The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Starting 2016 Verizon is the official sponsor. The series is played between the winners of the playoff semifinals. At the conclusion of the championship round, the winner of the WNBA Finals is presented the championship trophy. The WNBA Finals has been played at the conclusion of every WNBA season in history, the first being held in 1997. Since 2005, the winner of the WNBA Finals has been determined through a 2–2–1 format. The first, second, and fifth games of the series are played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season. History The WNBA's playoff format has changed several times in the league's history. From 1997 to 1998, a single championship game was held to decide the champion. In 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA Finals were turned into a best-of-three games series. The finale series was known as the WNBA Championship from 1997 to 2001, before changing to reflect its NBA counterpart. In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a best-of-five format. In 2016, the WNBA changed to its current playoff format seeding teams #1 through #8 regardless of conference making it possible for two Eastern Conference or two Western Conference teams to meet in the Finals. Highlights In 2001, the #4 seed Charlotte Sting was the lowest seed to make the WNBA Finals. The 2003 Finals was best known for rekindling a heated rivalry between the two teams' head coaches, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Michael Cooper and former Detroit Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer. Both coaches were fierce NBA competitors who played in the NBA Finals against each other in 1988 and 1989. 2006 marked the first time that a #1 seed did not participate in the WNBA Finals. Detroit and Sacramento were both #2 seeds. The New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun have the most Finals appearances (4) without winning a championship. The Minnesota Lynx are the sixth team to win multiple championships (following Houston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix and Seattle, respectively). 2006 marked the first time that the team with the best point-differential in the regular-season did not win the WNBA Finals or even advance to the WNBA finals.