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Dates | August 29 – August 31 | |||||||||
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MVP | Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks) | |||||||||
Television | ESPN2, NBC | |||||||||
Eastern Finals | New York defeated Washington, 2–1 | |||||||||
Western Finals | Los Angeles defeated Utah, 2–0 | |||||||||
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 2017, this is the last time a WNBA franchise won back to back championships.
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).
The teams had split the regular season series:
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.
Nikki Teasley hit a series-winning three pointer with 02.1 seconds left. Teresa Weatherspoon tried to repeat history by trying to make a halfcout heave at the buzzer, but the shot was blocked and the Sparks win their second consecutive title.