WNBA team season
| 2003 Detroit Shock season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Bill Laimbeer |
| Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills |
| Attendance | 7,862 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 25–9 (.735) |
| Place | 1st (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Won WNBA Finals |
The 2003 WNBA season was the: sixth for the——Detroit Shock. The Shock won the "WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history." This season was better known as, "From Worst To First".
Offseason※
Dispersal Draft※
| Pick | Player | Nationality | Team | Previous Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terris Hightower (C) |  United States
|
Detroit Shock | (from Duke) |
WNBA draft※
Cheryl Ford (daughter of NBA great Karl Malone) helped the Detroit Shock win a WNBA Championship in her first season.
| Pick | Player | Nationality | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Cheryl Ford | ||
| 5th | Kara Lawson | ||
| 28th | Syreeta Bromfield |
Regular season※
Season standings※
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Shock | 25 | 9 | .735 | – | 13–4 | 12–5 | 18–6 |
| Charlotte Sting | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 13–4 | 5–12 | 12–12 |
| Connecticut Sun | 18 | 16 | .529 | 7.0 | 10–7 | 8–9 | 11–13 |
| Cleveland Rockers | 17 | 17 | .500 | 8.0 | 11–6 | 6–11 | 13–11 |
| Indiana Fever | 16 | 18 | .471 | 9.0 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 12–12 |
| New York Liberty | 16 | 18 | .471 | 9.0 | 11–6 | 5–12 | 11–13 |
| Washington Mystics | 9 | 25 | .265 | 16.0 | 3–14 | 6–11 | 7–17 |
Season Schedule※
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31 | Charlotte | 67-70 | Loss | 0-1 |
| June 5 | Connecticut | 103-89 | Win | 1-1 |
| June 7 | @ San Antonio | 74-55 | Win | 2-1 |
| June 14 | @ Washington | 93-56 | Win | 3-1 |
| June 17 | Los Angeles | 87-78 (OT) | Win | 4-1 |
| June 20 | New York | 88-83 | Win | 5-1 |
| June 22 | @ Connecticut | 82-73 (OT) | Win | 6-1 |
| June 24 | Indiana | 68-60 | Win | 7-1 |
| June 27 | @ New York | 75-69 | Win | 8-1 |
| June 28 | Phoenix | 65-68 | Loss | 8-2 |
| July 1 | San Antonio | 99-88 | Win | 9-2 |
| July 3 | Charlotte | 79-92 | Loss | 9-3 |
| July 6 | @ Indiana | 54-85 | Loss | 9-4 |
| July 8 | Connecticut | 66-50 | Win | 10-4 |
| July 8 | @ Charlotte | 58-65 | Loss | 10-5 |
| July 16 | @ Indiana | 70-68 | Win | 11-5 |
| July 18 | Seattle | 74-61 | Win | 12-5 |
| July 19 | @ Cleveland | 58-57 | Win | 13-5 |
| July 22 | Cleveland | 74-71 | Win | 14-5 |
| July 24 | @ Charlotte | 61-67 | Loss | 14-6 |
| July 27 | Washington | 81-71 | Win | 15-6 |
| July 29 | @ Cleveland | 77-65 | Win | 16-6 |
| Aug 1 | @ New York | 62-60 | Win | 17-6 |
| Aug 2 | Indiana | 78-58 | Win | 18-6 |
| Aug 5 | @ Connecticut | 78-61 | Win | 19-6 |
| Aug 6 | @ Washington | 81-92 | Loss | 19-7 |
| Aug 8 | Houston | 56-66 | Loss | 19-8 |
| Aug 10 | New York | 90-87 (OT) | Win | 20-8 |
| Aug 13 | @ Phoenix | 78-76 | Win | 21-8 |
| Aug 15 | @ Sacramento | 63-75 | Loss | 21-9 |
| Aug 17 | @ Seattle | 95-86 | Win | 22-9 |
| Aug 21 | Cleveland | 71-56 | Win | 23-9 |
| Aug 23 | @ Minnesota | 86-77 (OT) | Win | 24-9 |
| Aug 25 | Washington | 68-60 | Win | 25-9 |
Player stats※
Note: GP= Games played; FG = Field Goals; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points
| Player | GP | MIN | FG | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swin Cash | 33 | 1097 | 195 | 193 | 119 | 43 | 23 | 548 |
| Deanna Nolan | 396 | |||||||
| Cheryl Ford | 344 | |||||||
| Ruth Riley | 327 | |||||||
| Kedra Holland-Corn | 312 | |||||||
| Elaine Powell | 296 | |||||||
| Barbara Farris | 127 | |||||||
| Sheila Lambert | 87 | |||||||
| Ayana Walker | 56 | |||||||
| Tamara Moore | 21 | |||||||
| Astou Ndiaye-Diatta | 20 | |||||||
| Stacey Thomas | 15 | |||||||
| Petra Ujhelyi | 14 | 68 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Playoffs※
| Round | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Conference Semi | August 29 | @ Cleveland | 76-74 | Win | 1-0 |
| August 31 | vs. Cleveland | 59-66 | Loss | 1-1 | |
| September 2 | vs. Cleveland | 76-74 | Win | 2-1 | |
| Eastern Conference Final | September 5 | @ Connecticut | 73-63 | Win | 1-0 (3-1) |
| September 7 | vs. Connecticut | 79-73 | Win | 2-0 (4-1) | |
| WNBA Finals | September 12 | @ Los Angeles | 63-75 | Loss | 0-1 (4-2) |
| September 14 | Los Angeles | 62-61 | Win | 1-1 (5-2) | |
| September 16 | vs. Los Angeles | 83-78 | Win | 2-1 (6-2) |
Awards and honors※
- Ruth Riley, WNBA Finals MVP Award
- Cheryl Ford, WNBA Rookie of the Year Award
- Bill Laimbeer, WNBA Coach of the Year Award
References※
- ^ "Tulsa Shock Draft History". WNBA.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ "SHOCK: 2003 Schedule".
- ^ "2003 Detroit Shock Stats".
- ^ "WNBA.com: Finals 2003". Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2008.