Minnesota Lynx win 2013 WNBA Championship with a sweep over Atlanta

After a season that featured a lot of fresh faces and changes around the league, the Finals of the WNBA came down to a rematch from two years ago – between the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream – but the result was very much the same: a 3-0 sweep for the Lynx, who captured their second WNBA Championship in three years after a third consecutive Finals appearance.

Two years ago, the star act of the show was Minnesota’s Seimone Augustus; this time around, Augustus took a backseat to 2011 Rookie of the Year and one of the most dangerous women in basketball – Maya Moore – who led Minnesota to victory with a Finals MVP performance. Minnesota had finished with the best record during the regular season for the third consecutive year – ever since Moore joined the league – and became just the second team in WNBA’s 17-year history to go undefeated in the playoffs (after the 2010 Seattle Storm).

Minnesota closed out the final game of the season by winning game three of the Finals against Atlanta 86-77 on October 10th, led by 23 points by Moore. The victory was sweet redemption after the Lynx had lost in last year’s Finals to the Indian Fever.

The 2013 WNBA season began in late May with optimism of the arrival of Brittney Griner, who was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury and touted as a game-changer for Womens’ basketball. Although she had a decent season, Griner struggled with injuries a little. The Mercury were good enough to get the third spot in the West behind the talents of Diana Taurasi and Griner. They were defeated by the Lynx in the Western Conference semi-finals.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Dream defeated last year’s champions Indiana Fever 2-0.

Los Angeles Sparks’ Candace Parker was named regular season MVP while Elena Delle Donne of the Chicago Sky won the rookie of the year award.

At the end of the year though, the story was all about Moore and the Lynx, who extended their dominance at the top of the WNBA and stamped their stake as the best women’s club team of this era.