The American Basketball League, often abbreviated to the ABL of 1996 was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. At the same time the ABL was being formed, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was creating the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The ABL began league competition in the Fall of 1996, while the WNBA launched its first game in June 1997. Both organizations came into existence during a surge in popularity for women's basketball in the United States that followed the perfect 35–0 national championship season for the Connecticut Huskies in 1995 and the undefeated, gold medal-winning performance of the United States Women's basketball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Chamique Shaunta Holdsclaw is an American former professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She announced her retirement from the Los Angeles Sparks on June 11, 2007, though she eventually came out of retirement to play with the Atlanta Dream for the 2009 WNBA Season. Holdsclaw was inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Teresa Edwards is an American former women's basketball player and four time Olympic gold medalist.
Michael Jerome Cooper is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association, winning five NBA championships with the Lakers during their Showtime era. Regarded as one of the greatest defensive players of his generation, he was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. In 2024, it was announced that Cooper would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Following his Hall of Fame announcement, it was announced on August 15, 2024 that Cooper would have his No. 21 retired by the Lakers on January 13, 2025.
Tara Ann VanDerveer is a retired American basketball coach who was the head women's basketball coach at Stanford University from 1985 until her retirement in 2024. Designated the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball, VanDerveer led the Stanford Cardinal to three NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships: in 1990, 1992 and 2021. She stepped away from the Stanford program for a year to serve as the U.S. national team head coach at the 1996 Olympic Games. VanDerveer is the 1990 Naismith National Coach of the Year and a ten-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year. She is also one of only nine NCAA Women's Basketball coaches to win over 900 games, and one of ten NCAA Division I coaches – women's or men's – to win 1,000 games. VanDerveer was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. On December 15, 2020, she passed Pat Summitt for most wins in women's college basketball history. On January 21, 2024, she won her 1,203rd game as a head coach, becoming the head coach with the most wins in college basketball history, women's or men's.
Debbie Black is an American women's basketball former player and current coach. During her professional career, Black played in the Women's National Basketball League in Australia, the American Basketball League and the Women's National Basketball Association. She retired from the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA in 2005. Black was an assistant coach for the Ohio State University before being named the head coach of the Eastern Illinois University Women's Basketball team on May 16, 2013, in which position she continued until 2017.
Tanisha Lovely Wright is an American basketball coach and former player. From 2021 to 2024, she was the head coach of the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Charlotte. As a player, Wright played 14 WNBA seasons for the Seattle Storm, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx and played college basketball for the Penn State Nittany Lions. During her junior season, Tanisha helped led her team to the Elite Eight, where they fell to the eventual national champion, Connecticut. She ranks fourth in school history in points scored with 1,995 points in 134 career games for Penn State. She was drafted in the 2005 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm.
MaChelle Kay Joseph is an American women's basketball coach, who served as the head coach for Georgia Tech from 2003 to 2019. Under Joseph, the Yellow Jackets compiled a record of 273–176. Joseph was fired on March 26, 2019, by AD Todd Stansbury and the Georgia Tech Athletic Administration after being accused of abusing and bullying players. She denies these accusations and filed suit against Georgia Tech Athletics, the Board of Regents, and 4 individuals on July 23, 2019. She claims her termination was a culmination of an unlawful campaign of retaliation against her for advocating for gender equity in athletics at Georgia Tech, and that for years, Georgia Tech has provided sub-standard resources to its women's basketball program including in facilities, marketing, travel, and funding, while providing significantly more and superior resources to its men's basketball program. Joseph served as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at GT for 16 years and amassed more wins than any other coach in GT WBB history.
Saudia Roundtree is an American women's basketball coach, and also a former star player.
Carla Renee McGhee is an American former basketball player most notable for her career at the University of Tennessee. She was injured in a car crash in October 1987 and was in a coma for 47 hours, suffering brain injuries and breaking nearly every bone in her face. She was told she'd never play again. She was a member of the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic Team.
Kathryn Suzanne Steding is a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She is currently an assistant coach for the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team.
Camille Little is a former American professional basketball player and currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She began her WNBA career with the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2007. She played college basketball at North Carolina.
The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real estate investors Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and former Dream player Renee Montgomery. Although the Dream share the Atlanta market with the National Basketball Association's Hawks, the Dream is not affiliated with its NBA counterpart. The Dream play at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Brittney Yvette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. Griner was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
The Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team is the women's wheelchair basketball side that represents Australia in international competitions. The team is known as the Gliders. The team hasn't won a gold medal for Australia since it began competing at the 1992 Summer Paralympics, however it has won either the silver or bronze medal since the 2000 Summer Paralympics held in Sydney. Gliders finished 6th at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship but did not qualify for the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
The Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets are the athletic teams for Baldwin Wallace University. The Yellow Jackets participate in Division III of the NCAA in the Ohio Athletic Conference. BW's rivalries include John Carroll University and University of Mount Union. BW's most successful athletic programs include cross country and swimming and diving. Among BW's most famous alumni related to athletics include Harrison Dillard, Lee Tressel, and Jim Tressel.
Laurie Byrd is a basketball coach and former basketball player from Flint, Michigan. She is sister to the professional boxer Chris Byrd.
Patricia "Trish" Roberts is an American basketball coach and former player. She was most recently the head coach of the women's basketball team at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.
Fred Williams is an American basketball coach who is currently the associate head coach for the Auburn Tigers women's basketball team.
The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg Bibb is president and CEO. Brad Hilsabeck joined the Dallas Wings ownership group in March 2019 with the acquisition of Mark Yancey’s interest in the Wings.
