At the time, Cynthia Cooper was the talk of the women’s basketball world. She was the reigning MVP and Champion. Here she directs a potent Comets offense in the late June win, their fifth straight to start the season.

In the Sparks’ opening game it was superstar Candace Parker who propelled the team the victory with a game-high 34 points. The Sparks spoiled the debut of Breanna Stewart, and unknowingly began their march towards history.

At the helm of the juggernaut that was the 1998 Houston Comets was Van Chancellor. He had already struck gold twice as the head coach of the women’s Olympic team and would be the catalyst behind the Comets dynasty of the late 90s.

The Sparks entered an early June matchup with the Wings riding a eight game win streak, and this game would be no different, except for the fact that Nneka Ogwumike didn’t miss a shot all night. The Stanford product went a perfect 12-for-12 from the field and 7-for-7 from the line. The previous consecutive made buckets record was 11 set by Seimone Augustus in 2007.

At just 5’5″ to say Perrot was undersized would be an understatement. But, the tenacious point guard quickly became a fan favorite because of her will to win. Sadly, 1998 would be her final season as she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1999 and passed away that August.

L.A. entered a mid-June showdown with the Mercury for the chance to start the season 11-0. This would have been the best start in WNBA hisory if not for the Lynx win earlier in the night that put them up to 12-0. All would be decided next game as the two teams would faceoff.

After the Comets set the record for the best start in WNBA history at 20-1, every win against them felt like a championship victory. This was the third defeat Houston suffered in 1998, it came at the hands of the New York Liberty in late August. It was last loss the team would suffer in the regular season.

The winning streak for the Sparks would end at 11 as they fell to the also undefeated Lynx, 72-69. It was an instant classic that came down to a three by Minnesota’s Renee Montgomery in the final two seconds of the game to seal the win.

The Comets entered the WNBA Finals as heavy favorites to take the title after sweeping the Charlotte Sting in the Semis. But, things did not go as planned as the Phoenix Mercury shocked the women’s basketball world and stole Game 1.

Just three days after seeing their streak end at the hand of the Lynx, the Sparks returned the favor in Minnesota. Nneka Ogwumike and Kristi Tolliver combine for 45 points in the 94-76 rout.

Despite dropping Game 1 of the Finals, the Comets overcame the deficit and defeated the Mercury in three games. As confetti rains down around Cooper, her joy is magnanimous as her and the Comets fans reflect on the special season that was, and the second of four straight championships in Houston.

With a hard-fought 98-92 victory in Connecticut, the Sparks tied the 1998 Comets for the best start to a season in WNBA history at 20-1. It was 25 points from Jantel Lavender off the bench that proved to be the difference.