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27-481: The series is played between the winners of the playoff semifinals. At the conclusion of the championship round, the winner of the WNBA Finals is presented the championship trophy. The WNBA Finals has been played at the conclusion of every WNBA season in history, the first being held in 1997 . Since 2005, the winner of the WNBA Finals has been determined through a 2–2–1 format. The first, second, and fifth games of

54-666: A book entitled The Home Team , which dealt with Ruth Ann's battle with breast cancer . They also founded the Ruth Ann and Rebecca Lobo Scholarship, which offers a scholarship to the UConn School of Allied Health for Hispanic students. Lobo was the 1996 spokesperson for the Lee National Denim Day fundraiser which raises millions of dollars for breast cancer research and education. Starting in 2000, Lobo served as national spokesperson and backer for Body1.com,

81-424: A consumer-targeted network of sites providing interactive content-rich information on medical technologies that treat ailments and diseases specific to body parts. Due to her recurring problems with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), she campaigned to raise awareness of knee injury risks in women. She shared her story with others suffering from the same type of injury and advocated for patient self-education via

108-654: A focus on women's college basketball and WNBA games. Lobo faced criticism for her commentary during an April 1, 2024, NCAA women's basketball Elite Eight game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and LSU Tigers in Albany, New York , after she remarked during an exchange with ESPN announcer Ryan Ruocco , "And, by the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany." Lobo has since apologized to the city of Albany. In 1996, Lobo and her late mother, Ruth Ann Lobo, collaborated on

135-812: The Huskies to the 1995 National Championship with an undefeated 35–0 record. In her senior year, Lobo was the unanimous national player of the year, winning the 1995 Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Wade Trophy , the AP Player of the Year award, the USBWA Player of the Year award, the Honda Sports Award for basketball, and the WBCA Player of the Year award. She was awarded

162-523: The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the center position for much of her career. She played college basketball at the University of Connecticut , where she was a member of the team that won the 1995 national championship , going 35–0 on the season in the process. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In April 2017, she

189-505: The 1993 world games. Lobo averaged 6.8 points per game during the event. Lobo continued with the team to the 1993 U19 World Championship (then called the Junior World Championship). The team won five games and lost two, but that left them in seventh place. Lobo averaged 7.7 points per game and recorded six blocks, highest on the team. In 1995, Lobo passed through tryouts to join the national team, which later became

216-713: The 2000 season. Lobo returned during the 2001 season but played sparingly, only 85 minutes in total. In January 2002, during the WNBA offseason, Lobo joined the Springfield Spirit in the National Women's Basketball League . On April 3, 2002, the Liberty traded her to the Houston Comets in exchange for Houston's second-round selection (26th overall) in the 2002 WNBA draft (the Liberty would use

243-518: The Finals. In 2025, the WNBA Finals will become a best-of-seven series and a homecourt system of 2–2–1–1–1 similar to the NBA Finals, where the team with homecourt advantage hosts games 1 and 2, and if necessary, games 5 and 7. The Houston Comets , Minnesota Lynx , and Seattle Storm hold the distinction of having won the most championships with four titles each. The New York Liberty have lost

270-491: The Liberty fell to the Houston Comets in the WNBA Finals. Lobo remained a centerpiece of the Liberty in the 1998 season, averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds as the Liberty finished 18 - 12. Although they had a great record, the Liberty would not make the playoffs in 1998 due to being 5th in the league standings and only the top 4 teams made the playoffs. The Charlotte Sting also had a 18 - 12 record, but made it in

297-711: The US team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. Though her minutes on the floor were few, Lobo shared in the gold medal. In 1997, the WNBA was formed and enjoyed its inaugural season, and Lobo was assigned to the New York Liberty during the league's first player allocations on January 22, 1997. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997, in a 67 - 57 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks where she recorded 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. In her first season,

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324-548: The champion. In 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA finals were turned into a best-of-three series . The finale series was known as the WNBA Championship from 1997 to 2001, before changing to WNBA Finals to reflect its NBA counterpart . In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a best-of-five format. In 2016, the WNBA began seeding teams #1 through #8 regardless of conference making it possible for two Eastern Conference or two Western Conference teams to meet in

351-415: The four seed Charlotte and the two seed New York played number three Phoenix. The Liberty won 3 of the 4 games in the regular season series: Time listed below is Eastern Daylight Time . The Houston Comets became the first WNBA champions, riding the unstoppable Cynthia Cooper and a suffocating defense to a 65–51 victory over the New York Liberty . Cooper, the fledgling league's leading scorer who

