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2006 WNBA Playoffs
DatesAugust 17 - September 9, 2006
Final positions
Champions Detroit Shock ( Finals Champion)
East champion Detroit Shock (Coach: Bill Laimbeer)
West champion Sacramento Monarchs (Coach: John Whisenant)
←  2005
2007 →
Standings
Eastern Conference Western Conference
1st Connecticut 1st Los Angeles
2nd Detroit 2nd Sacramento
3rd Indiana 3rd Houston
4th Washington 4th Seattle

The 2006 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2006 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Shock defeating the Western Conference champion Sacramento Monarchs 3-2.

Format

  • The top 4 teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs.
    • All 4 teams are seeded by basis of their standings.
  • The series for rounds one and two are in a best-of-three format with Games 2 and 3 on the home court of the team with the higher seed.
  • The series for the WNBA Finals is in a best-of-five format with Games 1, 2 and 5 on the home court of the team with the higher seed.
  • Reseeding (as used in the Stanley Cup Playoffs) is not in use: therefore, all playoff matchups are predetermined via the teams' seedings.

Playoff qualifying

Eastern Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the East:

  1. Connecticut Sun (26–8)
  2. Detroit Shock (23–11)
  3. Indiana Fever (21–13)
  4. Washington Mystics (18–16)

Western Conference

The following teams clinched a playoff berth in the West:

  1. Los Angeles Sparks (25–9)
  2. Sacramento Monarchs (21–13)
  3. Houston Comets (18–16)
  4. Seattle Storm (18–16)

Bracket

This was the outlook for the 2006 WNBA Playoffs. Teams in italics had home court advantage. Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's original playoffs seeding in their respective conferences. Numbers to the right of each team indicate the number of games the team won in that round.

Conference Semi-Finals
Best-of-3
Conference Finals
Best-of-3
WNBA Finals
Best-of-5
         
E1 Connecticut 2
E4 Washington 0
E1 Connecticut 1
E2 Detroit 2
E2 Detroit 2
E3 Indiana 0
E2 Detroit 3
W2 Sacramento 2
W1 Los Angeles 2
W4 Seattle 1
W1 Los Angeles 0
W2 Sacramento 2
W2 Sacramento 2
W3 Houston 0

Eastern Conference

First round

(1) Connecticut Sun vs. (4) Washington Mystics

August 18
Connecticut Sun 76, Washington Mystics 61
August 20
Washington Mystics 65, Connecticut Sun 68
Connecticut wins series, 2–0

(2) Detroit Shock vs. (3) Indiana Fever

August 17
Detroit Shock 68, Indiana Fever 56
August 19
Indiana Fever 83, Detroit Shock 98
Detroit wins series, 2–0

Conference finals

(1) Connecticut Sun vs. (2) Detroit Shock

August 24
Connecticut Sun 59, Detroit Shock 70
August 26
Detroit Shock 68, Connecticut Sun 77
August 27
Detroit Shock 79, Connecticut Sun 55
Detroit wins series, 2–1

Western Conference

First round

(1) Los Angeles Sparks vs. (4) Seattle Storm

August 18
Los Angeles Sparks 72, Seattle Storm 84
August 20
Seattle Storm 70, Los Angeles Sparks 78
August 22
Seattle Storm 63, Los Angeles Sparks 68
Los Angeles wins series, 2–1

(2) Sacramento Monarchs vs. (3) Houston Comets

August 17
Sacramento Monarchs 93, Houston Comets 78
August 19
Houston Comets 64, Sacramento Monarchs 92
Sacramento wins series, 2–0

Conference finals

(1) Los Angeles Sparks vs. (2) Sacramento Monarchs

August 24
Los Angeles Sparks 61, Sacramento Monarchs 64
August 26
Sacramento Monarchs 72, Los Angeles Sparks 58
Sacramento wins series, 2–0

WNBA Finals: (2) Sacramento Monarchs vs. (2) Detroit Shock

August 30
Sacramento Monarchs 95, Detroit Shock 71
September 1
Sacramento Monarchs 63, Detroit Shock 73
September 3
Detroit Shock 69, Sacramento Monarchs 89
September 6
Detroit Shock 72, Sacramento Monarchs 52
September 9
Sacramento Monarchs 75, Detroit Shock 80
Detroit wins series, 3–2

References