Minnesota Lynx win the 2011 WNBA Championship

It was the perfect season for the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, who started the year by getting the first pick in the WNBA draft, and ended it with a sweep of the Atlanta Dream to win their first ever WNBA Championship.

The Lynx sweeped the Dream 3-0 in the WNBA Finals - they celebrated the championship with a 73-67 Game 3 victory on Friday, October 7th. Finals MVP Seimone Augustus scored 16 points in the finale. The Lynx' first pick in the draft, Maya Moore, also contributed heavily to the championship. Moore was named the Rookie of the Year.

With Moore bolstering their lineup, The Lynx were the best team in the WNBA all season, ending the year with a league-best 27-7 record and finishing at the top of the Western Conference. Lynx went 7-1 in their three playoff series' to hoist the championship.


The 2011 WNBA season, the 15th season in league history, lasted four months, from June 3rd - October 7th. Tamika Catchings of the Indiana Fever won the league MVP award, but she couldn't get her team past the Atlanta Dream in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Lynx beat the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference Finals.

Tamika Raymond appointed to lead Indian Sr. Women's National Team

Tamika Raymond has been appointed as the head coach for the Indian Sr. Women's Basketball team for the 16th Asian Games slated to be held in November. Raymond will be working with the Indian team in Chennai before leading them for the Games, which will be held in Guangzhou (China) from November 12-27.

Raymond was appointed coach by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) following a comprehensive search by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) for coaches in the U.S., and after interviewing several candidates, Raymond was selected. The National Basketball Association (NBA) assisted BFI in identifying potential U.S. coaching candidates.

Raymond will also be supported by IMG-Reliance who is in partnership to support BFI in developing basketball in India.

Raymond is a former WNBA player and NCAA Division I Assistant Coach. She spent seven seasons (2002-2008) in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), six with the Minnesota Lynx and one year with the Connecticut Sun. She also served seven years (2003-2010) combined as assistant coach at two NCAA Division I colleges: Ohio State University and University of Kansas.

"The players in this team are definitely talented," said Raymond, "I am hoping to put in some work with them so that they can become a tactically smart team with good fundamentals and strong defense. We still have a long way to go but I think this team can show some improvement perform pretty well at the Asian Games."

"It's a great challenge and I admire the work that the BFI is doing in raising the level of basketball in India."

Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of BFI, welcomed Raymond to India. "We are excited to have Coach Raymond in India. She will bring her experience after playing in the world's best women's league - the WNBA - to our players, and she has also worked as an assistant coach in a tough D1 college competition. We are hoping that she can share her coaching expertise with the girls in India to improve our performance for the upcoming games."

"The BFI is grateful for the assistance of the NBA in helping us to bring her here," said Sharma, "Furthermore, our partners at IMG-Reliance will also continue to work with us to look after the coach's needs."

Raymond's job began in Chennai from Monday, October 4th as she began holding work-outs with the players. She will evaluate the talent available and work with his selected squad to train for the upcoming competition over the next few months.

Raymond’s appointment was announced soon after the appointment of William R. Harris, another American basketball coach who was appointed to lead the Indian Sr. Men’s Basketball Team to the Asian Games a week ago.

Mahindra-NBA league launched in Mumbai with AC Green

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The Mahindra-NBA Challenge was tipped-off on April 17th at Mumbai by none other than NBA legend AC Green. Green, the former Los Angeles Laker, is known for holding the record for most consecutive games played in NBA history has been to India before, when almost exactly a year ago he inaugurated the same Nagpada court that will be host to some of the Mahindra Challenge this year.
Green, a Power Forward / Center, won three NBA Championships with the Lakers (1987, 1988, 2000) and was an NBA All Star in 1990.
Green was also accompanied in Mumbai by former WNBA player Teresa Edwards, who played for the Minnesota Lynx and represented USA Basketball in five Olympics.
The Mahindra NBA Challenge will be held in Mumbai from April 17-June 6, in Bangalore from July 24-September 18, and Ludhiana from July 31-September 25. It will feature a recreational league will run for seven weeks in two divisions: Youth division - ages 14-17; Adult division - 18 and above. The league will comprise of co-ed teams. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has worked with the NBA to implement and oversee league operations.
The programme also includes a coaching clinic open to both boys and girls from the age of 14-17 and another category for players aged 18 and above.

From Rediff Sports:

About 961 participants have registered for the event and nearly 50 coaches will be trained by NBA's Troy Justice over the six weeks.
"I am very much appreciative and excited about being back here again. Thank you to the Basketball Federation of India for continuous support of basketball and promoting the game," Green said.
"I don't want these kids to just be good players; I want them to be good students of the game. I want them to be team players," Green said.
"I can't wait to get the clinic and the league itself started, to see the beginning and hopefully see the end of it and hopefully some games in between," said Green, who will be in Bangalore on Monday to train with the Indian basketball team.

St Dominic Savio School (Andheri) and Mastan YMCA (Nagpada) will host the Mumbai leg of the competition.

"This initiative is a joint effort of the Basketball Federation of India and the NBA to promote basketball and make it the No 2 sport in India," said Akash Jain, NBA director, International Development, India.
Elaborating on why the NBA picked only the above mentioned cities for the clinic, Jain said, "We did a small study before starting this project and we realized from that that basketball has a huge following in Mumbai, Bangalore and Ludhiana and that is why we have targeted these three cities in this program."

Well, thanks Mr. Jain - that kinda answers why the NBA chose Ludhiana of all people. Except that I have a different theory.
And welcome back to India, Mr. Green. It's great to see that Green is also training with the Indian national team in Bangalore following the training sessions held for the team by JD Walsh, Craig Esherick, and Dr. Bob Baker. It's cool that Green is back and hopefully the NBA's initiative gets more coverage and hype to popularize the game in India. I'm hoping that we'll get a current NBA star at the conclusion of the league.

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