378-477: The most championships with five. The Lynx have the most appearances in the championships with seven (including 2024). Highlighted teams have folded and can no longer reach the WNBA Finals. Statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual game wins and losses. Former teams that had no WNBA Finals appearances: This table shows a list of records through the history of the WNBA Finals. 1997 WNBA Championship The 1997 WNBA Championship

405-705: The pick to draft Linda Fröhlich ). During the WNBA offseason, Lobo returned again to the Spirit. In her first game of the season in February 2003, she had 25 points and 14 rebounds. On February 14, 2003, Lobo was traded to the Connecticut Sun for a 2003 second-round pick (which the Comets used to select Lori Nero ). Lobo played in 29 games for the Sun, averaging 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds. Her final WNBA game ever

432-399: The playoffs over the Liberty due to having a better Conference record (11 - 5 to New York's 8 - 8). Lobo suffered a setback in 1999, tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament and her meniscus in the first game of the season. In 1999, she was selected to the inaugural WNBA All Star team but could not play because of the injury. In December, she reinjured her knee and ended missing all of

459-538: The prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup for 1994–95, presented to the athlete "most deserving of recognition as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year". She was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program. The Women's Sports Foundation named Lobo the 1995 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category). She

486-497: The season. Houston, which edged New York for the Eastern Conference title and knocked off Charlotte in the semifinals, finished the regular season 18–10. The Liberty, who advanced with a semifinal win at Phoenix , were 17–11. Rebecca Lobo Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American television basketball analyst and former professional women's basketball player in

513-458: The series are played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season. Beginning in 2025, the Finals will switch to a best-of-seven series with a 2–2–1–1–1 format similar to that of the NBA Finals . The WNBA's playoff format has changed several times in the league's history. In 1997, a single championship game was held to decide

540-481: Was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2010. At the induction ceremony, she was introduced by her college coach, Geno Auriemma , who praised her for her "impact on the court and off the court" as "one of the founders [of the WNBA]", and "as a representative of our university, [and] as a member of the board of trustees". Today, Lobo is a reporter and color analyst for ESPN with

567-438: Was named Finals MVP as the sellout crowd of 16,285 saw the Comets come up with their best defensive effort of the season. Kym Hampton had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Vickie Johnson added 12 points for the Liberty, who picked a bad time for one of their worst offensive displays. A meaningless basket with three seconds remaining by Rebecca Lobo —who was limited to nine points—allowed New York to avoid its lowest point total of

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594-454: Was named Most Valuable Player earlier in the week, scored 14 of her 25 points in the pivotal second half, when the Comets had a 10–0 burst and held the Liberty scoreless for nearly 6½ minutes. Tina Thompson added 18 points for the Comets, who turned Houston into "Clutch City" again. The city adopted that nickname during the two-year championship reign of the NBA's Houston Rockets . Cooper also

621-845: Was one of the members of the 2017 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , alongside Tracy McGrady and Muffet McGraw . Lobo was born in Hartford, Connecticut , the youngest daughter of RuthAnn (née Hardy) and Dennis Joseph Lobo. Her father is of Cuban descent, while her mother was of German and Irish heritage. Lobo was raised a Catholic . Her brother Jason played basketball at Dartmouth College and her sister Rachel played basketball at Salem State College . Lobo's mother and father were both teachers; her father also coached basketball and track and field. Raised in Southwick, Massachusetts , Lobo

648-609: Was played in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Shock on September 7, 2003. Lobo recorded 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks but the Sun lost the game 73 - 79 and would be eliminated from the playoffs. Lobo would announce her retirement on September 23, 2003. Lobo also played two seasons in the National Women's Basketball League with the Springfield Spirit from 2002 through 2003. 1994 1995 1997 2010 2017 2019 Lobo

675-450: 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 gave them home court advantage over New York (17–11). For the playoffs, the top four teams overall in the league were seeded one to four. Top seed Houston played

702-753: Was the first player in the Big East Conference to earn first-team all-American honors for both basketball and academics. Lobo was named to the USA U18 team (then called the Junior World Championship Qualifying Team) in 1992. The team competed in Guanajuato, Mexico in August 1992. The team won their first four games, then lost 80–70 to Brazil, finishing with the silver medal for the event, but qualifying for

729-591: Was the state scoring record-holder with 2,740 points in her high school career for Southwick-Tolland Regional High School in Massachusetts . She held this record for 18 years until it was surpassed by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir of the new Leadership Charter School in Springfield on January 26, 2009. More than 100 colleges recruited Lobo, but she chose the University of Connecticut due to its proximity and her belief in its academic excellence. She helped lead

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