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. 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 Standings Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.
Playoffs
Awards Reference:
Individual Award Winner TeamMost Valuable Player (MVP) Cynthia Cooper Houston CometsFinals MVPCynthia CooperHouston CometsDefensive Player of the Year Teresa Weatherspoon New York LibertyShooting Champions Eastern Conference Andrea Congreaves Charlotte Sting Western Conference Haixia Zheng Los Angeles SparksSportsmanship AwardHaixia ZhengLos Angeles SparksCoach of the Year Van Chancellor Houston Comets
Team 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 Week endingPlayerTeamJune 29Ruthie Bolton-Holifield Sacramento MonarchsJuly 6Sophia WitherspoonNew York LibertyJuly 13 Andrea StinsonCharlotte StingJuly 20Cynthia CooperHouston CometsJuly 27Cynthia Cooper (2)Houston CometsAugust 3Eva NemcovaCleveland RockersAugust 10Tamecka DixonLos Angeles SparksAugust 17Jennifer GillomPhoenix Mercury
Coaches
Eastern Conference Charlotte Sting: Marynell Meadors Cleveland Rockers: Linda Hill-MacDonald Houston Comets: Van Chancellor New York Liberty: Nancy Darsch
Western Conference Los Angeles Sparks: Linda Sharp Phoenix Mercury: Cheryl Miller Sacramento Monarchs: Mary Murphy and Heidi VanDerveer Utah Starzz: Denise Taylor
References