The 2004 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's eighth season. The league had one fewer team than in 2003 as the Cleveland Rockers folded after the 2003 season. The season ended with the Seattle Storm winning their first WNBA Championship, as their head coach Anne Donovan became the first female coach to win a WNBA championship.
| 2004 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | May 20 - September 19, 2004 |
| Number of games | 34 |
| Number of teams | 13 |
| Total attendance | 1,903,427 |
| Average attendance | 8,613 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN, Oxygen, NBATV |
| 2004 WNBA Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Diana Taurasi |
| Picked by | Phoenix Mercury |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Connecticut Sun |
| Eastern runners-up | New York Liberty |
| Western champions | Seattle Storm |
| Western runners-up | Sacramento Monarchs |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Seattle Storm |
| Runners-up | Connecticut Sun |
| Finals MVP | Betty Lennox (Seattle) |
Regular season standings
editEastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut Sun x | 18 | 16 | .529 | – | 10–7 | 8–9 | 14–6 |
| New York Liberty x | 18 | 16 | .529 | – | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–10 |
| Detroit Shock x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 1.0 | 8–9 | 9–8 | 11–9 |
| Washington Mystics x | 17 | 17 | .500 | 1.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 9–11 |
| Charlotte Sting o | 16 | 18 | .471 | 2.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 8–12 |
| Indiana Fever o | 15 | 19 | .441 | 3.0 | 10–7 | 5–12 | 8–12 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 15–2 | 10–7 | 16–6 |
| Seattle Storm x | 20 | 14 | .588 | 5.0 | 13–4 | 7–10 | 13–9 |
| Minnesota Lynx x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 12–10 |
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 12–10 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 17 | 17 | .500 | 8.0 | 10–7 | 7–10 | 11–11 |
| Houston Comets o | 13 | 21 | .382 | 12.0 | 9–8 | 4–13 | 7–15 |
| San Antonio Silver Stars o | 9 | 25 | .265 | 16.0 | 6–11 | 3–14 | 6–16 |
Season award winners
editPlayoffs
edit| First Round Best of 3 | Conference Finals Best of 3 | WNBA Finals Best of 3 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Washington | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
| E2 | New York | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Detroit | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Connecticut | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Sacramento | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Sacramento | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Seattle | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Minnesota | 0 | ||||||||||||
Coaches
editEastern Conference
edit- Charlotte Sting: Trudi Lacey and Tyrone Bogues
- Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
- Detroit Shock: Bill Laimbeer
- Indiana Fever: Brian Winters
- New York Liberty: Richie Adubato and Pat Coyle
- Washington Mystics: Michael Adams