It’s NBA Tuesday again, as the current NBA season starts in just a week. Yet we continue with our WNBA awards analyses miniseries, focusing on the year that was … 19 years ago! There was a new league champion, one perhaps a long time in coming, although the franchise itself does not exist any more. In fact, this season’s victorious winner would be out of business before the 2000s decade came to an end. Shocking!

2005 WNBA MVP: Sheryl Swoopes, F-G, Houston (original, confirmed)

For the third time (2000, 2002), Houston Comets forward-guard Sheryl Swoopes (26.6 PER, 7.1 WS) won the MVP vote, as she placed second in both major sabermetric categories for the 19-15 Comets, who finished third in the Western Conference. The top sabermetric star was Seattle Storm center-forward Lauren Jackson (26.7 PER, 8.2 WS). Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings was third, by the way, in both stats.

With the Storm winning 20 games in the West, and the Fever winning 21 games in the Eastern Conference, it does appear Swoopes finally will get to keep one of her voted award wins. We’ve also taken away three DPOY vote wins from her, too, and it’s been hard for us, as she was always one of our favorites. It’s pleasing to us, therefore, to see the sabermetrics confirm her vote win this time around the block. Congrats, Sheryl!

2005 WNBA ROTY: Temeka Johnson, G, Washington (original, confirmed)

The Washington Mystics finished just 16-18, but they only missed the playoffs on a tiebreak. Therefore, their rooke guard Temeka Johnson (2.7 WS) was not only the top sabermetrically valued rookie, but she also had legit value in almost helping the team get to the postseason. Oh, and she won the vote at the time, too, which is convenient for us. There’s no other better candidate to even discuss, so we confirm this vote.

2005 WNBA DPOY: Tamika Catchings, F, Indiana (original); Lisa Leslie, C, Los Angeles (revised)

Catchings won the DPOY vote, thanks to her league-best 3.4 DWS. The next-best candidates, Sacramento Monarchs C-F Yolanda Griffith (2.9 DWS) and Los Angeles Sparks C Lisa Leslie (2.5 DWS), were a bit behind. But with the Fever finishing four games clear of last the postseason spot, we give this award to Leslie yet again, as the Sparks claimed the final Western Conference berth by just one game over Phoenix.

2005 WNBA FINALS MVP: Yolanda Griffith, C-F, Sacramento (original, confirmed)

The Monarchs broke through the Houston-Los Angeles strangehold on the Western Conference to win their only WNBA championship by going 7-1 in the playoffs: 2-0 against the Sparks, 2-0 against the Comets, and 3-1 against the Connecticut Sun in the Finals. The top player? Griffith, with 1.9 WS in those games, was the top dog, with only one teammate also surpassing 1.0 WS in the postseason stretch. A fitting feather, for sure.