WNBA allocation draft
| Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Lobo |  United States | UConn |
| Teresa Weatherspoon | United States | Louisiana Tech |
| 1997 New York Liberty season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Nancy Darsch |
| Arena | Madison Square Garden |
| Attendance | 13,270 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 17–11 (.607) |
| Place | 2nd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Lost WNBA Finals |
The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the New York Liberty.
| Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Lobo | United States | UConn |
| Teresa Weatherspoon | United States | Louisiana Tech |
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kym Hampton | United States | Arizona State |
| 2 | 12 | Vickie Johnson | United States | Louisiana Tech |
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Sue Wicks | United States | Rutgers |
| 2 | 11 | Sophia Witherspoon | United States | Florida |
| 3 | 22 | Trena Trice | United States | NC State |
| 4 | 27 | Kisha Ford | United States | Georgia Tech |
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| January 22, 1997 | Drafted Rebecca Lobo and Teresa Weatherspoon in the 1997 WNBA Allocation Draft [1] | |
| February 27, 1997 | Drafted Kym Hampton and Vickie Johnson in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft [1] | |
| April 19, 1997 | Hired Nancy Darsch as Head Coach [1] | |
| April 28, 1997 | Drafted Sue Wicks, Sophia Witherspoon, Trena Trice and Kisha Ford in the 1997 WNBA Draft [1] | |
| August 11, 1997 | Waived Jasmina Perazić-Gipe [1] | |
| 1997 New York Liberty roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1997 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||
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Semifinal vs. Phoenix Mercury
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Championship vs. Houston Comets
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| 1997 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Lobo | 28 | 28 | 33.5 | .376 | .286 | .610 | 7.3 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 12.4 |
| Teresa Weatherspoon | 28 | 28 | 33.0 | .467 | .086 | .650 | 4.1 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 0.1 | 7.0 |
| Sophia Witherspoon | 28 | 28 | 31.0 | .406 | .349 | .748 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 14.5 |
| Vickie Johnson | 26 | 25 | 30.3 | .404 | .190 | .771 | 4.2 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 9.6 |
| Kym Hampton | 28 | 28 | 23.7 | .474 | .000 | .640 | 5.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 9.8 |
| Kisha Ford | 28 | 3 | 16.9 | .377 | .150 | .614 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 4.1 |
| Trena Trice | 28 | 0 | 12.1 | .554 | .250 | .667 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| Sue Wicks | 28 | 0 | 11.9 | .355 | .286 | .667 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 3.6 |
| Rhonda Blades | 28 | 0 | 10.4 | .357 | .315 | .650 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| Cassandra Crumpton-Moorer | 2 | 0 | 5.5 | .250 | .000 | N/A | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Jasmina Perazić-Gipe | 9 | 0 | 5.2 | .385 | .000 | N/A | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1997 and is one of the eight original franchises of the league. The team is owned by Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai, the majority owners of the Brooklyn Nets. The team's home games are played at Barclays Center.
Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin is an American television basketball analyst and former women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the center position for much of her career. She played college basketball at the University of Connecticut, where she was a member of the team that won the 1995 national championship, going 35–0 on the season in the process. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In April 2017, she was one of the members of the 2017 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Tracy McGrady and Muffet McGraw.
Rebecca Lynn Hammon is a Russian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously served as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time All-American basketball player for the Colorado State Rams, Hammon went on to play for the San Antonio Stars and New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for several other teams outside the United States. Hammon was born and raised in the United States, but she became a naturalized Russian citizen in 2008 and represented the Russian national team in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA and served as the head basketball coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Weatherspoon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2016, Weatherspoon was chosen to the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.
Crystal LaTresa Robinson is an American basketball coach and former player. She grew up in Atoka, Oklahoma, and first garnered national recognition during her collegiate career at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Professionally, Robinson played for the Colorado Xplosion of the ABL before playing in the WNBA for the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics.
Richard Adam Adubato is an American former basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams, the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Orlando Magic.
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.
Sophia L. Witherspoon is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard for seven seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Witherspoon played college basketball for the University of Florida, and was selected in the second round of the 1997 WNBA draft. She played professionally for the New York Liberty, Portland Fire and Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Houston Comets. The Comets won the inaugural WNBA Finals.
The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks finished in second place in the Western Division with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses.
The 1997 WNBA season was the first for the Phoenix Mercury.
The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Utah Starzz. The Starzz were partially named after the old ABA team, the Utah Stars, but with the zz at the end like the Utah Jazz. The franchise held the distinction of having the worst record in the WNBA in 1997.
The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Charlotte Sting.
The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Cleveland Rockers.
The 1999 WNBA season was the third season for the New York Liberty. The Liberty hosted the first WNBA All-Star Game.
The 1997 WNBA Championship was the championship game of the 1997 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded team of the league, defeated the New York Liberty, second-seeded team, 65-51 to win the league's inaugural championship.
The 1999 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1999 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's third title.
Kym Hampton is a retired professional basketball player. A 6'2" center, Hampton was drafted as the number four pick in the 1997 WNBA Elite draft and played three seasons for the New York Liberty (1997–1999). Following a 12-year professional stint in Europe along with her three years in the WNBA, Hampton retired from basketball in 2000, due to worn cartilage in her right knee.
Natasha “Tasha” Cloud is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
