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| Dates | October 4–14 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP |  Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Lynx: Seimone Augustus (2024) Lindsay Whalen (2022) Fever: Tamika Catchings (2020) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Indiana Fever defeated New York, 2–1 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Minnesota Lynx defeated Phoenix, 2–0 | |||||||||
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The 2015 WNBA Finals was the championship series for the 2015 WNBA season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). On August 26, vegasinsider.com projected that the Minnesota Lynx has the highest odds to win the series (11/10).[1]
The WNBA Finals were under a 2–2–1 rotation. The Lynx held home-court advantage as they had a better regular season record (22–12) than the Fever (20–14).
| Eastern Conference
|
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x - New York Liberty | 23 | 11 | .676 | – | 12–5 | 11–6 | 13–9 |
| x - Chicago Sky | 21 | 13 | .618 | 2 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 14–8 |
| x - Indiana Fever | 20 | 14 | .588 | 3 | 11–6 | 9–8 | 13–9 |
| x - Washington Mystics | 18 | 16 | .529 | 5 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–12 |
| e - Atlanta Dream | 15 | 19 | .441 | 8 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 10–12 |
| e - Connecticut Sun | 15 | 19 | .441 | 8 | 8–9 | 7–10 | 6–16 |
| Western Conference
|
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| z - Minnesota Lynx | 22 | 12 | .647 | – | 13–4 | 9–8 | 16–6 |
| x - Phoenix Mercury | 20 | 14 | .588 | 2 | 13–4 | 7–10 | 15–7 |
| x - Tulsa Shock | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 12–5 | 6–11 | 11–11 |
| x - Los Angeles Sparks | 14 | 20 | .412 | 8 | 9–8 | 5–12 | 10–12 |
| e - Seattle Storm | 10 | 24 | .294 | 12 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 8–14 |
| e - San Antonio Stars | 8 | 26 | .235 | 14 | 7–10 | 1–16 | 6–16 |
| Minnesota Lynx | Indiana Fever | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 22–12 (.647) 1st West, 2nd overall |
Seeding | 20–14 (.588) 3rd East, 4th overall | |
| Defeated the (4) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–1 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (2) Chicago Sky, 2–1 | |
| Defeated the (2) Phoenix Mercury, 2–0 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (1) New York Liberty, 2–1 | |
The Indiana Fever finished 20–14, good for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Fever lost their first playoff game against the Chicago Sky, but rallied to win two straight elimination games, setting up a conference final against the New York Liberty. Once again, Indiana lost the first game of the series, but rallied to win two straight to reach the finals for the third time in franchise history, which gave Stephanie White the first rookie head coach to lead her team to the WNBA Finals.
The Minnesota Lynx finished with the best record in the Western Conference for the fourth time in five year, finishing with a 22–12 record. With the mid-season addition of Sylvia Fowles from the Chicago Sky, the Lynx eliminated the Los Angeles Sparks in three games. The Lynx then swept the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference Finals after a controversial foul called on Mercury guard Noelle QuinnonMaya Moore with 1.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter in Game 2, which gave them a chance to win their third WNBA title in five years.
The Minnesota Lynx won the season series 2–0:
June 6, 2015 |
| Minnesota Lynx 78, Indiana Fever69 |
September 4, 2015 |
| Indiana Fever 65, Minnesota Lynx81 |
October 4 |
| Indiana Fever 75, Minnesota Lynx69 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 10–10, 25–19, 19–18, 21–22 | ||
| Pts: January19 Rebs: Larkins8 Asts: January6 |
Pts: Moore27 Rebs: Moore12 Asts: Augustus, Whalen4 | |
| Indiana leads series 1-0 | ||
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
October 6 |
| Indiana Fever 71, Minnesota Lynx 77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 17–19, 18–24, 12–14 | ||
| Pts: January17 Rebs: Catchings, Larkins9 Asts: Catchings, January5 |
Pts: Fowles21 Rebs: Fowles9 Asts: Cruz, Moore5 | |
| Series tied 1-1 | ||
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
October 9 |
| Minnesota Lynx 80, Indiana Fever77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–19, 18–23, 21–15, 21–20 | ||
| Pts: Moore24 Rebs: Fowles11 Asts: Cruz5 |
Pts: Johnson17 Rebs: Catchings10 Asts: January8 | |
| Minnesota leads series 2-1 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN |
October 11 |
| Minnesota Lynx 69, Indiana Fever 75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–15, 12–21, 14–22, 23–17 | ||
| Pts: Moore20 Rebs: Moore8 Asts: six tied2 |
Pts: Johnson15 Rebs: Larkins6 Asts: January5 | |
| Series tied 2-2 | ||
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN |
October 14 |
| Indiana Fever 52, Minnesota Lynx 69 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 4–12, 8–21, 23–21 | ||
| Pts: Catchings18 Rebs: Catchings11 Asts: January, Zellous3 |
Pts: Fowles20 Rebs: Brunson14 Asts: Moore5 | |
| Minnesota wins series 3-2 | ||
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN |
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| NBA Finals |
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