1998 WNBA season

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1998 WNBA season
League Women's National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
DurationJune 11 – August 19, 1998
Number of games30
Number of teams10
Total attendance1,630,315
Average attendance10,869
TV partner(s) ESPN, NBC, Lifetime
1998 WNBA Draft
Top draft pick Margo Dydek
Picked by Utah Starzz
Regular season
Season MVP Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets)
Playoffs
Semi-Finals 1 champions Houston Comets
  Semi-Finals 1 runners-up Charlotte Sting
Semi-Finals 2 champions Phoenix Mercury
  Semi-Finals 2 runners-up Cleveland Rockers
Finals
Champions Houston Comets
  Runners-up Phoenix Mercury
Finals MVP Cynthia Cooper (Houston)
WNBA seasons

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. 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. The season ended with the Comets winning their second WNBA championship. During the season, Kelly Boucher became the first Canadian to play in the league, suiting up for the Charlotte Sting. [1]

Contents

Regular season standings

Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference WLPCTConf.GB
Cleveland Rockers x2010.66712–4
Charlotte Sting x1812.60011–52.0
New York Liberty o1812.6008–82.0
Detroit Shock o1713.5678–83.0
Washington Mystics o327.1001–1517.0

Western Conference

Western Conference WLPCTConf.GB
Houston Comets x273.90015–1
Phoenix Mercury x1911.63310–68.0
Los Angeles Sparks o1218.4006–1015.0
Sacramento Monarchs o822.2675–1119.0
Utah Starzz o822.2674–1219.0

Season award winners

AwardWinnerTeam
WNBA Finals MVP Award Cynthia Cooper Houston Comets
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Teresa Weatherspoon New York Liberty
WNBA Newcomer of the Year Award Suzie McConnell Serio Cleveland Rockers
WNBA Peak Performer: Field Goal Percentage Isabelle Fijalkowski
WNBA Peak Performer: Free Throw Percentage Sandy Brondello Detroit Shock
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award Tracy Reid Charlotte Sting
WNBA Sportsmanship Award Suzie McConnell SerioCleveland Rockers
WNBA Coach of the Year Award Van Chancellor Houston Comets

Playoffs

There were 10 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was switched to the Western Conference in 1998 so two Western Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Finals. Each round of the playoffs was played as a best-of-three series.

WNBA Semi-Finals
Best of 3
WNBA Finals
Best of 3
      
1 Houston 2
4 Charlotte 0
1 Houston 2
3 Phoenix 1
2 Cleveland 1
3 Phoenix 2

Coaches

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

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References

  1. LINDSAY DUNN (May 14, 2021). "Meet Kelly Boucher, the Canadian who broke the WNBA barrier". toronto.citynews.ca. Retrieved June 18, 2021.