Cleveland Rockers
Conference	Eastern
Leagues	WNBA
Founded	1997
Dissolved	2003
History	Cleveland Rockers 1997–2003
Arena	Gund Arena
Location	Cleveland, Ohio
Team colors	Black, blue, silver, orange, white
Ownership	Gordon Gund
Championships	0
Conference titles	1 (1998)

TheCleveland Rockers were aWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based inCleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started play in1997. The owner,Gordon Gund, also owned the NBA'sCleveland Cavaliers at the time. In October 2003, Gund announced that his Gund Arena Company would no longer operate the Rockers. The team folded after the 2003 season as the league was not able to find new ownership for the team.

The city ofCleveland was granted one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA in October 1996.^[1] The Cleveland Rockers got their nickname from Cleveland'sRock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[2] In 1997, they started with playersIsabelle Fijalkowski and formerHarlem Globetrotters memberLynette Woodard, who had been the first female player in Globetrotter history.^[3]

The Rockers finished 15–13 in the inaugural 1997 WNBA season, missing the playoffs.^[4] In 1998, the Rockers went 20–10 and won the Eastern Conference title.^[5] However, the Rockers lost to thePhoenix Mercury in the WNBA semifinals (before the WNBA split the playoffs by conference).^[6]

The Rockers had their best regular season in 2001, going 22–10 and winning the Eastern Conference, getting the No. 1 seed.^[7] Their relentless defense allowed just 55.9 points per game that year, a record that still stands. But the Rockers would be upended by theCharlotte Sting in the 1st round, losing 2 games to 1.^[8] The 2002 Rockers fell by 12 games over the previous year's mark, posting a 10–22 record.^[9] In 2003, the Rockers would go 17–17, good enough for the No. 4 seed in the East; however, they would fall in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual championDetroit Shock, 2–1.^[10] 2003 was the Rockers' last playoff appearance, and is the only team in theWNBA to qualify for the playoffs in their last season of play.

After the 2002 season, the Gunds decided to buy the Rockers from the WNBA, seemingly ensuring the Rockers' future. However, despite fielding competitive teams and having decent attendance for most games, the Gund family decided they did not wish to operate the Rockers after the 2003 season,^[11] citing a lack of revenue and lackluster attendance.^[12] No local ownership was found for the team, forcing the Rockers to fold in December 2003, and the players went to the other teams in the league via adispersal draft in January 2004.^[13] The Rockers ceased operation after seven seasons, posting an all-time record of 108–112.^[14] A WNBA franchise would next fold in 2008 when theHouston Comets ceased operations because of lack of ownership.

On June 30, 2025, Cleveland was formally granted a new expansion franchise alongsideDetroit andPhiladelphia.^[15] Cleveland's new team will begin play in the 2028 season.^[16]

Head coaches:

• Linda Hill-MacDonald (1997–1999)
• Dan Hughes (2000–2003)

General Managers:

• Wayne Embry (1997–99)
• Jim Paxson

Assistant coaches

• Mike Wilhelm (1997–99)
• Lisa Boyer (1998-2002)
• Cheryl Reeve (2003)

• Cleveland Rockers
• Defunct Women's National Basketball Association teams
• Basketball teams established in 1997
• Basketball teams disestablished in 2003
• 1997 establishments in Ohio
• 2003 disestablishments in Ohio

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2025