| 2001 Los Angeles Sparks season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Michael Cooper |
| Arena | STAPLES Center |
| Attendance | 9,278 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 28–4 (.875) |
| Place | 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Won WNBA Finals |
| Media | |
| Television |
KCOP (UPN 13) Fox Sports Net West |
The 2001 WNBA season was the fifth season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks won their first WNBA Finals.
Offseason
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/School/Team |
| 1 | 16 | Camille Cooper (C) | 
United States |
Purdue |
| 2 | 32 | Nicole Levandusky (G) |
United States |
Xavier |
| 3 | 48 | Kelley Slemon (F) |
United States |
Notre Dame |
| 4 | 64 | Beth Record (G/F) |
United States |
Syracuse |
Regular season
Season standings
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 28 | 4 | .875 | 19–2 | – |
| Sacramento Monarchs x | 20 | 12 | .625 | 13–8 | 8.0 |
| Utah Starzz x | 19 | 13 | .594 | 11–10 | 9.0 |
| Houston Comets x | 19 | 13 | .594 | 13–8 | 9.0 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 13 | 19 | .406 | 8–13 | 15.0 |
| Minnesota Lynx o | 12 | 20 | .375 | 9–12 | 16.0 |
| Portland Fire o | 11 | 21 | .344 | 5–16 | 17.0 |
| Seattle Storm o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 6–15 | 18.0 |
Season Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28 | @ Houston | 66-63 | Win | 1-0 |
| June 1 | @ Orlando | 68-62 | Win | 2-0 |
| June 2 | @ Charlotte | 76-67 | Win | 3-0 |
| June 5 | Cleveland | 58-50 | Win | 4-0 |
| June 9 | @ Minnesota | 62-60 | Win | 5-0 |
| June 14 | Orlando | 84-68 | Win | 6-0 |
| June 16 | @ Seattle | 73-60 | Win | 7-0 |
| June 17 | Portland | 90-75 | Win | 8-0 |
| June 19 | Charlotte | 73-69 | Win | 9-0 |
| June 21 | @ Houston | 65-69 | Loss | 9-1 |
| June 22 | @ Cleveland | 70-74 | Loss | 9-2 |
| June 24 | @ New York | 69-82 | Loss | 9-3 |
| June 26 | @ Detroit | 98-89 | Win | 10-3 |
| July 1 | Miami | 86-60 | Win | 11-3 |
| July 3 | Utah | 84-71 | Win | 12-3 |
| July 5 | Phoenix | 73-50 | Win | 13-3 |
| July 8 | Minnesota | 100-95 | Win | 14-3 |
| July 10 | @ Utah | 79-67 | Win | 15-3 |
| July 11 | @ Phoenix | 75-61 | Win | 16-3 |
| July 14 | @ Washington | 62-50 | Win | 17-3 |
| July 19 | @ Sacramento | 83-68 | Win | 18-3 |
| July 21 | Seattle | 85-79 | Win | 19-3 |
| July 25 | Sacramento | 80-78 | Win | 20-3 |
| July 28 | @ Portland | 88-83 | Win | 21-3 |
| July 30 | Minnesota | 78-69 | Win | 22-3 |
| August 2 | Sacramento | 67-62 | Win | 23-3 |
| August 4 | Seattle | 79-60 | Win | 24-3 |
| August 6 | Indiana | 81-66 | Win | 25-3 |
| August 8 | Phoenix | 79-67 | Win | 26-3 |
| August 11 | Houston | 65-54 | Win | 27-3 |
| August 13 | @ Utah | 78-80 | Loss | 27-4 |
| August 14 | @ Portland | 67-58 | Win | 28-4 |
Playoffs
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| Western Conference Semifinals | |||||
| 1 | August 18 | @ Houston | 64-59 | Win | 1-0 |
| 2 | August 20 | Houston | 70-58 | Win | 2-0 |
| Western Conference Finals | |||||
| 1 | August 24 | @ Sacramento | 74-73 | Win | 3-0 |
| 2 | August 26 | Sacramento | 60-80 | Loss | 3-1 |
| 3 | August 27 | Sacramento | 93-62 | Win | 4-1 |
| WNBA Finals | |||||
| 1 | August 30 | @ Charlotte | 75-66 | Win | 5-1 |
| 2 | September 1 | Charlotte | 82-54 | Win | 6-1 |
Player stats
| Player | Games Played | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Leslie | 31 | 298 | 73 | 34 | 71 | 606 |
| Tamecka Dixon | 29 | 85 | 114 | 27 | 2 | 340 |
| DeLisha Milton-Jones | 32 | 169 | 68 | 49 | 29 | 330 |
| Mwadi Mabika | 28 | 130 | 87 | 39 | 11 | 313 |
| Latasha Byears | 32 | 183 | 29 | 42 | 13 | 297 |
| Ukari Figgs | 32 | 100 | 126 | 43 | 4 | 257 |
| Rhonda Mapp | 30 | 79 | 14 | 16 | 6 | 126 |
| Verdana Grgin-Fonseca | 24 | 35 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 71 |
| Nicky McCrimmon | 28 | 12 | 63 | 21 | 0 | 64 |
| Nicole Levandusky | 13 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 20 |
| Wendi Wilts | 13 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
Awards and honors
- Lisa Leslie, WNBA Finals MVP Award
- Lisa Leslie, WNBA Most Valuable Player Award
- Latasha Byears, WNBA Peak Performer