Who won the most WNBA championships?

WNBA’s first season was held in 1997 which was won by the Houston Comets and since then until 2023 there have been 27 seasons played and 11 new winners. Only three teams among the active franchises in the 2024 season have not won a WNBA Championship. The teams are New York Liberty, Connecticut Sun and Atlanta Dream and all three will have a chance in 2024 to win the first title in their franchise history.

Teams with the Most WNBA Championship

The Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx, and Seattle Storm are the most decorated teams in WNBA history, each winning four WNBA championships.

Houston Comets

The Houston Comets are the only team to win four consecutive championships from 1997-2000 as they dominated the early years of the WNBA.

The Comets won the first-ever title in WNBA’s history against the New York Liberty and defeated them 65-51 in a single elimination game. Cynthia Cooper was named the Finals MVP and became the first-ever player to win the title.

Houston's strong core of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson led them to a series comeback as they lost game 1 against the Phoenix Mercury. In game 3 of the 1999 Finals, the Comets defeated the Mercury by 80-71 as four of their starters recorded double-digit points. Cynthia Cooper won her second Finals MVP as she dropped three consecutive 20+ points games in the series.

In their third Finals appearance, the Comets faced the Liberty which was a remake of the first ever WNBA Finals. The Comets won game 1 by 73-60 as Cynthia Cooper scored 29 points. In game 2, they suffered their first loss in a finals series as they were defeated 68-67 in game 2 of the series. However, the Comets bounced back and won game 3 with a comfortable scoreline of 59-47. Cynthia Cooper won her third consecutive Finals MVP award.

Houston Comets fourth finals victory also came against the New York Liberty in a 2-0 sweep. The duo of Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper combined with a defensive beast in Tina Thompson led the Comets to comfortable victories in both games 1 and 2. Cynthia Cooper won her fourth consecutive Finals MVP title.

Seattle Storm

The Seattle Storm won four WNBA Championships across multiple decades. They won in 2004, 2010, 2018 and 2020 and became the third team with four WNBA Championships. Their Championship window opened when they drafted Lauren Jackson in 2001 and Sue Bird in 2002 as both of them played a crucial role in two of the four championships.

In 2004, Seattle faced the Connecticut Sun and lost game 1 by 64-68. However, Betty Lennox’s 27 points and Lauren Jackson’s 15 points and 11 rebounds helped them win a close game 2 by 67-65. In the series decider, Storm outplayed the Suns and won the game by a comfortable margin of 74-60. Betty Lenox was named the 2004 Finals MVP who arrived in Seattle due to a dispersal draft in 2004.

In 2010, the Storm faced the Atlanta Dream who were making their first finals appearance and swept them 3-0 in a close-fought series. All games were decided by three or fewer points. Seattle's three drafted players Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and Tanisha Wright played a vital role in the championship run. They also added a former champion in Swin Cash who displayed a clinical two-way game in Storm's victory. Lauren Jackson was named the 2010 WNBA Finals MVP.

In 2018, Storm was in Breanna Stewart's era and she led them to the 2018 WNBA Championship. They defeated the Washington Mystics in a 3-0 clean sweep as Stewart dominated the Finals, averaging 25.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Notable contributions came from Natasha Howard (18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game), Sue Bird (7.0 assists per game) and Jewell Loyd (14.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game).

In 2020, the Storm faced the Las Vegas Aces led by A'Ja Wilson. However, Storm outplayed them in all three games of the series and won game 3 by a record margin of 33 points. Breanna Stewart was named the 2020 Finals MVP as she averaged 28.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. Notable contributions came from Sue Bird (11.0 assists per game), and Jewell Loyd (18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game).

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx became the second team to win four WNBA Championships after the Houston Comets and won the WNBA Championship in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. They dominated the 2010s due to their excellent front-office decisions. They drafted Rebekkah Brunson from the 2009 dispersal draft, traded for Lindsay Whalen in 2009, drafted Seimone Augustus with the first overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft and drafted Maya Moore with the first overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft.

The Lynx won their first final against the Atlanta Dream by 3-0. Strong offense with multiple scorers led them to a comfortable series win over the inexperienced Atlanta Dream. Seimone Augustus was named the 2011 Finals MVP as she averaged 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game in the series.

Minnesota Lynx’s second championship also came against the Atlanta Dream after defeating them 3-0. The Lynx were coached by Cheryl Reeves who is known to be a two-way coach and demands hustle on both sides. The results were clear in the series as the Lynx scored above 80 points in all three matches whereas the Dream was restricted to below 70 points in two of the three matches. Maya Moore was named the 2013 Finals MVP as she averaged 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in the finals.

Minnesota Lynx’s third championship came in 2015 against the Tamika Catchings led the Indiana Fever. They defeated the Fever by 3-2 after losing game 1 at home. Sylvia Fowles was named the 2015 WNBA Finals MVP as she averaged 15.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in the series.

Minnesota Lynx’s fourth championship came in 2017 against the Candace Parker led the Los Angeles Sparks. They defeated the Sparks by 3-2 after losing game 1 at home. Sylvia Fowles was named the 2017 WNBA Finals MVP as she averaged 17.8 points, 15.0 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.4 blocks per game in the series.