WNBA Timeline
 (WNBA Photos) |
| April 24, 1996 | Women�s basketball announces �We Got Next� as the NBA Board of Governors approves the concept of a WNBA. |
| August 7, 1996 | Val Ackerman named first president of the WNBA. |
| October 23, 1996 | Sheryl Swoopes becomes the first player signed by the WNBA. October 30, 1996 WNBA announces eight teams to compete in the inaugural season � Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah. |
| January 22, 1997 | The league�s first 16 players are allocated to teams, an elite group comprised of Olympians and college stars. |
| April 19, 1997 | WNBA and Spalding introduce the league�s official orange-and-oatmeal game ball at the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp at Disney�s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Fla. |
| April 28, 1997 | Tina Thompson is the first No. 1 draft pick, selected by the Houston Comets in the inaugural WNBA Draft. |
| June 21, 1997 | New York Liberty and Los Angeles tip off first WNBA game at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. Sparks guard Penny Toler scores the league�s first basket at 19:01. New York wins 67-57. |
| June 23, 1997 | Utah Starzz become first team to pass the 100-point mark in 102-89 victory over Los Angeles. |
| July 2, 1997 | New York�s Rebecca Lobo wins her 100th consecutive victory when Liberty defeat Houston 70-67. Wining streak comprised Lobo�s 35-0 senior season at UConn, 60-0 as member of U.S. Olympic Team and 5-0 as a member of the Liberty. The streak ends at 102. |
| August 30, 1997 | The Houston Comets become the first WNBA Champion, employing the unstoppable Cynthia Cooper and a suffocating defense for a 65-51 victory over the New York Liberty at The Summit. |
| October 1, 1997 | The WNBA announces that franchises in Detroit and Washington will join the fold as expansion teams for the 1998 season. |
| April 22, 1998 | The league announces the addition of expansion teams in Orlando and Minnesota for the 1999 season, bringing the total number of teams to 12. |
| June 19, 1998 | Lisa Leslie sets a WNBA record by pulling down 21 rebounds in the Sparks� victory over New York. |
| June 21, 1998 | Leslie notches her seventh-straight double-double, setting a WNBA record. |
| July 18, 1998 | Cynthia Cooper is first player to reach 1,000 points during Comets� 75-44 rout of Sacramento. |
| July 29, 1998 | Ticha Penicheiro dishes out 16 assists in a 75-67 loss vs. Cleveland to set a WNBA record. Penicheiro has led the league in assists every season since joining the WNBA in 1998 as the second overall pick in the draft. |
| August 29, 1998 | In Game 2 of the championship, Houston, trailing Phoenix 1-0 in the best-of-three series, erases a 12-point deficit in the final 7:24 to force overtime. Houston would go on to win the series and claim its second of four titles. |
| April 29, 1999 | The WNBA and WNBPA reach final accord as the league�s first collective bargaining agreement is signed. |
| June 7, 1999 | WNBA announces the addition of four expansion teams to begin play in 2000 � Indiana, Miami, Portland and Seattle. The WNBA family now includes 16 teams. |
| June 29, 1999 | Sacramento and Minnesota let the threes rain down as the two teams combine for a WNBA-record 21 three-pointers (10 by Sacramento, 11 by Minnesota) in the Monarchs� 86-72 victory. |
| July 14, 1999 | Whitney Houston sings the National Anthem in front of an electrified crowd on hand at Madison Square Garden to witness the Inaugural WBNA All-Star Game. The West defeats the East 79-61 as Lisa Leslie is named MVP. |
| July 27, 1999 | Sheryl Swoopes records the WNBA�s first triple-double with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in an 85-46 win over Detroit at the Compaq Center. |
| September 4, 1999 | Teresa Weatherspoon nails a shot from beyond the midcourt line with 2.4 seconds remaining to give the Liberty a 68-67 victory over the Houston Comets in Game 2 of the WNBA Championship. The shot sends the series to a decisive Game 3, which the Comets win to claim their third straight WNBA title. |
| June 7, 2000 | Cleveland Rockers forward Eva Nemcova ends her record-streak of 66 consecutive free throws made with a miss against Orlando. Nemcova did not miss from the foul line from June 14, 1999 to June 5, 2000. |
| July 17, 2000 | The West defeats the East 73-61 at the 2000 WNBA All-Star Game, hosted by the Mercury at America West Arena in Phoenix. Houston�s Tina Thompson captures MVP honors. August 25, 2000 Cleveland point guard Suzie McConnell Serio is named the recipient of the first Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award presented by American General, named in honor of Houston�s Kim Perrot, who passed away from cancer in 1999. |
