1999 WNBA Championship

Last updated

1999 WNBA Finals
1999 WNBA Finals logo.png
TeamCoachWins
Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2
New York Liberty Richie Adubato 1
DatesSeptember 2-5
MVP Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets)
Hall of Famers Comets:
Cynthia Cooper (2010)
Sheryl Swoopes (2016)
Tina Thompson (2018)
Liberty:
Becky Hammon (2023)
Rebecca Lobo (2017; did not play)
Teresa Weatherspoon (2019)
Coaches:
Van Chancellor (2007)
Eastern finals New York defeated Charlotte, 2–1
Western finals Houston defeated Los Angeles, 2–0
  1998 WNBA Finals 2000  

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. [1]

Contents

The Comets made their third appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Liberty made their second Finals appearance.

Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had ever won a WNBA championship (1997 and 1998).

The Comets had a 26–6 record (.813), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (18–14).

Road to the finals

Houston CometsNew York Liberty
26–6 (.813)
1st West, 1st overall
Regular season 18–14 (.563)
1st East, 4th overall
Received a byeConference SemifinalsReceived a bye
Defeated the (2) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–1Conference FinalsDefeated the (3) Charlotte Sting, 2–1

Regular season series

The Comets and the Liberty split the regular season series:

July 3
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived August 24, 1999)
New York Liberty 50, Houston Comets 65
August 8
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived March 5, 2001)
Houston Comets 71, New York Liberty 74

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

September 2
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived April 22, 2001)
Houston Comets 73, New York Liberty 60
Scoring by half: 29–20, 44–40
Pts: Cooper (29)
Rebs: Thompson (7)
Asts: Cooper (6)
Pts: Witherspoon (18)
Rebs: Wicks (11)
Asts: Weatherspoon (10)
Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 17,113
Referees:
  • Sally Bell
  • Derek Collins
  • Gary Zielinski

Game 2

NBC
September 4
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived April 22, 2001)
New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 67
Scoring by half: 23–37, 45–30
Pts: Robinson (20)
Rebs: Hampton (9)
Asts: Weatherspoon (5)
Pts: Thompson (16)
Rebs: Swoopes, Tzekova (6)
Asts: Cooper (6)
Compaq Center, Houston
Attendance: 16,285
Referees:
  • June Corteau
  • Courtney Kirkland
  • Jason Phillips

With Houston leading 67–65 over New York and the Liberty out of timeouts with only 2.4 seconds remaining on the clock after Tina Thompson's jumper, New York would have to go the length of the court if they had any hope of winning. Kym Hampton inbounded the ball to Teresa Weatherspoon who took a couple dribbles and let the ball fly 50 feet away from the basket. To the awe and ire of the Houston fans, the ball smacked off the backboard and banked into the basket and the Liberty won the game 68–67. The lasting image of this moment is Weatherspoon falling over on the ground smiling as her teammates mob her from the bench.

Game 3

NBC
September 5
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived September 18, 2000)
New York Liberty 47, Houston Comets 59
Scoring by half: 25–33, 22–26
Pts: Wicks (11)
Rebs: Wicks (9)
Asts: Robinson (3)
Pts: Cooper (24)
Rebs: Jackson (11)
Asts: Henning (2)
Compaq Center, Houston
Attendance: 16,285
Referees:
  • Sally Bell
  • Stan Gaxiola
  • Michael Price

Awards

Rosters

1999 Houston Comets Finals roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
F 4 Flag of Brazil.svg Arcain, Janeth 5' 11" (1.8m)147 lb (67kg) Brazil
G 14 Flag of the United States.svg Cooper, Cynthia 5' 10" (1.78m)150 lb (68kg) USC
G 34 Flag of the United States.svg Henning, Sonja 5' 7" (1.7m)143 lb (65kg) Stanford
F 23 Flag of the United States.svg Jackson, Tammy 6' 2" (1.88m)190 lb (86kg) Florida
C 40 Flag of the United States.svg Lamb, Monica  (IN)6' 5" (1.96m)206 lb (93kg) USC
F 24 Flag of Israel.svg Nikolich, Mila 6' 3" (1.91m)183 lb (83kg) Israel
G 21 Flag of the United States.svg Rizzotti, Jennifer 5' 6" (1.68m)146 lb (66kg) Connecticut
F 22 Flag of the United States.svg Swoopes, Sheryl 6' 0" (1.83m)145 lb (66kg) Texas Tech
F 7 Flag of the United States.svg Thompson, Tina 6' 2" (1.88m)178 lb (81kg) USC
C 15 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Tzekova, Polina 6' 4" (1.93m)189 lb (86kg) Bulgaria
F 13 Flag of Spain.svg Valdemoro, Amaya 6' 1" (1.85m)160 lb (73kg) Spain
C 52 Flag of the United States.svg Wolters, Kara 6' 7" (2.01m)227 lb (103kg) Connecticut
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Van Chancellor (Mississippi State)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
1999 New York Liberty Finals roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
G 25 Flag of the United States.svg Hammon, Becky 5' 6" (1.68m)136 lb (62kg) Colorado State
C 34 Flag of the United States.svg Hampton, Kym 6' 2" (1.88m)210 lb (95kg) Arizona State
G 55 Flag of the United States.svg Johnson, Vickie 5' 9" (1.75m)150 lb (68kg) Louisiana Tech
G 12 Flag of the United States.svg Jones-Young, Carolyn  (IN)5' 9" (1.75m)175 lb (79kg) Auburn
C 5 Flag of the United States.svg Lacy, Venus 6' 3" (1.91m)234 lb (106kg) Louisiana Tech
C 50 Flag of the United States.svg Lobo, Rebecca  Cruz Roja.svg6' 4" (1.93m)185 lb (84kg) Connecticut
F 3 Flag of the United States.svg Robinson, Crystal 5' 10" (1.78m)175 lb (79kg) Southeastern Oklahoma State University
C 31 Flag of the United States.svg VanGorp, Michele 6' 6" (1.98m)187 lb (85kg) Duke
G 4 Flag of the United States.svg Washington, Coquese 5' 6" (1.68m)138 lb (63kg) Notre Dame
G 11 Flag of the United States.svg Weatherspoon, Teresa 5' 8" (1.73m)161 lb (73kg) Louisiana Tech
F 44 Flag of the United States.svg Whitmore, Tamika 6' 2" (1.88m)190 lb (86kg) Memphis
F 23 Flag of the United States.svg Wicks, Sue 6' 3" (1.91m)174 lb (79kg) Rutgers
G 13 Flag of the United States.svg Witherspoon, Sophia 5' 10" (1.78m)145 lb (66kg) Florida
Head coach
Flag of the United States.svg Richie Adubato (William Paterson)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

References

  1. Thompson, Jack (May 30, 2000). "WNBA Champs Pick Up Where They Left Off". Chicago Tribune . ProQuest   418997955 . Retrieved August 22, 2024.