2011 WNBA season
The 2011 WNBA season was the 15th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on June 3 with the Los Angeles Sparks hosting the Minnesota Lynx, featuring 2011 WNBA draft top pick Maya Moore, in a game televised on NBA TV. Four games followed the next day, with the marquee matchup, televised on ABC, featuring the defending champion Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury in Seattle.
The Minnesota Lynx finished the regular season with the best record in the league at 27-7, and were the top seed in the Western Conference. The Indiana Fever were the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Lynx ultimately advanced to face the Atlanta Dream in the 2011 WNBA Finals.
2010–2011 WNBA offseason
- The new television deal with ESPN continued during the 2011 season. For the first time ever, teams will be paid rights fees as part of this deal.
- As of the 2009 season, the maximum roster size per team was reduced from 13 to 11. Any team that falls below nine players able to play due to injury, pregnancy or any other factor outside of the control of the team will, upon request, be granted a roster hardship exception allowing the team to sign an additional player or players so that the team will have nine players able to play in an upcoming game or games. As soon as the injured player is able to play, the roster hardship player – not any other player on the roster—must be waived.
- On October 12, 2010, the New York Liberty named former Monarchs coach John Whisenant head coach and general manager.
- On October 29, 2010, Pokey Chatman was named head coach and general manager of the Chicago Sky.
- On November 1, 2010, the Washington Mystics announced that Julie Plank and Angela Taylor would not be returning to the team and that Trudi Lacey would take over head coach and GM positions.
- On December 3, 2010, Donna Orender, six-year league president, announced her resignation effective December 31.
- On January 11, 2011, The San Antonio Silver Stars announced that Dan Hughes would resume head coaching duties.
- The Washington Mystics announced a marquee sponsorship with Inova Health System on April 7, 2011. This marked the fifth team in the league to allow a sponsor to brand their uniforms.
- On draft day, Adidas introduced the Revolution 30 technology, to be used on all WNBA team uniforms. The uniforms are 30% lighter than before and also enable moisture management. Unlike their NBA and NBA D-League counterparts, however, all WNBA uniforms underwent complete redesigns.
- NBA Commissioner David Stern announced on April 21, 2011 that Laurel J. Richie would assume role as president of the WNBA on May 16.
- The New York Liberty will play home games for the next three seasons at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, due to summer renovations at Madison Square Garden.
Marquee sponsorship
On August 22, 2011, the WNBA announced a league-wide marquee sponsorship with Boost Mobile. The deal would allow the Boost Mobile logo to be placed on ten of the 12 teams' jerseys in addition to branding on the courts and in arenas. A source said the deal is worth "roughly $10 million over its four years" and is the richest in league history.Draft
The WNBA Draft lottery was held on November 2, 2010. The lottery teams were the Tulsa Shock, Minnesota Lynx, Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx. The top pick was awarded to Minnesota.The 2011 WNBA Draft was held on April 11, 2011, in Bristol, Connecticut. Coverage of the first round was shown on ESPN. Second and third round coverage was shown on ESPNU and NBA TV.
The top picks were:
- Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
- Elizabeth Cambage, Tulsa Shock
- Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago Sky
- Amber Harris, Minnesota Lynx
Regular season
All-Star Game
The 2011 WNBA All-Star Game was hosted by the San Antonio Silver Stars on July 23 at the AT&T Center. Coverage of the game began at 3:30pm on ABC. This marks the first time the Silver Stars have hosted the annual event. This is only the second time in league history that the showcase was played on the court of a Western Conference team.Statistic leaders
The following shows the leaders for each statistic during the 2011 regular season.| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | 21.6 PPG |
| Rebounds per game | Tina Charles | Connecticut Sun | 11.0 RPG |
| Assists per game | Lindsay Whalen | Minnesota Lynx | 5.9 APG |
| Steals per game | Sancho Lyttle | Atlanta Dream | 2.36 SPG |
| Blocks per game | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky | 2.00 BPG |
| Field goal percentage | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago Sky | 59.1% |
| Three point FG percentage | Jeanette Pohlen | Indiana Fever | 46.8% |
| Free throw percentage | DeWanna Bonner | Phoenix Mercury | 90.9% |
| Points per game | Team Stat | Phoenix Mercury | 88.97 PPG |
| Least points allowed | Team Stat | Seattle Storm | 69.85 PPG |
| Field goal percentage | Team Stat | Phoenix Mercury | 46.1% |
| Least FG% allowed | Team Stat | Minnesota Lynx | 41.3% |
Schedule
!style="background:#094480; color:white"| 2011 WNBA regular season! style="background:#094480; color:white" | 2011 WNBA postseason
Awards
Reference:Coaches
Eastern Conference
- Atlanta Dream: Marynell Meadors
- Chicago Sky: Pokey Chatman
- Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
- Indiana Fever: Lin Dunn
- New York Liberty: John Whisenant
- Washington Mystics: Trudi Lacey