The 2001 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2001 WNBA season

2001 WNBA season

-External links:**...

, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs

WNBA Playoffs

The WNBA Playoffs is a best-of-three elimination tournament between eight teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association , ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals....

. The Los Angeles Sparks

Los Angeles Sparks

The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...

, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference

Western Conference (WNBA)

The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...

, defeated the Charlotte Sting

Charlotte Sting

The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....

, fourth-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference (WNBA)

The Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Eastern Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Western Conference...

, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' first title.

The Sparks made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sting also made their first Finals appearance.

Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets

Houston Comets

The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...

 had ever won a WNBA championship (1997

1997 WNBA Championship

The 1997 WNBA Championship was the championship game of the 1997 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded team of the league, defeated the New York Liberty, second-seeded team, 65-51 to win the league's inaugural championship.The Comets' 18-10 record...

-2000

2000 WNBA Championship

The 2000 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2000 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, first-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a...

).

The Sparks had a 28-4 record (.875), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Sting (18-14). It did not matter, however, as the Sparks swept the Sting.

Road to the finals

Los Angeles Sparks		Charlotte Sting
28–4 (.875) 1st West, 1st overall	Regular season 2001 WNBA season -External links:**...	18–14 (.562) 4th East, 8th overall
Defeated the (4) Houston Comets Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and... , 2–0	Conference Semifinals	Defeated the (1) Cleveland Rockers Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which... , 2–1
Defeated the (2) Sacramento Monarchs Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009... , 2–1	Conference Finals	Defeated the (2) New York Liberty New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league... , 2–1

Regular season series

The Sparks won the regular season series:

Game 1

Game 2

Awards

• 2001 WNBA Champion: Los Angeles Sparks
  Los Angeles Sparks
  The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...
  
  
• Finals MVP: Lisa Leslie
  Lisa Leslie
  Lisa Deshaun Leslie-Lockwood is a former American professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner...
  
  

Rosters

{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #5c2f83; color: #FFC322; text-align: center;" | 2001 Los Angeles Sparks Finals roster
|- style="background-color: #FFC322;color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;"
! Players !! Coaches
|-
| valign="top" |
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"
! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !! Height !! Weight !!class="unsortable"| !! From
|-
{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #0196B0; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" | 2001 Charlotte Sting Finals roster
|- style="background-color: #4B0082;color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;"
! Players !! Coaches
|-
| valign="top" |
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"
! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !! Height !! Weight !!class="unsortable"| !! From
|-

External links