1997 WNBA season
| 1997 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | June 21 – August 30, 1997 |
| Number of games | 28 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Total attendance | 1,082,963 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, NBC, Lifetime |
| 1997 WNBA Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Tina Thompson |
| Picked by | Houston Comets |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Cynthia Cooper (Houston) |
| Top scorer | C. Cooper (22.2) |
| Playoffs | |
| Semi-Finals 1 champions | Houston Comets |
| Semi-Finals 1 runners-up | Charlotte Sting |
| Semi-Finals 2 champions | New York Liberty |
| Semi-Finals 2 runners-up | Phoenix Mercury |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Houston Comets |
| Runners-up | New York Liberty |
| Finals MVP | Cynthia Cooper (Houston) |
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.
Regular season
[edit]Standings
[edit]Eastern 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
[edit]For 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
[edit]Reference:[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
[edit]Eastern Conference
[edit]- Charlotte Sting: Marynell Meadors
- Cleveland Rockers: Linda Hill-MacDonald
- Houston Comets: Van Chancellor
- New York Liberty: Nancy Darsch
Western Conference
[edit]- Los Angeles Sparks: Linda Sharp
- Phoenix Mercury: Cheryl Miller
- Sacramento Monarchs: Mary Murphy and Heidi VanDerveer
- Utah Starzz: Denise Taylor
References
[edit]- ^ "News Archive".
- ^ "1997 WNBA Season Awards - WNBA". WNBA. Retrieved May 28, 2025.