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2008 Detroit Shock season
Coach Bill Laimbeer
Arena The Palace of Auburn Hills
Attendance9,569 per game
Results
Record22–12 (.647)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishWon WNBA Finals
Team Leaders
Points Deanna Nolan (15.8)
Rebounds Cheryl Ford (8.7)
Assists Deanna Nolan (4.4)

The 2008 WNBA season was the 11th for the Detroit Shock, an American women's professional basketball team. The Shock returned to the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive year, winning their second WNBA Championship in three seasons, and their third in six years.

During the Finals, Katie Smith averaged a team high 21.7 points per game to be named WNBA Finals MVP. [1] Similar to Kevin Garnett with the 2008 Boston Celtics, Taj McWilliams-Franklin won her first championship after 10 years in the league. [2]

Offseason

The following player was lost in the Atlanta Dream expansion draft:

[3]

WNBA draft

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 4 (from Atl. via Sea.) Alexis Hornbuckle   United States Tennessee
11 (from SA) Tasha Humphrey   United States Georgia
2 18 (from Atl.) Olayinka Sanni   United States West Virginia
3 42 Valeriya Berezhynska   United States Rice

Transactions

  • September 4: The Shock signed Ashley Shields.
  • August 19: The Shock signed Ashley Shields to a seven-day contract.
  • August 12: The Shock traded Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics for Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
  • August 8: The Shock waived Stacey Lovelace.
  • July 26: The Shock signed Kelly Schumacher.
  • July 25: The Shock waived Nancy Lieberman.
  • July 24: The Shock signed Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract.
  • July 11: The Shock signed Stacey Lovelace.
  • June 27: The Shock waived Chrissy Givens.
  • June 22: The Shock traded LaToya Thomas to the Minnesota Lynx for Eshaya Murphy.
  • June 18: The Shock waived Wanisha Smith and signed Chrissy Givens.
  • May 15: The Shock waived Michelle Campbell and Wanisha Smith.
  • May 8: The Shock signed Wanisha Smith to a training camp contract.
  • May 7: The Shock signed free agent Sheri Sam.
  • May 5: The Shock waived Valeriya Berezhynska, Natasha Lacy and Tyresa Smith.
  • April 26: The Shock waived Chakhia Cole, Fantasia Goodwin and Samantha Mahoney.
  • April 18: The Shock waived Nina Norman.
  • April 17: The Shock signed Samantha Mahoney to a training camp contract.
  • April 16: The Shock signed Chakhia Cole to a training camp contract.
  • March 31: The Shock signed Elaine Powell to a training camp contract.
  • March 10: The Shock re-signed free agents Cheryl Ford, Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith.
  • March 4: The Shock signed Tyresa Smith and Michelle Campbell to training camp contracts.
  • February 29: The Shock signed Nina Norman to a training camp contract.
  • February 28: The Shock re-signed free agent Plenette Pierson and signed Chrissy Givens to a training camp contract.
  • February 19: The Shock traded Swin Cash to the Seattle Storm in exchange for the 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
  • February 6: The Shock traded Ivory Latta to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.

[4]

Trades

Date Trade
February 6, 2008 To Detroit Shock To Atlanta Dream
LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft Ivory Latta
February 19, 2008 To Detroit Shock To Seattle Storm
The 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA draft Swin Cash
June 22, 2008 To Detroit Shock To Minnesota Lynx
Eshaya Murphy LaToya Thomas
August 12, 2008 To Detroit Shock To Washington Mystics
Taj McWilliams-Franklin Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy, and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA draft

Free agents

Season Highlights

The Shock season opener resulted in a record-breaking debut for rookie guard Alexis Hornbuckle. Hornbuckle set a Shock record with seven steals to help the Shock beat the Houston Comets on May 17. Deanna Nolan scored a franchise-record 44 points (28 in the fourth quarter and overtime) in a 98-93 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on June 20.

Malice at the Palace

Nancy Lieberman

In July, the Detroit Shock signed Nancy Lieberman, the franchise's first head coach and general manager, to a 7-day contract. The 50-year-old Lieberman broke her own record for being the oldest player in the WNBA. [5] Lieberman, a Hall of Famer since 1999, was 39 years old when she played with Phoenix during the league's first year in 1997.

