Women’s National Basketball Association (1998-2009)
Tombstone
Born: 1998 – WNBA expansion franchise
Moved: October 20, 2009 (Tulsa Shock)
First Game: June 13, 1998 (L 78-69 vs. Charlotte Sting)
Last Game: September 26, 2009 (L 72-67 @ Indiana Fever)
WNBA Champions: 2003, 2006 & 2008]
Arena
The Palace of Auburn Hills (11,268)
Opened: 1988
Demolished: 2020
Marketing
Team Colors:
- Black, Red, Teal & Yellow
- 2003: Red, White & Blue
Mascot: Zap (the Dingo)
Dance Team: ShockWave Dancers (co-ed team featured both youth and adults)
Ownership
Owner/Operator: William Davidson
Background
The Detroit Shock were three-time champions of the Women’s National Basketball Association during the team’s 12-season voyage in Detroit. The Shock joined the WNBA as an expansion team during the league’s second season in the summer of 1998 and were operated by the management of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
Early Years
Hall-of-Fame player Nancy Lieberman was the Shock’s first Head Coach, leading the team for three seasons, including the Shock’s first playoff appearance in 1999. But Lieberman’s tenure unraveled in locker room dissension at the end of the 2000 season.
Several Shock players charged that Lieberman was personally involved with a 25-year old point guard named Anna DeForge. Lieberman plucked DeForge from the obscurity of an open tryout and by midseason elevated her to a position in the starting line-up. DeForge’s perceived level of ability was an issue, as several Shock players felt that DeForge was overmatched in the WNBA and her playing time was due to her special relationship with Lieberman. Sports Illustrated revealed the tumult in a long feature about coach-player relationships a year later in September 2001. By then Lieberman was long gone, let go by the Shock at the end of that contentious 2000 season.
There was a fascinating post-script to the Lieberman-DeForge controversy. Anna DeForge was out of the WNBA for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. This initially seemed to support the allegations of a handful of Shock players who thought her undeserving of the playing time Lieberman gave her during the 2000 season. But in 2003, DeForge earned a spot on the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and later developed into a WNBA All-Star, earning that selection in 2004 and again in 2007. DeForge finished her pro career back with the Shock during the team’s final season in Detroit in 2009.
Championship Era
The Shock’s fortunes turned after the team hired former Detroit Pistons star Bill Laimbeer as Head Coach midway through a grim 2002 season. The team was 0-10 when Laimbeer took the reigns. The Shock improved immediately but still finished with the worst record in the WNBA at 9-23.
The following season, the Shock went from worst to first, finishing with the WNBA’s best record at 25-9. In the league championship series, the Shock defeated the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks to claim the first of three WNBA titles on Laimbeer’s watch. More than 22,000 fans were on hand for the decisive victory at the Palace (see video below).
The Shock would also win WNBA championships in 2006 and 2008. In 2007, the Shock also made the finals, but lost in five games to the Phoenix Mercury.
Tulsa & Beyond
Team owner Palace Sports & Entertainment gave up on the Shock at end of the 2009 season after 12 WNBA campaigns. The team moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma under new ownership in October 2009. The franchise shifted again in 2016 and is known today as the Dallas Wings.
Detroit Shock Shop
Detroit Shock Video
The Shock defeat the Los Angeles Sparks for their first WNBA title in 2003.
2009 WNBA All Access with the Detroit Shock
Links
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