2007 WNBA Season Numbers

Amid the swirl of political maneuvering, there is still basketball to discuss. I finally got around to running my season numbers.

Best Offenses

League Averages
Offensive Rating: 98.19 points per 100 possessions
Points Scored: 2,611 points in the season
% Offensive Rebounds: 30.49% of available offensive rebounds
% 3 point shots taken: 24.19% of shots attempted were three point shots
Free Throws Attempted: 687.42 free thows taken in the season

Phoenix lived up to its "Paul Ball" style and delivered the most points, and the most points per possession, as well as leading the league with regard to what percentage of their field goal attempts were made from beyond the three point arc. They were also the third best team in the league at getting to the free throw line and the best at avoiding turnovers. They were the leagues best offensive team and rode that to the best record in the Western Conference as well as the WNBA championship.

Seattle was next in line, with the Storm following the same trend, though they were a much better offensive rebounding team than Phoenix, though not as extreme in the other categories. They were third in the league at avoiding turnovers.

Detroit took a different path, focusing on controlling the boards and getting to the free throw line.

Team	Offensive Rating	Points Scored	% Off Rebounds	% 3PT Shots	Free Throws Attempted
Phoenix Mercury	105.40	3,025	22.79% (12th)	33.15%(1st)	754 (3rd)
Seattle Storm	104.11	2,734	31.13% (5th)	28.91% (3rd)	715 (6th)
Detroit Shock	99.87	2,697	32.76% (4th)	19.55% (10th)	785 (2nd)
Connecticut Sun	99.38	2,675	29.60% (8th)	24.58% (6th)	615 (10th)
Minnesota Lynx	98.95	2,636	33.17% (3rd)	21.06% (8th)	529 (7th)

Best Defenses

League Averages
Defensive Rating: 97.95 points per 100 possessions
Points Allowed: 2,604 points in the season
FG% Allowed: 41.9% shooting for the season
% Defensive Rebounds: 69.66% of available defensive rebounds
Opponent Turnovers: 564 turnovers in the season

Indiana was the leagues best defensive team, lacking power in only one category, that of defensive rebounding.

Detroit comes next, achieving their rank through leading the charge on the defensive boards and controlling their opponents field goal percentage.

Sacramento controls defense through causing turnovers and limiting pace but was very poor defending the shot and only mediocre on the defensive boards.

Team	Defensive Rating	Points Allowed	% Def Rebounds	Opp FG%	Opp TOV
Indiana Fever	91.07	2,370 (1st)	68.76% (8th)	40.20%(2nd)	610 (2nd)
Detroit Shock	94.06	2,540 (5th)	75.08% (1st)	39.60% (1st)	529 (9th)
Sacramento Monarchs	95.47	2,480 (2nd)	70.13% (5th)	42.80% (10th)	649 (1st)
Connecticut Sun	96.34	2,593 (6th)	72.03% (2nd)	42.10% (6th)	524 (11th)
San Antonio Silver Stars	96.58	2,484 (3rd)	67.91% (9th)	42.30% (8th)	583 (4th)

Differential

2006 marked the first WNBA season where the team with the best regular season differential did not take home the WNBA trophy when the Connecticut Sun were eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals leaving the runner up Detroit Shock to take home the title. This year this became a new trend, with major injuries limiting the top two teams in the regular season from performing comparably in the playoffs. Phoenix became the second team to win the WNBA title without leading the league in differential. Had Detroit not suffered injuries to Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan the trend may never have been continued.

Without Sheryl Swoopes in Houston or Lisa Leslie and Chamique Holdsclaw in LA, the Comets and the Sparks fall to the bottom of the ladder for the first time in franchise histories.

Team	Differential
Detroit Shock	+5.81
Indiana Fever	+4.23
Phoenix Mercury	+4.22
Seattle Storm	+3.31
Connecticut Sun	+3.05
Sacramento Monarchs	+1.80
San Antonio Silver Stars	+1.28
Washington Mystics	-2.02
New York Liberty	-3.34
Minnesota Lynx	-4.35
Houston Comets	-4.50
Los Angeles Sparks	-6.53