| August 26, 2000 | Cynthia Cooper turns in a clutch performance to earn her fourth Championship MVP as the Houston Comets claim fourth straight title by defeating the New York Liberty. In Game 1 of the Championship Series at Madison Square Garden, Coop converts a crucial three-point play with 25.4 seconds remaining to push the Comets� lead to five. In Game 2, she scores six of her 25 points in overtime and nine of Houston�s final 18 points. It would mark Cooper�s last appearance in the championship. She retires following the season as the WNBA�s all-time scoring leader. |
| June 2, 2001 | Van Chancellor becomes first WNBA coach to record 100 victories as the Houston Comets defeat the Detroit Shock 74-73. |
| June 7, 2001 | Margo Dydek records the WNBA's second triple-double, setting a league record for blocked shots in the process as her 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks leads Utah to an 82-79 win over Orlando. |
| July 3, 2001 | Washington and Seattle battle through four overtime periods � the longest game in WNBA history � before the Mystics edge the Storm 72-69. |
| July 7, 2001 | Katie Smith sets the WNBA single-game scoring record with a 46-point performance, including six three-pointers, in a 100-95 overtime loss to Los Angeles. |
| July 14, 2001 | The West three-peats at the 2001 WNBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Fla., defeating the East 80-72. Lisa Leslie earns her second nod as All-Star MVP. |
| July 30, 2001 | Lisa Leslie scores her 2,538th point to become the WNBA�s career scoring leader, surpassing Cynthia Cooper. |
| August 10, 2001 | Katie Smith scores 22 points in Minnesota�s 65-51 win over Seattle to break the WNBA single-season scoring record of 686 points set by Cynthia Cooper in 1999. |
| August 11, 2001 | Los Angeles becomes first team to go undefeated at home for an entire season, finishing 16-0 at the STAPLES Center. |
| August 27, 2001 | The Charlotte Sting, after dropping the opener of the Eastern Conference Finals at home, go into Madison Square Garden and take both games against the Liberty to derail New York�s hopes of making a third consecutive trip to the WNBA Championship. Charlotte advances to the championship after beginning the season with a 1-10 start. |
| September 1, 2001 | The Sparks claim their first WNBA Championship to give the city of Los Angeles a sweep of professional basketball titles. Lisa Leslie becomes first WNBA player to capture all three MVP awards in the same season, joining NBA greats Shaquille O�Neal, Michael Jordan and Willis Reed as the only pro hoopsters to accomplish that feat. Sparks coach Michael Cooper becomes the first person to claim NBA and WNBA titles, having won five championships with the Lakers. |
| September 1, 2001 | The WNBA welcomes its 10 millionth fan prior to Game 2 of the WNBA Championship at the STAPLES Center. |
| November 13, 2001 | The Seattle Storm win the first pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft in the inaugural WNBA Draft Lottery, held in New York. |
| June 4, 2002 | Minnesota Lynx guard Katie Smith becomes the WNBA�s all-time career leader for three-pointers made, surpassing Cynthia Cooper (232). Smith sets the mark during the Lynx�s 78-68 loss to the Seattle Storm. |
| June 5, 2002 | New York Liberty guard Teresa Weatherspoon becomes the first WNBA player to record 1,000 assists during the Liberty�s 60-59 victory over the Detroit Shock at Madison Square Garden. |
| June 8, 2002 | The Orlando Miracle and Cleveland Rockers squared off for the longest game in WNBA history. The Miracle claimed a 103-99 victory in the 2:57 contest that spanned three overtime periods. |
| June 22, 2002 | Natalie Williams records the first 20/20 performance in WNBA history when she scores 22 points and grabs 20 rebounds in Utah�s 77-61 over Sacramento at ARCO Arena. |
| July 15, 2002 | The West earns its fourth straight victory in the 2002 WNBA All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., edging the East 81-76. Lisa Leslie takes All-Star MVP honors for the second straight year and third time in her career. |
| July 22, 2002 | Lisa Leslie becomes the first WNBA player to record 3,000 points during the Sparks� 92-84 victory over Orlando at the STAPLES Center. Leslie recorded 24 points and 21 rebounds (tying the league record she set on 6/19/98) in the victory. |
| July 30, 2002 | Lisa Leslie becomes the first WNBA player to dunk in a game when she throws down a one-handed breakaway layup with 4:44 remaining in the first half in Los Angeles� 82-73 loss to Miami at the STAPLES Center. |
