Atlanta Dream expansion draft

Atlanta held their expansion draft on February 6, 2008, when they selected one player from each of the thirteen teams in the league.

Some of the players chosen were:

• Érika de Souza
• Ann Wauters
• Betty Lennox

The Dream were then free to make trades with other teams in the league.

Draft

On October 23, 2007, the WNBA draft lottery was held. The Los Angeles Sparks received the first pick. The Chicago Sky was awarded the number two pick, followed by the Minnesota Lynx at number three, the Atlanta Dream at number four, the Houston Comets at number five and the Washington Mystics at number six.

The 2008 WNBA draft was held on April 9 in Tampa, Florida. Coverage of the first round was shown on ESPN2. Second and third round coverage was shown on NBA TV.

The top draft picks were as follows:

1. Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks
2. Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Sky
3. Candice Wiggins, Minnesota Lynx
4. Alexis Hornbuckle, Detroit Shock
5. Matee Ajavon, Houston Comets
6. Crystal Langhorne, Washington Mystics

Standings

All-star game

There was no WNBA All-Star Game due to the break July 28 through August 27 for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This marks the first time since the game was started in the 1999 season that there was no All-Star contest.

Statistic leaders

Season highlights

• Candace Parker becomes the second and third player in WNBA history to dunk in a regular season game.
• A fight breaks out between the Los Angeles Sparks and the Detroit Shock resulting in four ejections and ten suspensions.
• The first-ever outdoor professional basketball game is held at Arthur Ashe Stadium between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever.^[4] Over 19,000 fans attended the game.
• 50-year-old hall-of-famer Nancy Lieberman signs a contract with the Detroit Shock to play in one game.^[5] She played 9 minutes and had 2 assists.
• The expansion Atlanta Dream set a record for the longest losing streak in WNBA history with 17 losses to give them an 0–17 start to the season.^[6]
• One of the original franchises, the Houston Comets, is put up for sale with an uncertain future.^[7]
• For the first time in WNBA history, the defending champion (Phoenix Mercury) does not qualify for the playoffs.
• Former Washington Mystics head coach Tree Rollins is relieved of his duties halfway through the season. Assistant coach Jessie Kenlaw is named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
• The Detroit Shock sweep the San Antonio Silver Stars three-games-to-none in the Finals for the first time (in a best-of-five format).
• Candace Parker wins the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award and the MVP Award. This is the first time in WNBA history and the third time in professional basketball history for the two awards to be won in the same year by the same player.

End-of-season business report

• Regular-season attendance saw an increase of 2.21%.
• There were 46 sellouts, more than triple the 17 for the 2007 regular season and double the previous record of 23 in 2004.
• The WNBA on national television (ABC and ESPN2) finished up 19% both in ratings (0.32 vs 0.27) and viewership (413,000 vs. 346,000).
• The WNBA finished up in key demographics on ESPN2—Women 18–34 (up 71%) and Men 18–34 (up 28%) – and on ABC—All Women (up 10%) and Women 18–34 (up 20%).
• WNBA.com set all-time highs in visits and page views. Overall, WNBA.com received nearly 13 million visits and 59 million page views, up 35% and 20%, respectively.
• WNBA.com set monthly traffic records in July with more than 3.8 million visits and 16 million page views.
• On June 23, 2008, one day after Los Angeles Sparks rookie Candace Parker became the second WNBA player to dunk in a regular season game, WNBA.com set a single-day record with nearly 95,000 video streams.
• League merchandise sales were up more than 36%, and WNBA jersey sales were up more than 46%.

^[8]

Eastern Conference

• Atlanta Dream: Marynell Meadors
• Chicago Sky: Steven Key
• Connecticut Sun: Mike Thibault
• Detroit Shock: Bill Laimbeer
• Indiana Fever: Lin Dunn
• New York Liberty: Pat Coyle
• Washington Mystics: Tree Rollins and Jessie Kenlaw

Western Conference

• Houston Comets: Karleen Thompson
• Los Angeles Sparks: Michael Cooper
• Minnesota Lynx: Don Zierden
• Phoenix Mercury: Corey Gaines
• Sacramento Monarchs: Jenny Boucek
• San Antonio Silver Stars: Dan Hughes
• Seattle Storm: Brian Agler