The 1998 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's second season. The 1998 season saw two expansion teams join the league, the Detroit Shock and Washington Mystics with an expansion draft being held on February 18, 1998. The expansion teams allowed the defending champions, Houston Comets, to move to the Western Conference. The regular season was extended from 28 games to 30 games. During the season, Kelly Boucher became the first Canadian to play in the league, suiting up for the Charlotte Sting. The season ended with the Comets winning their second WNBA championship.
Regular season Standings Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.
Playoffs
Awards Reference:
Individual AwardWinnerTeamMost Valuable Player (MVP)Cynthia CooperHouston CometsFinals MVPCynthia CooperHouston CometsDefensive Player of the Year Teresa Weatherspoon New York LibertyNewcomer of the Year Suzie McConnell Serio Cleveland RockersShooting Champions Field goal percentage Isabelle FijalkowskiCleveland Rockers Free throw percentage Sandy Brondello Detroit ShockRookie of the Year Tracy Reid Charlotte StingSportsmanship Award Suzie McConnell Serio Cleveland RockersCoach of the Year Van Chancellor Houston Comets
Team Award Player Team All-WNBA First Team Tina Thompson Houston Comets Sheryl Swoopes Houston Comets Jennifer Gillom Phoenix Mercury Suzie McConnell-Serio Cleveland Rockers Cynthia Cooper Houston Comets Second Team Eva Nemcova Cleveland Rockers Cindy Brown Detroit Shock Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks Teresa Weatherspoon New York Liberty Andrea Stinson Charlotte Sting
Players of the Week Week endingPlayerTeamJune 21Lisa LeslieLos Angeles SparksJune 28Andrea StinsonCharlotte StingJuly 5Cindy BrownDetroit ShockJuly 12Jennifer GillomPhoenix MercuryJuly 19Tracy ReidCharlotte StingJuly 27Teresa WeatherspoonNew York LibertyAugust 2Cynthia CooperHouston CometsAugust 10Cynthia Cooper (2)Houston CometsAugust 17Suzie McConnell-SerioCleveland Rockers
Coaches Eastern Conference Charlotte Sting: Marynell Meadors Cleveland Rockers: Linda Hill-MacDonald Detroit Shock: Nancy Lieberman New York Liberty: Nancy Darsch and Richie Adubato Washington Mystics: Jim Lewis and Cathy Parson
Western Conference Houston Comets: Van Chancellor Los Angeles Sparks: Julie Rousseau and Orlando Woolridge Phoenix Mercury: Cheryl Miller Sacramento Monarchs: Heidi VanDerveer Utah Starzz: Frank Layden
References