2000 WNBA Championship

2000 WNBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2 New York Liberty Richie Adubato 0
Dates	August 24-26
MVP	Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets)
Hall of Famers	Comets: Cynthia Cooper (2010) Sheryl Swoopes (2016) Tina Thompson (2018) Liberty: Becky Hammon (2023) Rebecca Lobo (2017; did not play) Teresa Weatherspoon (2019) Coaches: Van Chancellor (2007)
Eastern finals	New York defeated Cleveland, 2–1
Western finals	Houston defeated Los Angeles, 2–0

The 2000 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2000 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, first-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's fourth title.

The Comets made their fourth appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Liberty also made their third Finals appearance.

Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had won a WNBA championship (1997–1999).

The Comets had a 27–5 record (.844), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (20–12). It did not matter, however, as the Comets swept the Liberty.

Road to the finals

Houston Comets		New York Liberty
27–5 (.844) 2nd West, 2nd overall	Regular season	20–12 (.562) 1st East, 4th overall
Defeated the (3) Sacramento Monarchs, 2–0	Conference Semifinals	Defeated the (4) Washington Mystics, 2–0
Defeated the (1) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0	Conference Finals	Defeated the (2) Cleveland Rockers, 2–1

Regular season series

The Comets and the Liberty split the regular season series:

May 29

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 21, 2000)

New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 84

Compaq Center, Houston

July 23

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 22, 2000)

Houston Comets 64, New York Liberty 69

Madison Square Garden, New York

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

Lifetime

August 24

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)

Houston Comets 59, New York Liberty 52
Scoring by half: 29–22, 30–39
Pts: Cooper (20) Rebs: Swoopes, Thompson (8) Asts: Cooper (5)		Pts: Phillips (24) Rebs: Phillips (15) Asts: Weatherspoon (5)

Madison Square Garden, New York Attendance: 19,563 Referees: Sally Bell Dennis DeMayo Gary Zielinski

Game 2

NBC

August 26

Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)

New York Liberty 73, Houston Comets 79 (OT)
Scoring by half: 25–27, 39–37 Overtime: 9–15
Pts: Phillips (20) Rebs: Phillips (7) Asts: Weatherspoon (8)		Pts: Swoopes (31) Rebs: Thompson (8) Asts: Cooper (7)

Compaq Center, Houston Attendance: 16,285 Referees: June Corteau Courtney Kirkland Michael Price

Rosters

2000 Houston Comets Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From F 4 Arcain, Janeth 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 147 lb (67 kg) Brazil G 14 Cooper, Cynthia 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) USC F 23 Jackson, Tammy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Florida C 00 Johnson, Tiffani 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Tennessee G 3 Kelley-Gibson, Jawann 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 137 lb (62 kg) Maryland C 40 Lamb, Monica 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) USC G 21 Rizzotti, Jennifer 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 146 lb (66 kg) Connecticut F 22 Swoopes, Sheryl 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Texas Tech F 7 Thompson, Tina 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) USC F 13 Valdemoro, Amaya 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Spain G 4 Washington, Coquese 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 138 lb (63 kg) Notre Dame	Head coach Van Chancellor (Mississippi State) Assistant coaches Kevin Cook Alisa Scott Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

2000 New York Liberty Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From G 22 Bibby, Jessica 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 139 lb (63 kg) Australia F 13 Ferragut, Marina 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Spain C Firsova, Olga 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Kansas State F 42 Francis, Desiree 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Iowa State G 25 Hammon, Becky 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 136 lb (62 kg) Colorado State G 55 Johnson, Vickie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Louisiana Tech C 50 Lobo, Rebecca  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Connecticut F 24 Phillips, Tari 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) University of Central Florida F 3 Robinson, Crystal 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Southeastern Oklahoma State University G 11 Weatherspoon, Teresa 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 161 lb (73 kg) Louisiana Tech F 44 Whitmore, Tamika 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Memphis F 23 Wicks, Sue 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Rutgers	Head coach Richie Adubato (William Paterson) Assistant coaches Pat Coyle (Rutgers) Jeff House Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured