Women's National Basketball Association (1997)
1998
The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997.

The National Basketball Association announced on April 24, 1996, that the Women's NBA would begin play in June of 1997. As with the rival American Basketball League, the major impetus behind the move was the U. S. women's dream team that was expected to draw a lot of attention at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
 There were eight teams in the WNBA's first season: The Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets and New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference and the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs and Utah Starzz in the Western Conference.
 By playing in the summer, the WNBA avoided direct confrontation with its NBA parent. That allowed the league to play in the same large arenas used by NBA teams and it opened the way for games to be televised by NBC, which held rights to NBA games. ESPN and Lifetime also televised WNBA games.
 
 Houston Comets - WNBA Champions 1997
 Head Coach: Van Chancellor
 * Cynthia Cooper
 * Tina Thompson
 * Janeth Arcain
 * Sheryl Swoopes
 * Wanda Guyton
 Kim Perrot
 Fran Harris
 Tammy Jackson
 Tiffany Woosley
 Catarina Pollini
 Yolanda Moore
 Pietra Gay
 
 WNBA Finals 1997:
 Houston Comets - New York 65-51 *
 
 WNBA Awards 1997:
 WNBA Most Valuable Player: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets
 WNBA Finals MVP: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets
 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year: Teresa Weatherspoon, New York Liberty
 WNBA Coach of the Year: Van Chancellor, Houston Comets
 WNBA Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Winners: Haixia Zheng, Los Angeles Sparks
 All-WNBA 1st Team:
 Tina Tompson, Houston
 Eva Nemcova, Cleveland
 Lisa Leslie, LA
 Cynthia Cooper, Houston
 Ruthie Bolton-Holifield, Sacramento
 All-WNBA 2nd Team:
 Wendy Palmer, Utah
 Rebecca Lobo, New York
 Jennifer Gillom, Phoenix
 Teresa Weatherspoon, New York
 Andrea Stinson, Charlotte