win	18-6
Aug 5	@ Connecticut	78-61	Win	19-6
Aug 6	@ Washington	81-92	Loss	19-7
Aug 8	Houston	56-66	Loss	19-8
Aug 10	New York	90-87 (OT)	Win	20-8
Aug 13	@ Phoenix	78-76	Win	21-8
Aug 15	@ Sacramento	63-75	Loss	21-9
Aug 17	@ Seattle	95-86	Win	22-9
Aug 21	Cleveland	71-56	Win	23-9
Aug 23	@ Minnesota	86-77 (OT)	Win	24-9
Aug 25	Washington	68-60	Win	25-9

^[2]

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; FG = Field Goals; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points

Player	GP	MIN	FG	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS
Swin Cash	33	1097	195	193	119	43	23	548
Deanna Nolan								396
Cheryl Ford								344
Ruth Riley								327
Kedra Holland-Corn								312
Elaine Powell								296
Barbara Farris								127
Sheila Lambert								87
Ayana Walker								56
Tamara Moore								21
Astou Ndiaye-Diatta								20
Stacey Thomas								15
Petra Ujhelyi	14	68	2	12	3	0	1	4

^[3]

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
Eastern Conference Semi	August 29	@ Cleveland	76-74	Win	1-0
	August 31	vs. Cleveland	59-66	Loss	1-1
	September 2	vs. Cleveland	76-74	Win	2-1[2]
Eastern Conference Final	September 5	@ Connecticut	73-63	Win	1-0 (3-1)
	September 7	vs. Connecticut	79-73	Win	2-0 (4-1) [2]
WNBA Finals	September 12	@ Los Angeles	63-75	Loss	0-1 (4-2)
	September 14	Los Angeles	62-61	Win	1-1 (5-2)
	September 16	vs. Los Angeles	83-78	Win	2-1 (6-2)

^[4]

Awards and honors

• Ruth Riley, WNBA Finals MVP Award
• Cheryl Ford, WNBA Rookie of the Year Award
• Bill Laimbeer, WNBA Coach of the Year Award