List of WNBA franchise post-season droughts
This is a list of Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise post-season appearance droughts. This list includes the all-time and the active consecutive non-playoffs appearance up to and including the 2017 season. Aside from the WNBA Playoff appearance droughts, this list also includes the WNBA Finals appearance drought and the WNBA championships win drought. The teams which have never made a WNBA Playoffs appearance, a WNBA Finals appearance and have never won a WNBA championship are listed from the year they entered the league.
Active droughts
WNBA Playoffs appearance droughts
| Drought | Team | Last appearance in WNBA Playoffs |
|---|---|---|
| 3 seasons (2017-2019) | Indiana Fever | 2016 |
| 2 seasons (2018-2019) | New York Liberty | 2017 |
| 1 season (2019) | Atlanta Dream | 2018 |
| 1 season (2019) | Dallas Wings | 2018 |
a Franchise was known as the San Antonio Stars from 2015-2017.
WNBA Finals appearance droughts
| Drought | Team | Last appearance in WNBA Finals |
|---|---|---|
| 17 seasons (2003–2019) | New York Liberty | 2002 |
| 11 seasons (2009–2019) | Las Vegas Aces | 2008b |
| 11 seasons (2009–2019) | Dallas Wings | 2008a |
| 6 seasons (2014–2019) | Atlanta Dream | 2013 |
| 5 seasons (2015–2019) | Chicago Sky | 2014 |
| 5 seasons (2015–2019) | Phoenix Mercury | 2014 |
| 4 seasons (2016–2019) | Indiana Fever | 2015 |
| 2 seasons (2018–2019) | Los Angeles Sparks | 2017 |
| 2 seasons (2018–2019) | Minnesota Lynx | 2017 |
| 1 season (2019) | Seattle Storm | 2018 |
WNBA championship win droughts
| Drought | Team | Last WNBA championship win |
|---|---|---|
| 23 seasons (1997–2019) | New York Liberty | — |
| 23 seasons (1997–2019) | Las Vegas Aces | —a |
| 21 seasons (1999–2019) | Connecticut Sun | —b |
| 14 seasons (2006–2019) | Chicago Sky | — |
| 12 seasons (2008–2019) | Atlanta Dream | — |
| 11 seasons (2009–2019) | Dallas Wings | 2008c |
| 7 seasons (2013–2019) | Indiana Fever | 2012 |
| 5 seasons (2015–2019) | Phoenix Mercury | 2014 |
| 3 seasons (2017–2019) | Los Angeles Sparks | 2016 |
| 2 seasons (2018–2019) | Minnesota Lynx | 2017 |
| 1 season (2019) | Seattle Storm | 2018 |
- a The franchise was known as the Utah Starzz from 1997–2002, the San Antonio Silver Stars from 2003-2013, and the San Antonio Stars from 2014-2017.
- b The franchise was known as the Orlando Miracle from 1999–2002.
- c The franchise was known as the Detroit Shock from 1998–2009 and Tulsa Shock from 2010–2015.
Cities awaiting their first WNBA championship
This list includes cities with current WNBA franchises which have never won a WNBA championship, sorted by the number of seasons a team representing the city competed in the WNBA.
| City | Drought | Franchise (founded) | WNBA Finals appearance(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, New York | 23 seasons (1997–2019) | New York Liberty (1997) | 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 |
| Uncasville, Connecticut | 17 seasons (2003–2019) | Connecticut Sun (2003) | 2004, 2005, 2019 |
| Chicago, Illinois | 14 seasons (2006–2019) | Chicago Sky (2006) | 2014 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | 12 seasons (2008–2019) | Atlanta Dream (2008) | 2010, 2011,2013 |
| Dallas, Texas | 4 seasons (2016–2019) | Dallas Wings (2016) | — |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | 2 season (2018–2019) | Las Vegas Aces (2018) | — |
Longest all time droughts
Postseason appearances
| Team | Previous postseason | Next postseason | Postseason drought |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Lynx | 2004 | 2011 | 7 seasons |
| Chicago Sky | never (team entered WNBA in 2006) | 2013 | 7 seasons |
| Dallas Wings | 2009 | 2015 | 5 seasons |
References
See also
- WNBA
- WNBA Playoffs
- WNBA Finals