| 1997 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | June 21 – August 30, 1997 |
| Games | 28 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Total attendance | 1,082,963 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN,NBC,Lifetime |
| 1997 WNBA Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Tina Thompson |
| Picked by | Houston Comets |
| Regular season | |
| SeasonMVP | Cynthia Cooper (Houston) |
| Top scorer | C. Cooper (22.2) |
| Playoffs | |
| Semi-Finals 1 champions | Houston Comets |
| Semi-Finals 1 runners-up | Charlotte Sting |
| Semi-Finals 2 champions | New York Liberty |
| Semi-Finals 2 runners-up | Phoenix Mercury |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Houston Comets |
| Runners-up | New York Liberty |
| FinalsMVP | Cynthia Cooper (Houston) |
| WNBA seasons | |
The1997 WNBA season was theWomen'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 theUtah 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.[1] The season ended with the Comets defeating the Liberty in a one-game series 65–51.Cynthia Cooper was namedMVP of the game.
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Cometsx | 18 | 10 | .643 | 6–6 | – |
| New York Libertyx | 17 | 11 | .607 | 8–4 | 1.0 |
| Charlotte Stingx | 15 | 13 | .536 | 5–7 | 3.0 |
| Cleveland Rockerso | 15 | 13 | .536 | 5–7 | 3.0 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Mercuryx | 16 | 12 | .571 | 9–3 | – |
| Los Angeles Sparkso | 14 | 14 | .500 | 8–4 | 2.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchso | 10 | 18 | .357 | 4–8 | 6.0 |
| Utah Starzzo | 7 | 21 | .250 | 3–9 | 9.0 |
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.
For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was in the Eastern Conference so two Eastern Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Championship.
| Semifinals single game | WNBA Championship single game | ||||||||
| 1 | Houston | 70 | |||||||
| 4 | Charlotte | 54 | |||||||
| 1 | Houston | 65 | |||||||
| 2 | New York | 51 | |||||||
| 2 | New York | 59 | |||||||
| 3 | Phoenix | 41 | |||||||
Reference:[2]
| Award | Winner | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets | |
| Finals MVP | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Teresa Weatherspoon | New York Liberty | |
| Shooting Champions | Eastern Conference | Andrea Congreaves | Charlotte Sting |
| Western Conference | Haixia Zheng | Los Angeles Sparks | |
| Sportsmanship Award | Haixia Zheng | Los Angeles Sparks | |
| Coach of the Year | Van Chancellor | Houston Comets | |
| Week ending | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| June 29 | Ruthie Bolton-Holifield | Sacramento Monarchs |
| July 6 | Sophia Witherspoon | New York Liberty |
| July 13 | Andrea Stinson | Charlotte Sting |
| July 20 | Cynthia Cooper | Houston Comets |
| July 27 | Cynthia Cooper (2) | Houston Comets |
| August 3 | Eva Nemcova | Cleveland Rockers |
| August 10 | Tamecka Dixon | Los Angeles Sparks |
| August 17 | Jennifer Gillom | Phoenix Mercury |