1999 New York Liberty season

1999 New York Liberty season
Coach	Richie Adubato
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Attendance	14,047 per game
Results
Record	18–14 (.563)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost WNBA Finals
← 1998 season 2000 season →

The 1999 WNBA season was the third season for the New York Liberty. The Liberty hosted the first WNBA All-Star Game.

Logo for the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game, held in 1999

Transactions

Orlando Miracle expansion draft

The following player was selected in the Orlando Miracle expansion draft from the New York Liberty:

Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
Kisha Ford	United States	Georgia Tech

WNBA draft

See also: 1999 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	6	Crystal Robinson	United States	Colorado Xplosion
2	18	Michele Van Gorp	United States	Duke
3	30	Tamika Whitmore	United States	Memphis
4	42	Carolyn Young	United States	New England Blizzard

Transactions

Date	Transaction
September 11, 1998	Fired Nancy Darsch as Head Coach [1]
December 9, 1998	Hired Richie Adubato as Head Coach [1]
April 6, 1999	Lost Kisha Ford to the Orlando Miracle in the WNBA expansion draft [1]
May 4, 1999	Drafted Crystal Robinson, Michele Van Gorp, Tamika Whitmore and Carolyn Young in the 1999 WNBA draft [1]
May 24, 1999	Waived Bridgette Gordon and Vanessa Nygaard [1]
June 1, 1999	Signed Venus Lacy [1]
June 7, 1999	Waived Alicia Thompson [1]
June 19, 1999	Signed Becky Hammon [1]

Roster

1999 New York Liberty roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 25 Hammon, Becky 5' 6" (1.68m) 136 lb (62kg) 1977-03-11 Colorado State R C 34 Hampton, Kym 6' 2" (1.88m) 210 lb (95kg) 1962-11-03 Arizona State 2 G/F 55 Johnson, Vickie 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 1972-04-15 Louisiana Tech 2 C 5 Lacy, Venus 6' 3" (1.91m) 234 lb (106kg) 1967-02-09 Louisiana Tech R C 50 Lobo, Rebecca 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) 1973-10-06 Connecticut 2 F 3 Robinson, Crystal 5' 11" (1.8m) 155 lb (70kg) 1974-01-22 SE Oklahoma State R C 31 Van Gorp, Michele 6' 6" (1.98m) 187 lb (85kg) 1977-05-10 Duke R G 4 Washington, Coquese 5' 6" (1.68m) 138 lb (63kg) 1971-01-17 Notre Dame 1 G 11 Weatherspoon, Teresa 5' 8" (1.73m) 161 lb (73kg) 1965-12-08 Louisiana Tech 2 F 44 Whitmore, Tamika 6' 2" (1.88m) 215 lb (98kg) 1977-06-05 Memphis R F 23 Wicks, Sue 6' 3" (1.91m) 174 lb (79kg) 1966-11-26 Rutgers 2 G/F 13 Witherspoon, Sophia 5' 10" (1.78m) 145 lb (66kg) 1969-07-06 Florida 2	Head coach Richie Adubato (William Paterson) Assistant coaches Lisa White Melissa McFerrin Jeff House Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Schedule

