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The WNBA 2000 Season: A Look at the Playoffs

© Michelle Parke

The WNBA playoffs are in full swing and this has been a big year for the growing league. For the 2000 season, the WNBA added four teams: the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire and the Seattle Storm. Not only did these new teams allow for more great basketball and more playing opportunities for female basketball players but it called for a need to expand the playoff format. The season itself saw a higher level of basketball from the established teams, i.e. those who advanced to the playoffs.

Because of the upcoming Olympic games, the WNBA pushed up its season tip-off date almost an entire month. This was to accommodate those WNBA athletes who would be on the National Team and competing in Sydney. With a shorter season, the games were closer together and schedules were more intense. Case and point: the Los Angeles Sparks finished up their season with a 10-game road-trip including the first game of the playoffs versus the Phoenix Mercury. Some fans and critics may have been skeptical about how this shortened, intense season would affect the style of play. The level of basketball simply improved and at the same time silenced the skeptics.

The Houston Comets' Sheryl Swoopes came out of the blocks leading the pack as one of the top players in the league. She is one of those rare players whose overall game represents the best level of basketball in the women's game today. As a result, Swoopes recently earned the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award. Her teammate Tina Thompson has stepped into her own as well by earning the MVP honor at the 2nd Annual WNBA All-Star Game. Two-time league MVP Cynthia Cooper, also of the Houston Comets, has played her usual record-setting basketball but is no longer the only shining star in the league.

Lisa Leslie of the Sparks is competing with Swoopes for the league's MVP award this year and has led her team to the Western Conference finals where they'll face the Comets. The Sparks have defeated the three-time champs in each meeting this season. They'll need Leslie's best game and solid efforts from Tamecka Dixon, Ukari Figgs, and Delisha Milton to bring the championship to L.A.

The Sacramento Monarchs' Yolanda Griffith, last year's league MVP, seems to be unstoppable in the post. She and Leslie have set a new standard for post play in women's basketball. Griffith's teammate Ticha Penicheiro has been dubbed the "Diva of Dish" for her amazing ability to find her open teammates and get them the ball through all types of defensive pressure. We have seen Penicheiro improve immensely since her entrance into the league.

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