2001 WNBA Playoffs

Lisa Leslie’s superhuman performance in the regular season carried into the postseason, where she eventually won Finals MVP for the Los Angeles Sparks.

The Los Angeles Sparks proved that they could handle the pressures of top billing during this postseason, and the No. 1 team celebrated its first WNBA title after a two-game sweep of the Charlotte Sting. Lisa Leslie’s Most Valuable Player performance made her the first WNBA player to sweep all three MVP awards — regular-season, All-Star and Finals — in the same season.

First Round
– Charlotte defeats Cleveland, 2-1
Charlotte 53, Cleveland 46 (Aug. 16)
Cleveland 69, Charlotte 51 (Aug. 18)
Charlotte 72, Cleveland 64 (Aug. 20)

– New York defeats Miami, 2-1
New York 62, Miami 46 (Aug. 17)
Miami 53, New York 50 (Aug. 19)
New York 72, Miami 61 (Aug. 21)

– Los Angeles defeats Houston, 2-0
Los Angeles 64, Houston 59 (Aug. 18)
Los Angeles 70, Houston 58 (Aug. 20)

– Sacramento defeats Utah, 2-0
Sacramento 89, Utah 65 (Aug. 17)
Sacramento 71, Utah 66 (Aug. 19)

Conference Finals
– Charlotte defeats New York, 2-1
New York 61, Charlotte 57 (Aug. 24)
Charlotte 62, New York 53 (Aug. 26)
Charlotte 48, New York 44 (Aug. 27)

– Los Angeles defeats Sacramento, 2-1
L.A. 74, Sacramento 73 (Aug. 24)
Sacramento 80, L.A. 60 (Aug. 26)
L.A. 93, Sacramento 62 (Aug. 27)

Finals
– Los Angeles defeats Charlotte, 2-0
L.A. 75, Charlotte 66 (Aug. 30)
L.A. 82, Charlotte 54 (Sept. 1)