The 1997 WNBA season

1997 WNBA Season

-External links:*...

 was the 1st season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks finished in second place in the Western Division with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses.

Initial Player Allocation

Pick	Player	Nationality	WNBA Team	College/HS/Club Team
7	Lisa Leslie Lisa Leslie Lisa Deshaun Leslie-Lockwood is a former American professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. She is a three-time WNBA MVP and a four-time Olympic gold medal winner...  (C)		Los Angeles Sparks Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...	Southern California University of Southern California The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
8	Penny Toler Penny Toler Penny Toler was a Women's National Basketball Association basketball player. She is currently the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks.-College years:...  (G)		Los Angeles Sparks Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...	Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...

WNBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/HS/Club Team
1	3	Jamila Wideman Jamila Wideman Jamila Wideman is an American female left-handed point guard basketball player, lawyer and activist.-Early life:Wideman's father, John Edgar Wideman, an African-American author and professor, is the first 2-time winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and a professor at Brown University...	Guard		Stanford Stanford University The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
2	14	Tamecka Dixon Tamecka Dixon Tamecka Michelle Dixon is an American professional basketball player. She announced her retirement prior to the 2010 WNBA season.-High school:...
3	19	Katrina Colleton
4	30	Travesa Gant

Regular season

The Sparks and WNBA's first game was played on June 21, 1997 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. The Sparks lost to the New York Liberty, 67-57. The attendance at the Forum was 14,284.

Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
June 21	New York New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...	57-67	Loss	0-1
June 23	@ Utah Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars...	89-102	Loss	0-2
June 25	Charlotte Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....	74-54	Win	1-2
June 27	Sacramento Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...	93-73	Win	2-2
June 30	@ Houston Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...	66-71 (OT)	Loss	2-3
July 3	@ Cleveland Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...	74-62	Win	3-3
July 5	@ Charlotte Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....	66-78	Loss	3-4
July 7	Cleveland Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...	70-81	Loss	3-5
July 11	Utah Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars...	75-68	Win	4-5
July 13	Phoenix Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...	56-57	Loss	4-6
July 15	@ Sacramento Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...	73-78	Loss	4-7
July 16	Houston Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...	77-52	Win	5-7
July 19	@ New York New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...	57-69	Loss	5-8
July 21	@ Charlotte Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....	64-75	Loss	5-9
July 23	Cleveland Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...	85-89	Loss	5-10
July 25	@ Phoenix Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...	86-83 (OT)	Win	6-10
July 27	@ Sacramento Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...	84-62	Win	7-10
July 30	Utah Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars...	91-69	Win	8-10
August 1	Houston Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...	57-81	Loss	8-11
August 3	Charlotte Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....	70-77	Loss	8-12
August 5	@ New York New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...	67-50	Win	9-12
August 7	@ Cleveland Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...	87-84 (2OT)	Win	10-12
August 9	@ Houston Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...	71-72	Loss	10-13
August 16	@ Utah Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars...	74-64	Win	11-13
August 18	Phoenix Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...	75-66	Win	12-13
August 20	New York New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...	78-76	Win	13-13
August 22	Sacramento Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...	88-77	Win	14-13
August 24	@ Phoenix Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...	68-73 (OT)	Loss	14-14

Player stats

Player	Games Played	Minutes	Field Goals	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Points
Lisa Leslie	28	902	160	266	74	39	59	445
Penny Toler	28	907	144	94	143	36	3	368
Tamecka Dixon	27	715	115	81	55	49	5	320
Haixia Zheng	28	557	110	123	17	11	20	259
Linda Burgess	28	492	73	117	9	20	13	183
Katrina Colleton	28	613	55	60	45	35	9	136
Mwadi Mabika	21	325	53	54	22	23	6	126
Heidi Burge	22	282	32	69	15	12	12	87
Jamila Wideman	28	633	25	57	103	24	1	84
Daedra Charles	28	282	27	48	12	10	10	64
Travesa Gant	2	13	0	3	0	0	0	0
Kim Gessig	1	4	0	1	0	0	0

• Tamecka Dixon was tied for tenth in the WNBA in steals with 49.
• Tamecka Dixon ranked tenth in the WNBA in Field Goal Percentage (.456)
• Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA in points with 445 points.
• Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA in points per game with 15.9
• Lisa Leslie ranked fifth in the WNBA in field goals with 160.
• Lisa Leslie ranked first in the WNBA in total rebounds with 266.
• Lisa Leslie ranked second in the WNBA in blocks with 59.
• Penny Toler ranked tenth in the WNBA in points with 368 points.
• Penny Toler ranked eighth in the WNBA in field goals with 144.
• Penny Toler ranked tenth in the WNBA in points per game with 13.1
• Penny Toler ranked sixth in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .839
• Penny Toler ranked second in the WNBA in assists with 143.
• Jamila Wideman ranked seventh in the WNBA in assists with 103.
• Haixia Zheng ranked ninth in the WNBA in blocks with 20.

Awards and honors

• Lisa Leslie, Center, All WNBA First Team
• Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Defensive Rebounds, 203
• Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Total Rebounds, 266
• Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Rebounds per game, 9.5
• Lisa Leslie ranked second in the WNBA with 2.1 blocks per game.
• Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA with 113 Free Throws.
• Haixia Zheng
  Haixia Zheng
  Zheng Haixia is a Chinese retired professional women's basketball player for the China women's national basketball team and the Women's National Basketball Association.-International career:...
  
  , WNBA Peak Performer
  WNBA Peak Performers
  The Women's National Basketball Association Peak Performer Awards are given each year to players who lead the WNBA in scoring, rebounding, and assists...
  
  
• Haixia Zheng
  Haixia Zheng
  Zheng Haixia is a Chinese retired professional women's basketball player for the China women's national basketball team and the Women's National Basketball Association.-International career:...
  
  , Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
  Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
  The Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association award given since the league's inaugural season, to the player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court—ethical behavior, fair play and integrity." This is the same criterion used by the...
  
  
• Haixia Zheng: Led WNBA, Field Goal Percentage, .618