The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began.
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two teams in the WNBA that are undefeated in the WNBA Finals; the Seattle Storm are the other. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and are tied with the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm for the most championships of any WNBA franchise, and despite all of their success, the team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 during the height of the Great Recession because new ownership could not be found.
The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.com Arena. The Sparks were founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began. Like some other WNBA teams, the Sparks have the distinction of not being affiliated with an NBA counterpart, even though the market is shared with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is currently the only major league professional sports team based in Connecticut.
The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.
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.
The 2000 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's fourth season. The 2000 season saw four expansion teams join the league, the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and Seattle Storm. The season ended with the Houston Comets winning their fourth WNBA championship.
The 2001 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's fifth season. The season ended with the Los Angeles Sparks winning their first WNBA championship.
The 2002 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's sixth season. The season ended with the Los Angeles Sparks winning their second WNBA championship.
The 2003 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's seventh season. It was first season in which teams either folded or relocated, as well as the first to have teams that were not co-owned with NBA teams. The Orlando Miracle relocated to Connecticut and became the Connecticut Sun, the Utah Starzz relocated to San Antonio, Texas and became the San Antonio Silver Stars. Meanwhile, both the Miami Sol and the Portland Fire folded, while the Charlotte Sting became the second WNBA team without a brother NBA team. The schedule increased from 32 games per team to 34. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their first WNBA Championship.
The 2006 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's tenth season. The league added one team: the Chicago Sky. The Sky were the first expansion team since 2000 when the Indiana Fever, Miami Sol, Portland Fire, and the Seattle Storm came to the WNBA. On April 5, the WNBA held their draft. Seimone Augustus, guard out of Louisiana State University was the number one overall pick. She was selected by the Minnesota Lynx. Cappie Pondexter, guard out of Rutgers University went number two. She was selected by the Phoenix Mercury. The season started on May 20 with a game between the Sacramento Monarchs and the Phoenix Mercury. The game was televised by ABC. The Monarchs won the game 105–78. On July 12, The All Star Game was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The East All Stars defeated the West All Stars 98–82. Katie Douglas of the Connecticut Sun was named MVP in the game with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. The 2006 WNBA season concluded on August 13. Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks won the league MVP. Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun was named Coach of The Year. Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx was named Rookie of the Year. The season ended with the Detroit Shock winning their second WNBA Championship.
The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was the first WNBA season with a franchise in Atlanta as the Dream were announced in late 2007.
Kisha Ford is a former WNBA player for the New York Liberty, Orlando Miracle, and the Miami Sol. She attended Bryn Mawr School and played college basketball at Georgia Tech, where she was the all-time leading scorer in team history. She competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 1995 Jones Cup Team that won the Bronze in Taipei. She was selected in the fourth round of the 1997 WNBA Draft at 27th overall by the New York Liberty. Over her WNBA career, she scored 442 points, grabbed 218 rebounds, and had 90 assists, and 111 steals.
The 2008 WNBA season was the 11th for the Detroit Shock, an American women's professional basketball team. The Shock returned to the WNBA Finals for the third consecutive year, winning their second WNBA Championship in three seasons, and their third in six years.
The Western Conference is one of two conferences that make up the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the other being the Eastern Conference. Both conferences currently consist of 6 teams, until 2025, when the Golden State Valkyries will join the Western Conference.
The Tulsa Shock were a professional basketball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Detroit, Michigan before the 1998 WNBA season began; the team moved to Tulsa before the 2010 season. The team was owned by Tulsa Pro Hoops LLC, which is led by Bill Cameron and David Box. On July 20, 2015, Cameron announced that the franchise would move to Arlington, Texas for the 2016 WNBA season, rebranding as the Dallas Wings.
The 1999 WNBA season was the third for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but they fell in the Conference Finals to eventual champion Houston Comets.
Andrea Congreaves is a British former basketball player born in Epsom, Surrey who played professionally for the women's England's national team while also playing in the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Britain throughout her career. She is the former head coach of the Rhondda Rebels of the English Women's Basketball League, and the current head coach of the Mansfield Giants of the English Basketball League as well as the women's team of the University of Nottingham.
Sharon Manning is a former professional basketball player. She played nationally (WNBA) and overseas.
Yolanda Moore is an American former professional basketball player. She was the post game radio analyst for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007.
Chamique Holdsclaw