Houston Comets - wikipedia Houston Comets Houston Comets Conference Western Leagues WNBA Founded 1997 Dissolved 2008 History Houston Comets 1997 -- 2008 Arena Compaq Center ( 1997 -- 2003 ) Toyota Center ( 2004 -- 2007 ) Reliant Arena ( 2008 ) Location Houston, Texas Team colors Fireball Red, Stardust Silver, White, Galaxy Blue Championships 4 ( 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 ) Conference titles 4 ( 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 ) The Houston Comets were a Women 's National Basketball Association ( WNBA ) team based in Houston, Texas, United States. 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 ( however, the Storm are still in operation ). The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and are tied with the Minnesota Lynx for the most championships of any WNBA franchise. The team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 because new ownership could not be found. The Comets were known for courting great women 's basketball stars. The team had among its members Cynthia Cooper ( the WNBA 's first MVP ) ; college and national team standout Sheryl Swoopes ; Kim Perrot, who succumbed to cancer in 1999 ; and college stars Michelle Snow and Tina Thompson. Contents 1 Franchise history 1.1 Building the first dynasty of the WNBA ( 1997 -- 2000 ) 1.2 The years of change and rebuilding ( 2001 -- 2006 ) 1.3 New ownership and a new home ( 2007 ) 1.4 End of the era ( 2008 ) 2 Season - by - season records 2.1 Team owners 3 Players of note 3.1 Final roster 3.2 Retired numbers 3.3 Former Comets 4 Coaches and others 5 References 6 External links Franchise history Building the first dynasty of the WNBA ( 1997 -- 2000 ) The Comets were one of the founding teams in the WNBA. They capped off the league 's inaugural season in 1997 with a win over the New York Liberty in the WNBA championship game to win the WNBA 's first championship. When the league expanded the next season, the Comets were moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. In 1998, they put together a win loss record of 27 - 3 for a. 900 winning percentage -- a WNBA record that still stands. They went on to repeat as champions, defeating the Phoenix Mercury in the first - ever WNBA Finals that year due to the championship game being extended into a three - game championship series. In 1999, led by what was already known as the Big Three, ( Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson ), the Comets survived a highlight - film, last - second, court - to - court, game - winning shot by the Liberty 's Teresa Weatherspoon in Game 2 of the finals to beat the Liberty in three games and win their third straight title, this one after the death of teammate Kim Perrot, who died of cancer. In 2000, the Comets went all the way to the Finals again, and beat the Liberty in two games to win their fourth title in a row. 2000 was the Comets ' last championship and last WNBA Finals appearance in franchise history. The years of change and rebuilding ( 2001 -- 2006 ) After Cooper retired in 2001, Houston clinched the playoffs with a 19 - 13 record, but lost in the first round in a sweep to the 2001 eventual champion Los Angeles Sparks. In 2002, when Swoopes was injured most of the year with a torn ACL, the Comets were able to qualify for the playoffs with a 24 - 8 record, but lost to the Utah Starzz in 3 games. In 2003, they qualified to the playoffs for the 7th straight year, but they lost in the first round to the Sacramento Monarchs in 3 games. They missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history with a record of 13 - 21 in 2004, but returned to the playoffs with a 19 - 15 record, finishing 3rd. In the first round, the Comets knocked out the 2004 defending champion Seattle Storm in 3 games, but lost in the conference finals to the Sacramento Monarchs in a sweep, which Sacramento later became WNBA Champions in 2005. Houston would return to the playoffs with an 18 - 16 record, but lost to the 2005 defending champion Sacramento Monarchs in another sweep. 