Photo Gallery: Look Back On The WNBA's Inaugural Champion
19 years ago, the WNBA’s inaugural season came to a climactic close with the Houston Comets defeating the New York Liberty 66-51 in Houston to claim the first-ever WNBA championship. Look back on the story of the 1997 Houston Comets, a team that would go on to win the first four league titles.
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- SECAUCUS, NJ – APRIL 28: Tina Thompson, choosen number one overall by the Houston Comets, poses with WNBA President Val Ackerman
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- CLEVELAND, OH – 1997: Sheryl Swoopes gets Houston’s championship season underway on WNBA opening night against the Cleveland Rockers at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
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- HOUSTON – AUGUST 8: The 1997 Houston Comets pose for a team photo, and would later go on to win their first of four-straight WNBA championships
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- HOUSTON – AUGUST 1997: Photo of a sign advertising the first ever WNBA Championship game between the New York Liberty and the Houston Comets
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- HOUSTON 30 Aug 1997: The WNBA’s inaugural championship game gets underway in Houston between the Liberty and Comets
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- HOUSTON – 1997: Comets head coach Van Chancellor earned WNBA Coach of the Year honors for guiding Houston to the league’s first title
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- HOUSTON – AUGUST 1997: Janeth Arcain goes up for a shot during the 1997 WNBA Finals. To earn the first trophy in WNBA history, Houston had to top Rebecca Lobo’s New York Liberty
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- HOUSTON 30 Aug 1997: Cynthia Cooper goes up for two during the championship game against the New York Liberty. Cooper was everything for the Comets in the inaugural WNBA season, claiming season and Finals MVP honors, and leading the league in field goals, threes, points and scoring average
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- HOUSTON – 1997: The Houston Comets celebrate at center court after winning the first-ever WNBA Finals
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- HOUSTON – 1997: The Houston Comets bench celebrate winning the 1997 WNBA Finals at the Compaq Center
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- HOUSTON – AUGUST 1997: Tina Thompson celebrates winning the first ever WNBA Championship at the Summit in Houston
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- HOUSTON – AUGUST 1997: In front of her city and a national NBC audience, Cynthia Cooper celebrates winning the first-ever WNBA Championship
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- 30 Aug 1997: Cynthia Cooper hoists up the WNBA Finals MVP trophy, completing her double-MVP season
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