The 2002 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2002 WNBA season , and the conclusion of the season's playoffs . The Los Angeles Sparks , top-seeded champions of the Western Conference , defeated the New York Liberty , top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference , two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' second title.
As of 2020, this is the last time a WNBA franchise has won back to back championships. Coincidentally 2 months before the finals, the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA would win their 14th title by sweeping a New York Metro team, the New Jersey Nets 4-0.
The Liberty made their fourth appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sparks made their second straight Finals appearance.
The Sparks went into the series as defending champions . 2002 marked their second WNBA championship. (The Houston Comets hold the record with four championships won.)
The Sparks had a 25–7 record (.781), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (18–14).
To date, this is the last time the New York Liberty have reached the WNBA Finals.
Road to the finals [ ]
Los Angeles Sparks
New York Liberty
25–7 (.781) 1st West, 1st overall
Regular season
18–14 (.562) 1st East, 4th overall
Defeated the (4) Seattle Storm , 2–0
Conference Semifinals
Defeated the (4) Indiana Fever , 2–1
Defeated the (3) Utah Starzz , 2–0
Conference Finals
Defeated the (3) Washington Mystics , 2–1
Regular season series [ ]
The teams had split the regular season series:
STAPLES Center , Los Angeles
Madison Square Garden , New York
Game summaries [ ]
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time .
Game 1 [ ]
"Game 1" . Archived from the original on 2002-11-26. Retrieved 2011-09-14 .CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link )
Los Angeles Sparks 71 , New York Liberty 63
Scoring by half: 35–35, 36–28
Pts : Mabika 20Rebs : Byears 11
Pts: Hammon 18Rebs: Weatherspoon 7
Madison Square Garden , New York
Game 2 [ ]
"Game 2" . Archived from the original on 2002-11-26. Retrieved 2011-09-14 .CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link )
New York Liberty 66, Los Angeles Sparks 69
Scoring by half: 24–31, 42–38
Pts : Johnson , Whitmore 17Rebs : Phillips 8
Pts: Leslie 17Rebs: Byears 11
STAPLES Center , Los Angeles
Nikki Teasley hit a series-winning three pointer with 2.1 seconds left. Teresa Weatherspoon tried to repeat history by trying to make a halfcourt heave at the buzzer, but the shot was blocked, and the Sparks won their second consecutive title.
Awards [ ]
2002 WNBA Champion: Los Angeles Sparks
Finals MVP : Lisa Leslie
Rosters [ ]
2002 Los Angeles Sparks Finals roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
From
C
41
Askamp, Marlies
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
198 lb (90 kg)
Germany
F
00
Byears, Latasha
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
206 lb (93 kg)
DePaul
F
14
DeSouza, Erika
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Brazil
G
21
Dixon, Tamecka
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
148 lb (67 kg)
Kansas
F
17
Grgin-Fonseca, Vedrana
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Croatia
C
9
Leslie, Lisa
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Southern California
F
4
Mabika, Mwadi
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
G
10
McCrimmon, Nicky
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
125 lb (57 kg)
Southern California
F
8
Milton, Delisha
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
172 lb (78 kg)
Florida
G
42
Teasley, Nikki
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
North Carolina
G
13
Witherspoon, Sophia
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
145 lb (66 kg)
Florida
Head coach
Michael Cooper (New Mexico )
Assistant coaches
Glenn McDonald
Karleen Thompson
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
2002 New York Liberty Finals roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
From
C
42
Cooper, Camille
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
176 lb (80 kg)
Purdue
F
31
Frohlich, Linda
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
G
25
Hammon, Becky
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
136 lb (62 kg)
Colorado State
G
7
Hlede, Korie
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
Duquesne
G
55
Johnson, Vickie
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
Louisiana Tech
C
50
Ngoyisa, Bernadette
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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
Assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s WNBA Championship prior to 2002
Los Angeles Sparks
Founded in 1997
Based in Los Angeles, California
Franchise Arenas Head coaches Administration
Owner: Guggenheim Partners
General Manager: Derek Fisher
All-Stars Seasons Playoff appearances Conference Championships WNBA Championships Rivals Media
Head coach Michael Cooper
Founded in 1997
Based in Brooklyn, New York
Franchise Arenas
Madison Square Garden
Radio City Music Hall
Prudential Center
Westchester County Center
Barclays Center
Head coaches Administration WNBA All-Stars
Essence Carson
Tina Charles
Shameka Christon
Becky Hammon
Kym Hampton
Vickie Johnson
Betnijah Laney
Kia Nurse
Rebecca Lobo
Tari Phillips
Cappie Pondexter
Sugar Rodgers
Ann Wauters
Teresa Weatherspoon
Sue Wicks
Seasons Playoff appearances Conference Championships Rivals
Connecticut Sun
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Houston Comets
Indiana Fever
Los Angeles Sparks
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Play-by-play (1954 –62 )
NBA Finals
1955 (Games 2, 6)
1956 (Game 1)
1957 (Games 1, 7)
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1959 (Games 1–2)
1960 (Games 1, 3–4, 7)
1961 (Games 1, 3–4)
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