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The 2008 WNBA season was the 11th for the Detroit Shock. The Shock attempted to return to the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive year. They successfully won the WNBA Finals for the third time in franchise history. During the finals, Katie Smith averaged a team high 21.7 points per game to be named WNBA Finals MVP.^[1] Similar to Kevin Garnett with the 2008 Boston Celtics, Taj McWilliams-Franklin won her first championship after 10 years in the league.^[2]

Offseason

The following player was lost in the Atlanta Dream expansion draft:

• Katie Feenstra

^[3]

WNBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	4 (from Atl. via Sea.)	Alexis Hornbuckle	United States	Tennessee
	11 (from SA)	Tasha Humphrey	United States	Georgia
2	18 (from Atl.)	Olayinka Sanni	United States	West Virginia
3	42	Valeriya Berezhynska	United States	Rice

Transactions

• September 4: The Shock signed Ashley Shields.
• August 19: The Shock signed Ashley Shields to a seven-day contract.
• August 12: The Shock traded Tasha Humphrey, Eshaya Murphy and a second-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics for Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
• August 8: The Shock waived Stacey Lovelace.
• July 26: The Shock signed Kelly Schumacher.
• July 25: The Shock waived Nancy Lieberman.
• July 24: The Shock signed Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract.
• July 11: The Shock signed Stacey Lovelace.
• June 27: The Shock waived Chrissy Givens.
• June 22: The Shock traded LaToya Thomas to the Minnesota Lynx for Eshaya Murphy.
• June 18: The Shock waived Wanisha Smith and signed Chrissy Givens.
• May 15: The Shock waived Michelle Campbell and Wanisha Smith.
• May 8: The Shock signed Wanisha Smith to a training camp contract.
• May 7: The Shock signed free agent Sheri Sam.
• May 5: The Shock waived Valeriya Berezhynska, Natasha Lacy and Tyresa Smith.
• April 26: The Shock waived Chakhia Cole, Fantasia Goodwin and Samantha Mahoney.
• April 18: The Shock waived Nina Norman.
• April 17: The Shock signed Samantha Mahoney to a training camp contract.
• April 16: The Shock signed Chakhia Cole to a training camp contract.
• March 31: The Shock signed Elaine Powell to a training camp contract.
• March 10: The Shock re-signed free agents Cheryl Ford, Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith.
• March 4: The Shock signed Tyresa Smith and Michelle Campbell to training camp contracts.
• February 29: The Shock signed Nina Norman to a training camp contract.
• February 28: The Shock re-signed free agent Plenette Pierson and signed Chrissy Givens to a training camp contract.
• February 19: The Shock traded Swin Cash to the Seattle Storm in exchange for the 4th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.
• February 6: The Shock traded Ivory Latta to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for LaToya Thomas and the 18th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.

^[4]

Trades

Free agents

Season Highlights

The Shock season opener resulted in a record-breaking debut for rookie guard Alexis Hornbuckle. Hornbuckle set a Shock record with seven steals to help the Shock beat the Houston Comets on May 17. Deanna Nolan scored a franchise-record 44 points (28 in the fourth quarter and overtime) in a 98-93 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on June 20.

Malice at the Palace

• The Sparks-Shock brawl (also known as The Malice at the Palace II) was an altercation that occurred in a game between the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks on July 21, 2008 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. With 4.2 seconds before the game was officially over, the fighting began on the court after Plenette Pierson made a hard block out after a free throw on Candace Parker. This was the second brawl to occur at the Palace, the other being the Pacers–Pistons brawl.

Nancy Lieberman

In July, the Detroit Shock signed Nancy Lieberman to a 7-day contract. The 50-year-old Lieberman broke her own record for being the oldest player in the WNBA.^[5] Lieberman, a Hall of Famer since 1999, was 39-years-old when she played with Phoenix during the league's first year in 1997.

The 50-year-old Lieberman played nine minutes and had two assists.^[6] One of the assists included a no-look pass in the closing minutes of the Detroit Shock's 79-61 loss to the Houston Comets on July 24.

Lieberman made a one-time only appearance in the Shock's first game due to a bench-clearing melee with the Los Angeles Sparks on July 22. Five Shock players were suspended and Cheryl Ford suffered a season-ending injury, prompting coach Bill Laimbeer to offer Lieberman a seven-day contract.

Roster

Detroit Shock roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 5.0 C 45 USA  Braxton, Kara 78 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Georgia 4.0 PF 35 USA  Ford, Cheryl  75 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Louisiana Tech 2.0 SG 22 USA  Hornbuckle, Alexis 71 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Tennessee 4.0 PF 44 USA  McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 74 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) St. Edward's University 2.0 SG 14 USA  Nolan, Deanna (C) 71 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 144 lb (65 kg) Georgia 3.0 SF 23 USA  Pierson, Plenette 74 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 181 lb (82 kg) Texas Tech 1.0 PG 5 USA  Powell, Elaine 68 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) LSU 2.5 G/F 55 USA  Sam, Sheri 72 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Vanderbilt 5.0 C 24 USA  Sanni, Olayinka 74 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) West Virginia 5.0 C 11 USA  Schumacher, Kelly 77 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Connecticut 2.0 SG 3 USA  Shields, Ashley 70 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Southwest Tennessee Community College 2.5 G/F 30 USA  Smith, Katie (C) 71 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Ohio State	Head coach Bill Laimbeer (Notre Dame) Assistant coach(es) Rick Mahorn (Hampton) Cheryl Reeve (La Salle) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Laura Ramus (Wayne State University) Athletic trainer(s) Laura Ramus (Wayne State University) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: 2008-09-20

Season Standings

Schedule

Regular Season

Postseason

Player stats

Regular season

Detroit Shock Regular Season Stats

Postseason

Detroit Shock Playoff Stats

Awards and honors

• Katie Smith, WNBA Player of the Week (June 2-8)
• Deanna Nolan, WNBA Player of the Week (June 16-22 and July 14-20)
• Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
• Katie Smith, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
• Deanna Nolan, All-WNBA Second Team
• Katie Smith, WNBA Finals MVP

References

External links