| August 9, 2002 | Margo Dydek becomes the first WNBA player to record 500 career blocks. |
| August 15, 2002 | Chamique Holdsclaw of the Washington Mystics becomes the first player to lead the league in both scoring (19.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.6 rpg) in a single season. |
| August 29, 2002 | Rookie Nikki Teasley nails the game-winning shot in the waning seconds of Game 2 of the WNBA Finals to give the Los Angeles Sparks their second consecutive WNBA Championship, defeating the New York Liberty. Sparks center Lisa Leslie earns Finals MVP honors for the second straight year. |
| October 8, 2002 | The NBA Board of Governors votes to restructure the WNBA to allow individual team ownership, and to allow teams to be owned by non-NBA owners and located in non-NBA markets. |
| October 21, 2002 | The WNBA announces that the Miracle will be relocated from Orlando to a city to be designated by the WNBA. |
| November 27, 2002 | Miami elects not to assume ownership of the Sol. December 5, 2002 The WNBA announces that the Utah Starzz will relocate to San Antonio for the 2003 season. San Antonio was awarded a WNBA franchise in November after exceeding its season ticket pledge requirement of 6,000 tickets. |
| December 30, 2002 | Portland elects not to assume ownership of the Fire. |
| January 10, 2003 | San Antonio announces �Silver Stars� as its official team name. |
| January 28, 2003 | The Connecticut Sun join the WNBA for 2003, as the Mohegan Sun becomes the first non-NBA owner in league history. |
| April 24, 2003 | The WNBA holds the second annual Draft Lottery and a Dispersal Draft to deseminate players from the Miami Sol and Portland Fire. The Cleveland Rockers win the Lottery, while the Detroit Shock make Ruth Riley, formerly of the Sol, the first selection in the Dispersal Draft. |
| April 25, 2003 | In the wee hours of the morning, 3 a.m. to be exact, the WNBA and the WNBAPA sign the league�s second collective bargaining agreement. The agreement is for four years, with a league option for a fifth year, and gives WNBA players the first free agency rights in the history of women�s professional team sports. |
| April 25, 2003 | The league holds the 2003 WNBA Draft, and Cleveland takes Mississippi State�s LaToya Thomas as the first overall pick. |
| May 23, 2003 | The Washington Mystics Chamique Holdsclaw breaks the WNBA record for rebounds in a game grabbing 24 in a season-opening win over the Charlotte Sting. She also added 22 points and become the first WNBA player to record two 20 point, 20 rebound performances in a career. |
| June 7, 2003 | Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm becomes the youngest player in WNBA history to reach the 1,000 point plateau at 22 years and 27 days old. |
| June 10, 2003 | The Minnesota Lynx Katie Smith becomes the first WNBA player to record 300 three-point field goals in her career. |
| July 12, 2003 | The West All-Stars captures its fifth straight WNBA All-Star game in New York�s Madison Square Garden by defeating the East All-Stars 84-75, while Sparks guard, Nikki Teasley earns the MVP award. |
| August 25, 2003 | Nikki Teasley finishes the year averaging 11.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.1 rebounds becoming the first player in WNBA history to average more than ten points, five assists, and five rebounds for a season. |
| Sept. 14, 2003 | The Seattle Storm forward Lauren Jackson becomes the first international player to win the WNBA�s Most Valuable Player. |
| Sept. 16, 2003 | The Detroit Shock win their first WNBA title against the Los Angeles Sparks in front of a sell out crowd and record attendance for the WNBA of 22,076. Detroit�s center Ruth Riley records a career high 27 points in game three and earns the series MVP. |
| Sept. 23, 2003 | Rebecca Lobo, one of three original WNBA players signed by the league, retires after a seven-year career. |
| December 3, 2003 | The Phoenix Mercury wins the first pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft in the third annual WNBA Draft Lottery. |
| January 6, 2004 | The WNBA holds a Dispersal Draft to disseminate the players from the Cleveland franchise. The Phoenix Mercury select forward Penny Taylor with the first overall selection. |
| February 2, 2004 | The Phoenix Mercury announce Anne Mariucci and Kathy Munro as minority investors in the WNBA team. Mariucci and Munro join Jerry Colangelo as the team�s owners. |
| April 17, 2004 | The Phoenix Mercury select three-time NCAA Champion Diana Taurasi from the University of Connecticut with the first pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft. |