Regular season

1999 game log Total: 18–14 (Home: 12–4; Road: 6–10)
June: 5–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 June 10 Cleveland W 87–60 Vickie Johnson (17) Kym Hampton (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Madison Square Garden 1–0 2 June 12 @ Charlotte W 68–57 Sophia Witherspoon (17) Vickie Johnson (10) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Charlotte Coliseum 2–0 3 June 14 Washington L 63–81 Tamika Whitmore (13) Hampton Johnson Weatherspoon (5) Johnson Weatherspoon (4) Madison Square Garden 2–1 4 June 18 Los Angeles W 84–72 Vickie Johnson (26) Kym Hampton (9) Crystal Robinson (5) Madison Square Garden 3–1 5 June 20 Detroit W 69–62 Tamika Whitmore (16) Hampton Johnson Whitmore Wicks (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (10) Madison Square Garden 4–1 6 June 27 Charlotte W 72–58 Vickie Johnson (14) Kym Hampton Wicks (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (11) Madison Square Garden 5–1 7 June 28 @ Detroit L 71–91 Vickie Johnson (18) Sue Wicks (12) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 5–2
July : 6–8 (Home: 4–2; Road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 8 July 1 Phoenix W 83–67 Vickie Johnson (22) Hampton Whitmore (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (8) Madison Square Garden 6–2 9 July 3 @ Houston L 50–65 Vickie Johnson (20) Kym Hampton (12) Teresa Weatherspoon (4) Compaq Center 6–3 10 July 5 Sacramento W 76–63 Vickie Johnson (20) Hampton Wicks (9) Teresa Weatherspoon (9) Madison Square Garden 7–3 11 July 6 @ Washington L 63–71 Teresa Weatherspoon (14) Hampton Lobo (6) Johnson Weatherspoon (6) MCI Center 7–4 12 July 8 @ Cleveland W 84–49 Sophia Witherspoon (22) Vickie Johnson (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) Gund Arena 8–4 13 July 11 Minnesota L 56–58 Crystal Robinson (13) Sue Wicks (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) Madison Square Garden 8–5 14 July 17 @ Minnesota L 58–60 Vickie Johnson (17) Sue Wicks (7) Johnson Wicks (4) Target Center 8–6 15 July 18 Utah W 88–82 (OT) Kym Hampton (20) Kym Hampton (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (10) Madison Square Garden 9–6 16 July 20 Orlando W 61–56 Crystal Robinson (15) Sue Wicks (10) Johnson Weatherspoon (4) Madison Square Garden 10–6 17 July 22 @ Sacramento L 55–71 Vickie Johnson (17) Sue Wicks (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) ARCO Arena 10–7 18 July 24 @ Los Angeles L 72–75 (OT) Crystal Robinson (23) Sue Wicks (10) Teresa Weatherspoon (12) Great Western Forum 10–8 19 July 26 Charlotte L 69–75 (OT) Crystal Robinson (23) Sue Wicks (9) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) Madison Square Garden 10–9 20 July 29 @ Orlando W 73–65 (OT) Hampton Witherspoon (21) Kym Hampton (11) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) TD Waterhouse Centre 11–9 21 July 30 @ Charlotte L 58–62 Tamika Whitmore (13) Kym Hampton (7) Johnson Weatherspoon (7) Charlotte Coliseum 11–10
August : 7–4 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 22 August 1 Orlando W 74–61 Vickie Johnson (18) Kym Hampton (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (11) Madison Square Garden 12–10 23 August 3 @ Utah W 61–59 Vickie Johnson (16) Teresa Weatherspoon (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (8) Delta Center 13–10 24 August 6 @ Phoenix L 55–68 Crystal Robinson (27) Crystal Robinson (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (6) America West Arena 13–11 25 August 8 Houston W 74–71 Sophia Witherspoon (22) Sue Wicks (9) Vickie Johnson (6) Madison Square Garden 14–11 26 August 9 @ Orlando W 80–75 Crystal Robinson (18) Sue Wicks (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) TD Waterhouse Centre 15–11 27 August 11 @ Washington L 56–59 (OT) Crystal Robinson (16) Sue Wicks (16) Vickie Johnson (3) MCI Center 15–12 28 August 13 @ Detroit W 60–56 Hampton Robinson Wicks (12) Sue Wicks (10) Johnson Weatherspoon (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 16–12 29 August 15 Detroit L 57–63 Teresa Weatherspoon (14) Sue Wicks (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) Madison Square Garden 16–13 30 August 19 Washington W 66–54 Tamika Whitmore (20) Vickie Johnson (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (8) Madison Square Garden 17–13 31 August 19 Cleveland W 72–55 Becky Hammon (16) Sue Wicks (9) Crystal Robinson (5) Madison Square Garden 18–13 32 August 21 @ Cleveland L 56–66 Johnson Weatherspoon (15) Sue Wicks (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Gund Arena 18–14
1999 season schedule

Playoffs

1999 playoff game log
Conference Finals vs. Charlotte Sting Won Series: 2–1 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 August 27 @ Charlotte L 67–78 Crystal Robinson (17) Robinson Wicks (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (8) Charlotte Coliseum 0–1 2 August 29 Charlotte W 74–70 Teresa Weatherspoon (19) Kym Hampton (10) Teresa Weatherspoon (9) Madison Square Garden 1–1 3 August 30 Charlotte W 69–54 Crystal Robinson (18) Kym Hampton (11) Teresa Weatherspoon (11) Madison Square Garden 2–1
Championship vs. Houston Comets Lost Series: 1–2 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 September 2 Houston L 60–73 Sophia Witherspoon (18) Sue Wicks (11) Teresa Weatherspoon (10) Madison Square Garden 0–1 2 September 4 @ Houston W 68–67 Crystal Robinson (21) Kym Hampton (9) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Compaq Center 1–1 3 September 5 @ Houston L 47–59 Sue Wicks (11) Sue Wicks (9) Crystal Robinson (3) Compaq Center 1–2
1999 playoff schedule

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	Conf.	GB
New York Liberty x	18	14	.563	12–8	–
Detroit Shock x	15	17	.469	12–8	3.0
Charlotte Sting x	15	17	.469	12–8	3.0
Orlando Miracle o	15	17	.469	9–11	3.0
Washington Mystics o	12	20	.375	10–10	6.0
Cleveland Rockers o	7	25	.219	5–15	11.0

Statistics

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

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Teresa Weatherspoon	32	32	33.9	.421	.378	.679	3.3	6.4	2.4	0.1	7.2
Vickie Johnson	32	32	33.8	.419	.352	.837	4.4	3.3	1.4	0.0	13.3
Sue Wicks	32	30	29.3	.403	.133	.615	7.0	1.4	1.3	1.3	6.8
Crystal Robinson	32	9	28.2	.439	.437	.845	2.8	1.5	1.4	0.3	11.7
Kym Hampton	32	32	26.8	.431	.500	.747	5.6	0.7	0.7	0.6	9.2
Tamika Whitmore	27	1	21.2	.435	.125	.679	3.6	0.7	0.6	0.2	7.9
Sophia Witherspoon	32	23	18.2	.396	.359	.710	1.5	1.2	1.0	0.1	8.5
Becky Hammon	30	0	6.7	.422	.289	.882	0.6	0.6	0.2	0.0	2.7
Venus Lacy	17	0	6.5	.417	N/A	.800	1.2	0.1	0.2	0.2	1.9
Michele Van Gorp	21	0	5.6	.333	N/A	.800	0.8	0.3	0.0	0.1	1.0
Coquese Washington	19	0	4.1	.278	.000	1.000	0.4	0.8	0.5	0.0	0.6
Rebecca Lobo	1	1	1.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

Awards and honors

• Teresa Weatherspoon, Guard, New York Liberty, All-WNBA Second Team

References

1. "1999 New York Liberty Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.