The 50-year-old Lieberman played nine minutes and had two assists. [6] One of the assists included a no-look pass in the closing minutes of the Detroit Shock's 79-61 loss to the Houston Comets on July 24.

Lieberman made an appearance in the Shock's first game against the Los Angeles Sparks on July 22 due to the bench-clearing brawl. Five Shock players were suspended and Cheryl Ford suffered a season-ending injury, prompting coach Bill Laimbeer to offer Lieberman the seven-day contract.

Roster

Detroit Shock roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
C 45 United States Braxton, Kara 6' 6" (1.98m) 210 lb (95kg) Georgia
PF 35 United States Ford, Cheryl  Injured 6' 3" (1.91m) 198 lb (90kg) Louisiana Tech
SG 22 United States Hornbuckle, Alexis 5' 11" (1.8m) 155 lb (70kg) Tennessee
PF 44 United States McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6' 2" (1.88m) 184 lb (83kg) St. Edward's University
SG 14 United States Nolan, Deanna (C) 5' 11" (1.8m) 144 lb (65kg) Georgia
SF 23 United States Pierson, Plenette 6' 2" (1.88m) 181 lb (82kg) Texas Tech
PG 5 United States Powell, Elaine 5' 8" (1.73m) 150 lb (68kg) LSU
G/F 55 United States Sam, Sheri 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) Vanderbilt
C 24 United States Sanni, Olayinka 6' 2" (1.88m) 205 lb (93kg) West Virginia
C 11 United States Schumacher, Kelly 6' 5" (1.96m) 183 lb (83kg) Connecticut
SG 3 United States Shields, Ashley 5' 10" (1.78m) 155 lb (70kg) Southwest Tennessee Community College
G/F 30 United States Smith, Katie (C) 5' 11" (1.8m) 174 lb (79kg) Ohio State
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Athletic trainer
Strength and conditioning coach

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Detroit Shock x 22 12 .647 14–3 8–9 16–4
Connecticut Sun x 21 13 .618 1.0 13–4 8–9 13–7
New York Liberty x 19 15 .559 3.0 11–6 8–9 11–9
Indiana Fever x 17 17 .500 5.0 11–6 6–11 12–8
Chicago Sky o 12 22 .353 10.0 8–9 4–13 10–10
Washington Mystics o 10 24 .294 12.0 6–11 4–13 6–14
Atlanta Dream o 4 30 .118 18.0 1–16 3–14 2–18