2006 was the last playoff appearance for the Houston Comets. After the Comets ' season ended in 2006, the Comets underwent major front - office changes during the off - season. In October 2006, team owner Leslie Alexander ( who also owns the NBA 's Houston Rockets team ) announced he was selling the Comets, and longtime Head Coach Van Chancellor resigned in January 2007. New ownership and a new home ( 2007 ) On January 31, 2007, the WNBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the team to Hilton Koch, a Houston - based mattress and furniture businessman. Two weeks later, Comets assistant coach Karleen Thompson was named to become the team 's new Head Coach and General Manager for the 2007 season. For the 2007 season, they would miss the playoffs for the second time in franchise history after starting the season 0 - 10, resulting in a 13 - 21 record. On December 12, 2007, team owner Hilton Koch announced that the Comets would be moving from the Toyota Center to Reliant Arena for the 2008 WNBA season. This resulted in a loss of fans. The Compaq Center drew 13,000 fans, but the Reliant Arena could only house 7,200. In 2008, the Comets ' final year, they only drew an average 6,000 fans per game and sold out four games. End of the era ( 2008 ) In 2008, Koch put the team up for sale, with an asking price of $10 million. No investors stepped up. The WNBA took over management of the Comets and disbanded the team in December 2008. They stated that they would only be suspending operations in 2009, which some people saw as a sign that the franchise could be revived if an investor came in. Comets players were sent off to other teams in a dispersal draft. League president Donna Orender said that the collapse of the Comets was not a sign that the WNBA was in trouble. Former player Cynthia Cooper - Dyke said that the loss of the Comets was `` disturbing news '' and that the Comets were integral to the WNBA. The Comets played their final home game on September 15, 2008 at the Strahan Coliseum on the campus of Texas State due to Hurricane Ike. They defeated the Sacramento Monarchs 90 - 81. They finished the season 17 - 17 and missed the playoffs for the third time in their history. Season - by - season records Season Team Conference Regular season Playoff Results Head coach PCT Houston Comets 1997 1997 East 1st 18 10. 643 Won WNBA Semifinal ( Charlotte, 70 - 54 ) Won WNBA Championship ( New York, 65 - 51 ) Van Chancellor 1998 1998 West 1st 27. 900 Won WNBA Semifinals ( Charlotte, 2 -- 0 ) Won WNBA Finals ( Phoenix, 2 -- 1 ) Van Chancellor 1999 1999 West 1st 26 6. 813 Won Conference Finals ( Los Angeles, 2 -- 1 ) Won WNBA Finals ( New York, 2 -- 1 ) Van Chancellor 2000 2000 West 2nd 27 5. 844 Won Conference Semifinals ( Sacramento, 2 -- 0 ) Won Conference Finals ( Los Angeles, 2 -- 0 ) Won WNBA Finals ( New York, 2 -- 0 ) Van Chancellor 2001 2001 West 4th 19 13. 594 Lost Conference Semifinals ( Los Angeles, 0 -- 2 ) Van Chancellor 2002 2002 West 2nd 24 8. 750 Lost Conference Semifinals ( Utah, 1 -- 2 ) Van Chancellor 2003 2003 West 2nd 20 14. 588 Lost Conference Semifinals ( Sacramento, 1 -- 2 ) Van Chancellor West 6th 13 21. 382 Van Chancellor 2005 2005 West 3rd 19 15. 559 Won Conference Semifinals ( Seattle, 2 -- 1 ) Lost Conference Finals ( Sacramento, 0 -- 2 ) Van Chancellor 2006 2006 West 3rd 18 16. 529 Lost Conference Semifinals ( Sacramento, 0 -- 2 ) Van Chancellor 2007 2007 West 5th 13 21. 382 Karleen Thompson 2008 2008 West 5th 17 17. 500 Karleen Thompson Regular Season 241 149. 618 4 Conference Championships Playoffs 20 14. 