# 1997 WNBA season

The 1997 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's inaugural season. It started off with 8 franchises: Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and the Utah Starzz. It featured an inaugural game between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks lost to the New York Liberty, 67–57. The attendance at the Forum was 14,284. The season ended with the Comets defeating the Liberty in a one-game series 65–51. Cynthia Cooper was named MVP of the game.

## Regular season standings

Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
| Houston Comets $^x$ | 18 | 10 | .643 | 6–6 | – |
| New York Liberty $^x$ | 17 | 11 | .607 | 8–4 | 1.0 |
| Charlotte Sting $^x$ | 15 | 13 | .536 | 5–7 | 3.0 |
| Cleveland Rockers $^o$ | 15 | 13 | .536 | 5–7 | 3.0 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
| Phoenix Mercury $^x$ | 16 | 12 | .571 | 9–3 | – |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^o$ | 14 | 14 | .500 | 8–4 | 2.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^o$ | 10 | 18 | .357 | 4–8 | 6.0 |
| Utah Starzz $^o$ | 7 | 21 | .250 | 3–9 | 9.0 |
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.

## Season award winners

| Award | Winner | Team |
| WNBA Finals MVP Award | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
| WNBA Most Valuable Player Award | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
| WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award | Teresa Weatherspoon | New York Liberty |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Andrea Congreaves | Charlotte Sting |
| WNBA Peak Performer | Haixia Zheng | Los Angeles Sparks |
| WNBA Sportsmanship Award | Haixia Zheng | Los Angeles Sparks |
| WNBA Coach of the Year Award | Van Chancellor | Houston Comets |

### League leaders

* Chantel Tremitiere: Sacramento Monarchs, Minutes Played 1051
* Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Field Goals 191
* Wendy Palmer: Utah Starzz, Field Goal Attempts, 420
* Haixia Zheng: Los Angeles Sparks, Field Goal Percentage, .618
* Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, 3-Pt Field Goals, 67
* Ruthie Bolton: Sacramento Monarchs, 3-Pt Field Goal Attempts, 192
* Eva Nemcova: Cleveland Rockers, 3-Pt Field Goal Percentage, .435
* Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Free Throws, 172
* Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Free Throw Attempts, 199
* Bridget Pettis: Phoenix Mercury, Free Throw Percentage, .898
* Latasha Byears: Sacramento Monarchs, Offensive Rebounds, 87
* Lisa Leslie: Los Angeles Sparks, Defensive Rebounds, 203
* Lisa Leslie: Los Angeles Sparks, Total Rebounds, 266
* Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Assists, 172
* Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Steals, 85
* Elena Baranova: Utah Starzz, Blocks, 63
* Chantel Tremitiere: Sacramento Monarchs, Turnovers, 122
* Isabelle Fijalkowski: Cleveland Rockers, Personal Fouls, 129
* Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Points, 621
* Chantel Tremitiere: Sacramento Monarchs, Minutes per game, 37.5
* Cynthia Cooper: Houston Comets, Points per game, 22.2
* Lisa Leslie: Los Angeles Sparks, Rebounds per game, 9.5
* Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Assists per game, 6.1
* Teresa Weatherspoon: New York Liberty, Steals per game, 3.0
* Elena Baranova: Utah Starzz, Blocks per game, 2.2

## Coaches
### Eastern Conference

* Charlotte Sting: Marynell Meadors
* Cleveland Rockers: Linda Hill-MacDonald
* Houston Comets: Van Chancellor
* New York Liberty: Nancy Darsch

### Western Conference

* Los Angeles Sparks: Linda Sharp
* Phoenix Mercury: Cheryl Miller
* Sacramento Monarchs: Mary Murphy and Heidi VanDerveer
* Utah Starzz: Denise Taylor