Charlotte Sting
Encyclopedia
The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

 (WNBA) franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

 and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007.

The Sting was originally the sister organization of the Charlotte Hornets, until that NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 team relocated to New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 in 2002
2001-02 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-Yearly awards:*Most Valuable Player: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs*Rookie of the Year: Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies*Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons...

. Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson is an American business magnate best known for being the founder of television network Black Entertainment Television , and is also its former chairman and chief executive officer...

, founder of Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

, purchased the team in January 2003, shortly after he was announced as the principal owner of an NBA expansion franchise that was later named the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

.

Uniforms:
  • 1997 - 2003: on the road, teal with white and purple trim, Sting logo text on the chest. At home, white with teal and purple trim. Sting logo mascot on the shorts, similar to the Charlotte Hornets
  • 2004 - 2006: on the road, orange with blue trim, Sting logo text on the chest. At home, white with orange trim. Sting logo mascot on the shorts, similar to the Charlotte Bobcats
    Charlotte Bobcats
    The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

    .

The early years

The Charlotte Sting was one of the eight original WNBA franchises that began play in 1997. The Sting were then the sister team to the Charlotte Hornets. The Sting finished their first season with a 15-13 record and qualified for the first WNBA playoffs, but lost to eventual champions Houston Comets
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...

 in the one-game semifinal.

The 1998 Sting finished the season with an 18-12 record. In the playoffs, the Sting once again lost the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Houston Comets, and the Comets once again took home the championship.

In the 1998-1999 offseason, with the folding of the American Basketball League
American Basketball League (1996-1998)
The American Basketball League, often abbreviated to the ABL of 1996 was an independent professional basketball league for women in the United States. At the same time the ABL was being formed, the National Basketball Association was creating the Women's National Basketball Association...

, the Sting added former ABL guard Dawn Staley
Dawn Staley
Dawn Michelle Staley is an American basketball player and coach. Staley is a three-time Olympian and was elected to carry the United States flag at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. She was named the University of South Carolina women's head basketball coach on May 7, 2008...

 to an already impressive roster that featured Vicky Bullett
Vicky Bullett
Victoria Bullett is an American former professional basketball player. She played for the Charlotte Sting and Washington Mystics in the WNBA, as well as for European and South American professional teams, the U.S. Olympic team, and the University of Maryland Terrapins...

 and Andrea Stinson
Andrea Stinson
Andrea Stinson is a retired professional basketball player from the United States, playing from 1998-2005 for the Charlotte Sting and the Detroit Shock...

.

Their record, however, fell to 15-17 in 1999. It was still enough to qualify them for the playoffs, where they defeated the Detroit Shock
Detroit Shock
The Detroit Shock was a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006 and 2008 WNBA champion...

 in the opening round 60-54. In the Conference Finals, the Sting fell to the New York Liberty
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...

 2 games to 1.

The 2000 season was very disappointing for the Sting, with a final record of 8-24. They missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

The 2001 Sting lost 10 of their first 11 games. But the team lost only 4 games after that, finishing with an 18-14 record. Although they had barely qualified for the playoffs as the #4 seed, no one wanted to face them. In the first round, the Sting upset first the #1 seeded Cleveland Rockers
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...

 and then the #2 New York Liberty, beating each in 3 games. For the first time in franchise history the Sting found themselves in the WNBA Finals. But the magic ended there for the Sting, as they were swept by the 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...

 in 2 games.

The Sting posted a solid 18-14 record in the 2002 season, but were swept by the Washington Mystics
Washington Mystics
The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...

 in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hornets Move

After the 2001/2002 NBA season, the Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans for a number of reasons. (see "New Orleans Hornets") The Sting did not accompany the Hornets out to New Orleans. For one season (2003), the Sting had no brother team.

The Late Years

The NBA immediately announced after the Hornets moved that a new team would begin play in Charlotte starting in the 2004/2005 season. Shortly after, the owner of this new franchise was announced as Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson
Robert L. Johnson is an American business magnate best known for being the founder of television network Black Entertainment Television , and is also its former chairman and chief executive officer...

. Johnson also bought the Sting to play as the sister team of the new Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

.

The 2003 season saw yet another playoff appearance for the venerable Sting. The Sting had posted an 18-16 record and tied with the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...

 for the #2 seed. The Sting played the same Sun in the playoffs, and were swept out in 2 games.

