
Minnesota F Maya Moore shoots a jumper PHOTO: Bettina Hansen/The Seattle Times
Now that the kids have been dismissed, the WNBA’s proven stars can prepare for an intriguing WNBA Finals matchup. Two of the league’s top-5 scorers in Maya Moore (Minnesota) and Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta) will lead their teams in a best-of-five Finals that tips Sunday at 5:30 pm (PT) on ESPN.
If I had trusted my gut, the Western side would have been my preseason pick to make it this far. Instead, I was one of many sucked into the WNBA’s “Three to See” hype in draft picks Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne, and Skylar Diggins. While Delle Donne did lead Chicago to the regular-season Eastern Conference title (my prediction), Diggins’ Tulsa didn’t even advance to the postseason and Griner’s Phoenix was swept by Minnesota.
The Lynx (4-0) were ticked at the early predictions, using its own “Three to See” campaign for Moore, G Seimone Augustus and PG Lindsay Whalen. Win the 2013 title and the trio can dust off that dynasty talk it tried to self-proclaim in 2011 when the Lynx won its first championship.
The definition of a dynasty in sports is to win multiple, successive championships and the Lynx fell 3-1 to Indiana for the 2012 WNBA title. But Minnesota has won three consecutive conference championships to join luminaries Detroit (2006-08), Los Angeles (2001-03) and Houston (1997-2000).
A possible “dynasty” just in time for legend Tina Thompson’s exit, the last member of the WNBA’s original dynasty. Her Comets won the league’s inaugural four championships — a feat untouched. Competition has improved so much, modern teams can’t even manage back-to-back titles. The Sparks were the last to do so in 2001-02. McCoughtry’s Dream (4-1) swept the defending champion Fever to advance to the Finals.
Successive trips to the Finals isn’t bad for a Minnesota team once just a trivia answer to what team was Seattle playing when PG Sue Bird broke her nose (bonus points if you can name the player). Whalen had experience, losing to the 2004 Storm team for the WNBA championship and making five trips to the Finals overall in her 10-year career. The difference-maker for the Lynx is Moore.
More