Schedule

Regular season

2008 Game Log: Regular Season
May
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
1 May 17 Houston 85-66 Smith (21) Ford (11) Ford (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
13,824
1-0
2 May 18 @ Minnesota 70-84 Smith (17) Ford (9) Nolan (6) Target Center
9,972
1-1
3 May 21 Indiana 76-71 Braxton (22) Ford (10) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills
6,842
2-1
4 May 23 @ Atlanta 88-76 Nolan (33) Ford (13) Nolan (8) Philips Arena
11,609
3-1
5 May 25 New York 72-62 Pierson (25) Braxton, Powell (7) Nolan (7) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,068
4-1
6 May 31 @ Indiana 74-65 Smith (19) Ford (8) Nolan, Powell (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
9,219
5-1
June
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
7 June 4 Seattle 77-67 Smith (33) Ford (11) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,108
6-1
8 June 6 @ Sacramento 84-70 Smith (30) Braxton, Ford, Nolan (6) Nolan (9) ARCO Arena
6,663
7-1
9 June 7 @ Seattle 67-75 Smith (18) Pierson (10) Hornbuckle, Pierson (3) KeyArena
7,105
7-2
10 June 11 @ Los Angeles 73-80 Smith (16) Pierson, Smith (7) Smith (4) STAPLES Center
8,520
7-3
11 June 14 @ Phoenix 89-79 Humphrey (28) Hornbuckle (15) Nolan (8) US Airways Center
7,696
8-3
12 June 20 Minnesota 98-93 (OT) Nolan (44) Ford (14) Pierson (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,916
9-3
13 June 22 @ Atlanta 97-76 Ford (20) Ford (12) Nolan (7) Philips Arena
7,865
10-3
14 June 24 @ Connecticut 68-85 Nolan (17) Ford (11) Smith (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,501
10-4
15 June 26 Connecticut 70-61 Nolan (13) Ford (9) Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,636
11-4
16 June 28 @ Chicago 59-76 Murphy (13) Ford (8) Hornbuckle, Sam (4) UIC Pavilion
3,407
11-5
17 June 29 Atlanta 100-92 Braxton (26) Braxton (9) Nolan (11) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,798
12-5
July
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
18 July 1 @ San Antonio 72-79 (OT) Smith (17) Ford, Sam (8) Smith (9) AT&T Center
5,656
12-6
19 July 8 Connecticut 88-82 Pierson (23) Braxton (8) Nolan (8) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,623
13-6
20 July 11 Washington 79-66 Smith (23) Braxton, Ford (7) Nolan (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,596
14-6
21 July 12 @ New York 64-74 Smith, Pierson (13) Ford (12) Nolan (4) Madison Square Garden
8,661
14-7
22 July 16 Chicago 66-63 Ford (14) Pierson (8) Nolan, Smith (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
15,210
15-7
23 July 18 @ Washington 99-62 Nolan (26) Braxton, Hornbuckle (6) Sam (8) Verizon Center
6,834
16-7
24 July 20 Sacramento 85-88 Nolan (27) Ford (10) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
9,138
16-8
25 July 22 Los Angeles 81-84 Smith (20) Ford (9) Hornbuckle, Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
12,930
16-9
26 July 24 @ Houston 61-79 Nolan (23) Nolan, Sam (9) Nolan (4) Reliant Arena
7,261
16-10
27 July 27 San Antonio 64-76 Nolan (25) Braxton (9) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
9,537
16-11
August
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
Summer Olympic break
28 August 29 New York 83-69 Nolan (26) Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
11,516
17-11
29 August 31 @ Chicago 81-82 (OT) Smith (23) McWilliams-Franklin (11) Nolan (6) UIC Pavilion
4,197
17-12
September
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record
30 September 5 Indiana 90-68 Pierson (20) Pierson (6) McWilliams-Franklin, Pierson (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
9,287
18-12
31 September 6 @ Washington 84-69 McWilliams-Franklin (21) Nolan (10) Smith (8) Verizon Center
9,976
19-12
32 September 9 Phoenix 89-78 Nolan (18) Braxton, Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (8) Pierson, Smith (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
7,495
20-12
33 September 11 Washington 78-66 Nolan (17) McWilliams-Franklin (8) Smith (6) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,145
21-12
34 September 14 @ New York 61-59 Nolan, Pierson (11) Hornbuckle, Nolan (7) Powell (4) Madison Square Garden
10,042
22-12

Postseason

2008 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
1 September 19 @ Indiana 81-72 Nolan (22) Braxton, McWilliams-Franklin (7) Powell, Smith (3) Conseco Fieldhouse
7,613
1-0
2 September 21 Indiana 82-89 Nolan, Pierson (16) Pierson, Powell (7) Pierson (5) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,219
1-1
3 September 23 Indiana 80-61 Nolan (21) Hornbuckle (8) Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (4) Palace of Auburn Hills
8,296
2-1
Eastern Conference Finals
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
1 September 26 @ New York 56-60 Nolan (22) Hornbuckle, McWilliams-Franklin (7) 4 players (2) Madison Square Garden
14,711
1-0
2 September 28 New York 64-55 Nolan (22) Taj McWilliams-Franklin (11) 4 players (2) EMU Convocation Center
7,965
1-1
3 September 29 New York 75-73 Nolan (21) Taj McWilliams-Franklin (8) Nolan, Smith (3) EMU Convocation Center
7,429
2-1
WNBA Finals
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series
1 October 1 @ San Antonio 77-69 Smith (25) Smith (9) Nolan (4) AT&T Center
9,380
1-0
2 October 3 @ San Antonio 69-61 Smith (22) Nolan (7) Smith (6) AT&T Center
16,012
2-0
3 October 5 San Antonio 76-60 Smith (18) Braxton, Hornbuckle (9) Hornbuckle, Nolan (5) EMU Convocation Center
8,952
3-0