588 4 WNBA Championships Team owners Leslie Alexander ( 1997 -- 2006 ) Hilton Koch ( 2007 -- 2008 ) WNBA ( 2008 ) Players of note Final roster Houston Comets roster Players Coaches Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From 7000100000000000000 ♠ 1 Ajavon, Matee 7000177800000000000 ♠ 5 ft 10 in ( 1.78 m ) 160 lb ( 73 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Rutgers G / F 5000000000000000000 ♠ 00 Byears, Latasha 7000180340000000000 ♠ 5 ft 11 in ( 1.80 m ) 206 lb ( 93 kg ) `` See Tfd '' DePaul 7001200000000000000 ♠ 20 Dixon, Tamecka 7000175260000000000 ♠ 5 ft 9 in ( 1.75 m ) 148 lb ( 67 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Kansas 7001150000000000000 ♠ 15 Hodges, Roneeka 7000180340000000000 ♠ 5 ft 11 in ( 1.80 m ) 165 lb ( 75 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Florida State G / F 7001170000000000000 ♠ 17 Holmes, Sequoia 7000185420000000000 ♠ 6 ft 1 in ( 1.85 m ) 155 lb ( 70 kg ) `` See Tfd '' UNLV 7001410000000000000 ♠ 41 Johnson, Shannon 7000170180000000000 ♠ 5 ft 7 in ( 1.70 m ) 152 lb ( 69 kg ) `` See Tfd '' South Carolina 7001210000000000000 ♠ 21 Lyttle, Sancho 7000193040000000000 ♠ 6 ft 4 in ( 1.93 m ) 175 lb ( 79 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Houston 7000400000000000000 ♠ 4 Mabika, Mwadi 7000180340000000000 ♠ 5 ft 11 in ( 1.80 m ) 165 lb ( 75 kg ) Democratic Republic of the Congo G / F 7001990000000000000 ♠ 99 Maïga - Ba, Hamchétou 7000185420000000000 ♠ 6 ft 1 in ( 1.85 m ) 160 lb ( 73 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Old Dominion 7000200000000000000 ♠ 2 Snow, Michelle 7000195580000000000 ♠ 6 ft 5 in ( 1.96 m ) 158 lb ( 72 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Tennessee 7000700000000000000 ♠ 7 Thompson, Tina 7000187960000000000 ♠ 6 ft 2 in ( 1.88 m ) 178 lb ( 81 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Southern California 7000500000000000000 ♠ 5 White, Erica 7000160020000000000 ♠ 5 ft 3 in ( 1.60 m ) 135 lb ( 61 kg ) `` See Tfd '' LSU 7000800000000000000 ♠ 8 Williams, Mistie 7000190500000000000 ♠ 6 ft 3 in ( 1.91 m ) 184 lb ( 83 kg ) `` See Tfd '' Duke Head coach Karleen Thompson ( `` See Tfd '' Southern California ) Assistant coaches Ryan Weisenberg ( California Poly. ) Laurie Byrd ( `` See Tfd '' Eastern Michigan ) Athletic trainer Courtney Watson Strength and conditioning coach Virgil Campbell Legend ( C ) Team captain ( FA ) Free agent ( IN ) Inactive ( S ) Suspended Injured Retired numbers Houston Comets retired numbers No. Player Position Tenure 10 Kim Perrot 1997 -- 98 14 Cynthia Cooper 1997 -- 2000, 2003 Former Comets Matee Ajavon, now a member of the Atlanta Dream Janeth Arcain Octavia Blue Latasha Byears Dominique Canty Cynthia Cooper, now the head coach of the USC Women 's Basketball Team Tamecka Dixon Ukari Figgs Nekeshia Henderson Sonja Henning Tammy Jackson Shannon Johnson Amanda Lassiter Edwige Lawson Tynesha Lewis Rebecca Lobo Sancho Lyttle, now a member of the Phoenix Mercury Mwadi Mabika Hamchétou Maïga Kim Perrot Jennifer Rizzotti Michelle Snow Dawn Staley, now the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks Women 's Basketball Team Sheryl Swoopes, now the head coach of Loyola University Chicago Lindsay Taylor Tina Thompson, now assistant head coach of Texas Longhorns Women 's Basketball Team Amaya Valdemoro Coquese Washington, now the head coach of Penn State Women 's Basketball Team Kara Wolters Monica Lamb - Powell Coaches and others Head Coaches : Van Chancellor ( 1997 -- 2006 ) ( served as the women 's head basketball coach at Louisiana State University from 2007 -- 2011 ) Karleen Thompson ( 2007 -- 2008 ) References Jump up ^ Comets moving to Reliant from Houston Chronicle ^ Jump up to : Dial, Jenny. The Houston Chronicle. `` WNBA TO SHUT DOWN COMETS : DISPERSAL DRAFT PLANNED FOR NEXT WEEK. '' Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2 Dec. 2008, E. 2. Jump up ^ Altavilla, John. `` LEAGUE LOOKS AHEAD AFTER COMETS ' DEMISE : WNBA. '' Hartford Courant ( Hartford, Conn. ) 5 Dec. 2008, B. 3. Jump up ^ Tim Lemke, THE WASHINGTON TIMES. `` Comets just flamed out : Economic troubles cause WNBA team to close shop. '' Washington Times ( Washington, D.C. ) 3 Dec. 2008, C. 2 External links Houston portal Basketball portal Houston Comets official website Sporting positions Preceded by Inaugural Champions WNBA Champions 1997 ( First