The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) was founded in 1996 and began play in 1997. [1] The WNBA has kept a record of its win–loss statistics since its inception. There are currently 12 teams that play in the WNBA, and there are also six defunct WNBA teams accounted for in the league's win–loss records.
Of the WNBA's eight inaugural teams, four remain active: the Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, and the Phoenix Mercury. [n 1] All four teams are tied for the most games played in WNBA history, with 894. [4] The Atlanta Dream are the WNBA's newest team and began play in 2008. [5] The Dream have the least games played with 538. [4]
Among active teams, the Sparks hold the highest winning percentage at 522–372 (.584), whereas the Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics are tied for the lowest winning percentage, both holding a 383–483 (.442) record. [4] When considering defunct franchises, the Houston Comets have the highest winning percentage at 241–149 (.618) and the Portland Fire have the lowest with a 37–59 (.385) record. [4] The Sparks also hold the record for most wins (522), while the Wings and Mystics are tied for most losses (483). [4]
In regards to playoff win–loss records, the Minnesota Lynx have the highest winning percentage, with a 43–27 (.614) record. [6] The Washington Mystics hold the lowest winning percentage among active franchises, with an 18–34 (.346) record. [6] Meanwhile, the Sparks hold the record for most playoff games played (90) and wins (47), sharing the latter record with the Mercury. [6] The Sparks also have the most losses (43) in WNBA playoff history. [6] The defunct Portland Fire are the only WNBA franchise to have never qualified for the playoffs, meaning they rank as the team with the fewest playoff games played, wins, and losses (all at 0). [7] Meanwhile, the Charlotte Sting have the lowest all-time playoff win–loss record, at 6–13 (.316), when considering both active and defunct franchises. [6]
Active franchises
Regular season
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| Rank | Team | GP | Won | Lost | Pct. | First season | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Sparks | 894 | 522 | 372 | .584 | 1997 | |
| 2 | Connecticut Sun | 836 | 471 | 365 | .563 | 1999 | [n 2] |
| 3 | Minnesota Lynx | 836 | 452 | 384 | .541 | 1999 | |
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 804 | 419 | 385 | .521 | 2000 | |
| 5 | New York Liberty | 894 | 450 | 444 | .503 | 1997 | |
| 6 | Phoenix Mercury | 894 | 449 | 445 | .502 | 1997 | |
| 7 | Las Vegas Aces | 894 | 428 | 466 | .479 | 1997 | [n 3] |
| 8 | Chicago Sky | 606 | 284 | 322 | .469 | 2006 | |
| 9 | Indiana Fever | 804 | 359 | 445 | .447 | 2000 | |
| 10 | Atlanta Dream | 538 | 239 | 299 | .444 | 2008 | |
| 11 | Washington Mystics | 866 | 383 | 483 | .442 | 1998 | |
| 12 | Dallas Wings | 866 | 383 | 483 | .442 | 1998 | [n 4] |
| Records gathered from Basketball-Reference.com. [4] | |||||||
Playoffs
Note: Accurate as of the end of the Semifinals of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs
| Rank | Team | GP | Won | Lost | Pct. | Last playoff appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota Lynx | 70 | 43 | 27 | .614 | 2023 |
| 2 | Seattle Storm | 60 | 34 | 26 | .567 | 2022 |
| 3 | Dallas Wings | 61 | 33 | 28 | .541 | 2023 |
| 4 | Phoenix Mercury | 88 | 47 | 41 | .534 | 2022 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Sparks | 90 | 47 | 43 | .522 | 2020 |
| 6 | Indiana Fever | 68 | 35 | 33 | .515 | 2016 |
| 7 | Connecticut Sun | 81 | 40 | 41 | .494 | 2023 |
| 8 | Chicago Sky | 42 | 20 | 22 | .476 | 2023 |
| 9 | New York Liberty | 73 | 33 | 40 | .452 | 2023 |
| 10 | Atlanta Dream | 40 | 17 | 23 | .425 | 2023 |
| 11 | Las Vegas Aces | 64 | 27 | 37 | .422 | 2023 |
| 12 | Washington Mystics | 52 | 18 | 34 | .346 | 2023 |
| Records gathered from Basketball-Reference.com. [6] | ||||||
Defunct franchises
Regular season
| Rank | Team | GP | Won | Lost | Pct. | Seasons played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Comets | 390 | 241 | 149 | .618 | 1997– 2008 |
| 2 | Sacramento Monarchs | 424 | 224 | 200 | .528 | 1997– 2009 |
| 3 | Miami Sol | 96 | 48 | 48 | .500 | 2000– 2002 |
| 4 | Cleveland Rockers | 220 | 108 | 112 | .491 | 1997– 2003 |
| 5 | Charlotte Sting | 322 | 143 | 179 | .444 | 1997– 2006 |
| 6 | Portland Fire | 96 | 37 | 59 | .385 | 2000– 2002 |
| Records gathered from Basketball-Reference.com. [4] | ||||||
Playoffs
| Rank | Team | GP | Won | Lost | Pct. | Total appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Comets | 34 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 9 ( 1997– 2003, 2005, 2006) |
| 2 | Sacramento Monarchs | 43 | 24 | 19 | .558 | 9 ( 1999– 2001, 2003– 2009) |
| 3 | Cleveland Rockers | 15 | 6 | 9 | .400 | 4 ( 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003) |
| 4 | Miami Sol | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 1 ( 2001) |
| 5 | Charlotte Sting | 19 | 6 | 13 | .316 | 6 ( 1997– 1999, 2001– 2003) |
| 6 | Portland Fire | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 (never qualified) |
| Records gathered from Basketball-Reference.com. [6] | ||||||
See also
Notes
- ^ The Sparks, Liberty, and Mercury all began play in 1997. [1] As the Aces were founded in 1997 as the Utah Starzz (and later relocated to San Antonio, and then again to Las Vegas), they are also considered one of the WNBA's inaugural franchises. [2] [3]
- ^ The Connecticut Sun played as the Orlando Miracle (1999–2002), prior to their relocation to Connecticut and rebranding as the Sun. [7]
- ^ The Las Vegas Aces began play in 1997 as the Utah Starzz. After their 2002 season, they relocated to San Antonio where they played as the San Antonio Silver Stars from 2003– 2013. They then rebranded as simply the San Antonio Stars, which they played as from 2014– 2017, before relocating to Las Vegas. Since 2018, they have played as the Las Vegas Aces. [7]
- ^ The Dallas Wings began play in 1998 as the Detroit Shock. Ahead of their 2010 season, the relocated to Tulsa but retained the Shock moniker and played as the Tulsa Shock through 2015 Tulsa Shock season. They then relocated and rebranded as the Dallas Wings, which they have played as since 2016. [7]
References
- ^ a b Maloney, Jack (July 2, 2022). "Los Angeles Sparks become first team in WNBA history to win 500 games". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ Voepel, M.A. (September 18, 2022). "Las Vegas Aces win their first WNBA title, beating Connecticut Sun in Game 4 of Finals; Chelsea Gray named MVP". ESPN. Retrieved April 8, 2023 – via ABC.
- ^ "Utah Starzz Season Statistics". WNBA. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "List of all the WNBA Teams". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
- ^ "Atlanta Dream Build Inaugural Roster With 13 Picks In 2008 Expansion Draft". WNBA. February 6, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "WNBA Playoffs Series History". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Voepel, M.A. (September 1, 2021). "Ranking the best WNBA franchises in history: Seattle Storm or Minnesota Lynx at No. 1 overall?". ESPN. Retrieved April 6, 2023.