Player stats

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Deanna Nolan 34 34 33.6 .465 .374 .863 3.9 4.4 1.2 0.3 15.8
Katie Smith 34 34 33.9 .383 .360 .887 2.8 4.0 0.9 0.1 14.7
Plenette Pierson 28 0 23.2 .457 .000 .752 4.9 2.3 0.9 1.2 11.9
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 7 7 26.2 .422 1.000 .909 6.7 1.9 0.4 0.7 10.7
Cheryl Ford 24 24 26.5 .481 .000 .560 8.7 0.9 1.0 0.4 10.1
Kara Braxton 33 10 17.9 .415 .000 .743 5.1 0.8 0.4 0.7 8.9
Tasha Humphrey 22 16 13.5 .500 .385 .955 2.9 1.0 0.6 0.3 7.3
Alexis Hornbuckle 34 0 22.0 .354 .356 .636 4.1 2.1 2.3 0.3 5.4
Elaine Powell 16 16 19.6 .490 .500 .750 3.1 2.2 0.4 0.7 3.6
Olayinka Sanni 31 9 10.5 .500 .000 .649 2.1 0.2 0.4 0.2 3.4
Ashley Shields 7 0 6.3 .364 .333 .750 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 3.1
Sheri Sam 32 15 14.9 .309 .286 .692 2.8 1.2 0.6 0.1 2.9
Eshaya Murphy 13 3 9.4 .300 .263 .667 1.6 0.5 0.5 0.2 2.5
Kelly Schumacher 7 0 12.7 .375 .000 1.000 2.9 0.7 0.3 0.4 2.0
Stacey Lovelace 7 2 6.3 .286 .400 .667 1.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 1.4
LaToya Thomas 7 0 5.7 .267 .000 .000 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.1
Chrissy Givens 3 0 3.3 .000 .000 1.000 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.7
Wanisha Smith 1 0 0.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Nancy Lieberman 1 0 9.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Detroit Shock Regular Season Stats

Postseason

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Deanna Nolan 9 9 38.8 .359 .341 .939 4.6 2.9 2.1 0.3 17.6
Katie Smith 9 9 34.3 .410 .354 .758 4.0 2.4 0.4 0.1 15.3
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 9 9 32.6 .490 .500 .864 7.0 2.1 1.0 1.3 12.9
Kara Braxton 9 9 20.0 .500 .000 .650 5.3 1.0 0.4 0.6 8.6
Plenette Pierson 6 0 17.8 .474 .000 .846 3.0 1.7 0.7 0.3 7.8
Alexis Hornbuckle 9 0 24.4 .429 .375 .750 4.9 2.1 1.2 0.8 6.3
Elaine Powell 9 9 19.0 .588 .000 .818 2.3 2.0 0.7 0.0 3.2
Olayinka Sanni 9 0 7.3 .438 .000 .500 1.8 0.3 0.3 0.0 1.8
Kelly Schumacher 8 0 11.9 .438 .000 .000 3.0 0.4 0.1 0.4 1.8
Sheri Sam 6 0 5.0 .286 .000 1.000 0.5 0.0 0.2 0.0 1.0
Ashley Shields 3 0 1.3 .200 .000 .000 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.7

Detroit Shock Playoff Stats

Awards and honors

  • Katie Smith, WNBA Player of the Week (June 2–8)
  • Deanna Nolan, WNBA Player of the Week (June 16–22 and July 14–20)
  • Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
  • Katie Smith, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
  • Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Second Team
  • Katie Smith, WNBA Finals MVP

References

  1. ^ Smith's Sheer Dominance Earns Her MVP Honors
  2. ^ "My Kevin Garnett Moment in WNBA Blogs in Fan Voice". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
  3. ^ "WNBA.com: Atlanta Dream Expansion Draft". Archived from the original on August 20, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  4. ^ http://www.wnba.com/transactions/WNBA_2008.html2008 WNBA Transactions. Accessed 2009-08-07. 2009-08-11.
  5. ^ "Nancy Lieberman to play in WNBA at age of 50". Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  6. ^ Lieberman's Shows Flash of Past in Shock Loss

External links