The 1997 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's inaugural season. It started off with 8 franchises: Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and the Utah Starzz. It featured an inaugural game between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks lost to the New York Liberty, 67–57. The attendance at the Forum was 14,284.[1] The season ended with the Comets defeating the Liberty in a one-game series 65–51. Cynthia Cooper was named MVP of the game.
| 1997 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | June 21 – August 30, 1997 |
| Games | 28 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Total attendance | 1,082,963 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, NBC, Lifetime |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Tina Thompson |
| Picked by | Houston Comets |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Houston Comets |
| Season MVP | Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Houston) |
| Top scorer | Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Houston) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Houston Comets |
| Runners-up | New York Liberty |
| Finals MVP | Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Houston) |
Regular season
editStandings
editEastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Comets x | 18 | 10 | .643 | 6–6 | – |
| New York Liberty x | 17 | 11 | .607 | 8–4 | 1.0 |
| Charlotte Sting x | 15 | 13 | .536 | 5–7 | 3.0 |
| Cleveland Rockers o | 15 | 13 | .536 | 5–7 | 3.0 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Mercury x | 16 | 12 | .571 | 9–3 | – |
| Los Angeles Sparks o | 14 | 14 | .500 | 8–4 | 2.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs o | 10 | 18 | .357 | 4–8 | 6.0 |
| Utah Starzz o | 7 | 21 | .250 | 3–9 | 9.0 |
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.
Playoffs
editFor the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was in the Eastern Conference so two Eastern Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Championship.
| Semifinals single game | WNBA Championship single game | ||||||||
| 1 | Houston | 70 | |||||||
| 4 | Charlotte | 54 | |||||||
| 1 | Houston | 65 | |||||||
| 2 | New York | 51 | |||||||
| 2 | New York | 59 | |||||||
| 3 | Phoenix | 41 | |||||||
- Bold – Game winner
- Italic – Team with home-court advantage
Awards
editReference:[2]
Individual
edit| Award | Winner | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets | |
| Finals MVP | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Teresa Weatherspoon | New York Liberty | |
| Shooting Champions | Eastern Conference | Andrea Congreaves | Charlotte Sting |
| Western Conference | Haixia Zheng | Los Angeles Sparks | |
| Sportsmanship Award | Haixia Zheng | Los Angeles Sparks | |
| Coach of the Year | Van Chancellor | Houston Comets | |
Team
edit| Award | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-WNBA | First Team | Eva Nemcova | Cleveland Rockers |
| Tina Thompson | Houston Comets | ||
| Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles Sparks | ||
| Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets | ||
| Ruthie Bolton-Holifield | Sacramento Monarchs | ||
| Second Team | Wendy Palmer | Utah Starzz | |
| Rebecca Lobo | New York Liberty | ||
| Jennifer Gillom | Phoenix Mercury | ||
| Teresa Weatherspoon | New York Liberty | ||
| Andrea Stinson | Charlotte Sting | ||
Players of the Week
edit| Week ending | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| June 29 | Ruthie Bolton-Holifield | Sacramento Monarchs |
| July 6 | Sophia Witherspoon | New York Liberty |
| July 13 | Andrea Stinson | Charlotte Sting |
| July 20 | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
| July 27 | Cynthia Cooper (2) | Houston Comets |
| August 3 | Eva Nemcova | Cleveland Rockers |
| August 10 | Tamecka Dixon | Los Angeles Sparks |
| August 17 | Jennifer Gillom | Phoenix Mercury |
Coaches
editReferences
edit- ↑ "News Archive".
- ↑ "1997 WNBA Season Awards - WNBA". WNBA. Retrieved May 28, 2025.