title ) 1998 ( Second title ) 1999 ( Third title ) 2000 ( Fourth title ) Succeeded by Los Angeles Sparks WNBA Western Conference Champions 1998 ( First title ) Co-Champions with Phoenix Mercury 1999 ( Second title ) 2000 ( Third title ) Preceded by Inaugural Champions WNBA Eastern Conference Champions 1997 ( First title ) Co-Champions with New York Liberty Succeeded by No Championship Awarded Defunct teams of the Women 's National Basketball Association Eastern Conference Charlotte Sting Cleveland Rockers Detroit Shock Miami Sol Orlando Miracle Western Conference Houston Comets Portland Fire Sacramento Monarchs Tulsa Shock Utah Starzz San Antonio Stars In 2003, the Orlando Miracle became the Connecticut Sun and the Utah Starzz became the San Antonio Stars and later the Las Vegas Aces in 2018. In 2010, the Detroit Shock became the Tulsa Shock and later became the Dallas Wings in 2016. Women 's National Basketball Association ( 2018 ) Teams East Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics West Dallas Wings Las Vegas Aces Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Seattle Storm Annual events Draft All - Star Game Playoffs Finals Statistics Career scoring Career rebounding Career assists Career steals Career blocks Career turnovers Season : Scoring leaders Rebounding leaders Assists leaders Steals leaders Blocks leaders Turnovers leaders Other Arenas Attendance Awards Coaches Defunct teams Expansion draft history LiveAccess MVP NBA Media ( NBA TV, WNBA on ESPN, Current broadcasters, Finals broadcasters ) Players ( Current rosters, Foreign players ) Rookie of the Year Seasons Teams ( All - Decade Team, Top 15 Team, Top 20 Team ) Houston Comets Founded in 1997 Folded in 2008 Based in Houston, Texas The Franchise Franchise Final season Arenas Compaq Center Toyota Center Reliant Arena Head coaches Van Chancellor Karleen Thompson Administration Owner : Leslie Alexander Hilton Koch WNBA All - Stars Janeth Arcain Cynthia Cooper Michelle Snow Dawn Staley Sheryl Swoopes Tina Thompson Seasons 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 Playoff appearances 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 Conference titles 1997 1998 1999 2000 WNBA titles 1997 1998 1999 2000 Rivals Los Angeles Sparks New York Liberty Phoenix Mercury Houston Comets 1997 WNBA champions 4 Janeth Arcain 5 Tiffany Woosley 6 Nekeshia Henderson 7 Tina Thompson 9 Wanda Guyton 10 Kim Perrot 14 Cynthia Cooper ( Finals MVP ) 20 Fran Harris 22 Sheryl Swoopes 23 Tammy Jackson 33 Yolanda Moore Head Coach Van Chancellor Houston Comets 1998 WNBA champions 5 Tiffany Woosley 7 Tina Thompson 9 Janeth Arcain 10 Kim Perrot 13 Amaya Valdemoro 14 Cynthia Cooper ( Finals MVP ) 22 Sheryl Swoopes 23 Tammy Jackson 33 Yolanda Moore 40 Monica Lamb 00 Nyree Roberts Head Coach Van Chancellor Houston Comets 1999 WNBA champions 7 Tina Thompson 9 Janeth Arcain 13 Amaya Valdemoro 14 Cynthia Cooper ( Finals MVP ) 15 Polina Tzekova 21 Jennifer Rizzotti 22 Sheryl Swoopes 23 Tammy Jackson 24 Mila Nikolich 34 Sonja Henning 52 Kara Wolters Head Coach Van Chancellor Houston Comets 2000 WNBA champions 3 Jawann Kelley - Gibson 4 Coquese Washington 6 Nekeshia Henderson 7 Tina Thompson 9 Janeth Arcain 13 Amaya Valdemoro 14 Cynthia Cooper ( Finals MVP ) 21 Jennifer Rizzotti 22 Sheryl Swoopes 23 Tammy Jackson 40 Monica Lamb 00 Tiffani Johnson Head Coach Van Chancellor Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houston_Comets&oldid=859837979 '' Categories : Houston Comets Basketball teams established in 1997 Basketball teams disestablished in 2008 Defunct Women 's National Basketball Association teams Sports in Houston Basketball teams in Texas Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Latviešu 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska 中文 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 16 September 2018, at 16 : 31 ( UTC ). 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Question: how many championships did the houston comets win
Answer: 4