STANFORD, Calif. – Nneka Ogwumike hit the game winner with 3.1 seconds left and won her first WNBA Championship in the process, lifting the Los Angeles Sparks past the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday evening, 77-76, in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.
The three-time Stanford All-American and 2016 WNBA MVP finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, her third postseason double-double. Down one and without any timeouts remaining, Ogwumike grabbed the offensive rebound off a Chelsea Gray 11-footer and scooped under the hoop, but had her shot blocked by Sylvia Fowles. Ogwumike corralled the rebound again and hit the title-clinching shot off one foot while fading away on the baseline.
It was the perfect ending to an unbelievable season for Ogwumike. In the past month she was named the league's most valuable player, the Associated Press player of the year, a unanimous selection to the All-WNBA First Team and a WNBA All-Defensive First Team performer. On Monday, the 2012 Stanford graduate was voted president of the WNBA players' union executive council, a post she will hold for three years.
What. A. Finish.@MooreMaya gives the Lynx the lead, but @Nnemkadi30 comes in clutch
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 21, 2016
Sparks get the W and the ?? #MVPBehavior pic.twitter.com/Ozcx4h3eU2
Ogwumike is Stanford's seventh WNBA champion, joining Jeanette Pohlen (Indiana Fever, 2012), Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx, 2011), Brooke Smith (Phoenix Mercury, 2009), Nicole Powell (Sacramento Monarchs, 2005), Olympia Scott (Phoenix Mercury, 2007; Sacramento Monarchs, 2005) and Sonja Henning (Houston Comets, 1999).
She put together a staggering season in her fifth year as a pro to become the first Stanford women's basketball player to collect the WNBA's highest individual honor. A six-time Western Conference Player of the Week, Ogwumike concluded her regular season third in the league in scoring (19.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg) in leading the Sparks to a 26-8 overall record, a double-bye and the No. 2 seed in the WNBA Playoffs.
More impressively, Ogwumike finished 2016 as the most efficient shooter in the history of professional basketball. Her 66.5 field goal percentage is second all-time in WNBA single-season history to Tamika Raymond's 66.8 percent clip in 2003, but the 6-foot-2 forward also shot 16-of-26 from 3-point range (.615) and 146-of-168 from the line (.869).
Combined together, Ogwumike ended the year with a true shooting percentage of 73.7 percent, well clear of Candice Dupree's previous WNBA record of 69.97 percent in 2010. Tyson Chandler in 2011-12 (.7081) and Artis Gilmore in 1981-82 (.7024) are the only NBA players to finish a season with a true shooting percentage of more than 70 percent.
She didn't let up in the playoffs either. In the Sparks' nine playoff games, Ogwumike averaged 17.9 points on 62.5 percent shooting along with 9.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Ogwumike became the first WNBA MVP to win a championship in the same season since Lauren Jackson did so with the Seattle Storm in 2010. Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury, 2009), Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks, 2001), Sheryl Swoops (Houston Comets, 2000) and Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets, 1997 and 1998) are the other MVP's that also finished their season's with victories.
Ogwumike became Stanford's third three-time All-American when she was named to the WBCA Coaches' All-America Team in 2012. Her selection capped a career which included four NCAA Final Four appearances, an undefeated record at Maples Pavilion and numerous Cardinal records. She is one of just six members of the 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound club at Stanford along with sister Chiney, Jayne Appel, Candice Wiggins, Nicole Powell and Val Whiting.
In her senior campaign, Ogwumike set what were then Stanford single-season benchmarks for points scored (809) and scoring average (22.5). She was named Pac-12 Player of the Year for the second time and earned her second straight Pac-12 Tournament MVP as well as a third NCAA Regional MVP in a row.
In 2009-10, Ogwumike became the first sophomore since Candice Wiggins to be named Pac-10 Player of the Year, leading the conference with 18.5 points per game and a 59.8 shooting percentage to go along with 9.9 rebounds per game.