| 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 | |
| Eastern champions | Houston Comets, New York Liberty |
| Eastern runners-up | Charlotte Sting |
| Western champions | none due to setup |
| Western 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 standings
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 |
Season award winners
League leaders
- Chantel Tremitiere: Sacramento Monarchs, Minutes Played 1051
- Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Field Goals 191
- Wendy Palmer: Utah Starzz, Field Goal Attempts, 420
- Haixia Zheng: Los Angeles Sparks, Field Goal Percentage, .618
- Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, 3-Pt Field Goals, 67
- Ruthie Bolton: Sacramento Monarchs, 3-Pt Field Goal Attempts, 192
- Eva Nemcova: Cleveland Rockers, 3-Pt Field Goal Percentage, .435
- Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Free Throws, 172
- Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Free Throw Attempts, 199
- Bridget Pettis: Phoenix Mercury, Free Throw Percentage, .898
- Latasha Byears: Sacramento Monarchs, Offensive Rebounds, 87
- Lisa Leslie: Los Angeles Sparks, Defensive Rebounds, 203
- Lisa Leslie: Los Angeles Sparks, Total Rebounds, 266
- Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Assists, 172
- Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Steals, 85
- Elena Baranova: Utah Starzz, Blocks, 63
- Chantel Tremitiere: Sacramento Monarchs, Turnovers, 122
- Isabelle Fijalkowski: Cleveland Rockers, Personal Fouls, 129
- Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Points, 621
- Chantel Tremitiere: Sacramento Monarchs, Minutes per game, 37.5
- Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Points per game, 22.2
- Lisa Leslie: Los Angeles Sparks, Rebounds per game, 9.5
- Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Assists per game, 6.1
- Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Steals per game, 3.0
- Elena Baranova: Utah Starzz, Blocks per game, 2.2
Playoffs
There were only 8 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was in the Eastern Conference in 1997 so two Eastern Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Finals.
| WNBA Semi-Finals Single game | WNBA Championship Single game | ||||||||
| E1 | Houston | 70 | |||||||
| E3 | Charlotte | 54 | |||||||
| E1 | Houston | 65 | |||||||
| E2 | New York | 51 | |||||||
| W1 | Phoenix | 41 | |||||||
| E2 | New York | 59 | |||||||
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