After the season, Johnson changed the Sting team colors from the Hornets' teal and purple to correspond with the Bobcats' blue and orange. There was some speculation that the team might get a new name, but a newly released mascot following the same Sting theme made that idea unlikely.

During the offseason, the team made several key roster additions to its established group of veterans. After trading Kelly Miller to the Indiana Fever
Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...

 in exchange for the 3rd overall pick in the WNBA Draft
WNBA Draft
The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997...

, the Sting drafted Stanford University
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...

 standout Nicole Powell
Nicole Powell
Nicole Kristen Powell is a basketball player who was a standout at Stanford University and now plays for the New York Liberty in the WNBA...

. The Sting made four picks overall - including the second round pick of Penn State
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...

 standout Kelly Mazzante
Kelly Mazzante
Kelly Anne Mazzante is a professional basketball player in the WNBA. She is the all-time leading scorer in Big Ten basketball history .-Early life and college career:...

.

The Sting did not make the playoffs in the 2004 season, as they posted a 16-18 record and finished one game out of the #4 seed. After the season, the Sting continued to build for the future - trading with the Sacramento Monarchs
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...

 for Tangela Smith
Tangela Smith
-External links:***...

 and a second-round draft pick in the 2006 draft in a deal that saw Nicole Powell
Nicole Powell
Nicole Kristen Powell is a basketball player who was a standout at Stanford University and now plays for the New York Liberty in the WNBA...

 traded to Sacramento. Having won the first pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft
WNBA Draft
The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997...

, the Sting selected University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 Golden Gophers player Janel McCarville
Janel McCarville
Janel McCarville is an American professional basketball player. She currently is suspended from the WNBA's New York Liberty for failure to report to Training Camp on time.-High school years:...

.

The new look Sting suffered a terrible 2005 season, posting the league's worst record at 6-28. During the season, the Sting traded veteran Dawn Staley to the Houston Comets
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...

 and named Charlotte basketball icon Muggsy Bogues
Muggsy Bogues
Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues is a retired American professional basketball player and former head coach of the now-defunct Charlotte Sting of the Women's National Basketball Association . The shortest player ever to play in the NBA, the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his...

 as their new head coach late in the season. The season also saw the team play its last game in the Charlotte Coliseum
Charlotte Coliseum
The Charlotte Coliseum was a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was operated by the Charlotte Coliseum Authority, which also oversees the operation of Bojangles' Coliseum, the Charlotte Convention Center, and Ovens Auditorium...

, the team's home arena since 1997.

The Sting moved into the Bobcats' new home, Time Warner Cable Arena, for the 2006 season. The Sting had a better season in 2006 than 2005, posting an 11-23 record. The Sting had a new arena and were clearly making progress in the rebuilding. Despite the growing number of successes on the court, the 2006 season proved to be the Sting's final season in the league.

End of the Sting

On December 13, 2006, Bobcats Sports and Entertainment turned ownership of the team over to the league, citing low attendance in Charlotte (despite a new arena) and loss of revenue.

Attempted Move to Kansas City

An investment group in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

 had an interest in moving the Sting to Kansas City. The Sting were to play in the Sprint Center
Sprint Center
Sprint Center is a large, multi-use indoor arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The building is located at 14th Street and Grand Boulevard, on the east side of the Power & Light District...

, which was due to open in the Fall of 2007. The team may have had a better life in Kansas City with a better market and a hunger for professional basketball. The city has not had an NBA team since the Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...

' move to Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

 after the 1984-85 season. Still, WNBA franchises experience low interest throughout the league, and there was no guarantee that Kansas City would be any different.

The Sting Fold

After months of talk and deliberation between the league and the investors; the plans would ultimately fall through. On January 3, 2007, the Bobcats announced that the fundraising effort by a group seeking to move the team to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

 had failed. The team would fold immediately, and the players would be sent to the other teams in the league via a dispersal draft
Dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...

.

Season-by-season records


Notable players

  • Cass Bauer-Bilodeau
    Cass Bauer-Bilodeau
    Cass Bauer-Bilodeau is a retired American collegiate and professional basketball player.- Basketball career :...

  • Vicky Bullett
    Vicky Bullett
    Victoria Bullett is an American former professional basketball player. She played for the Charlotte Sting and Washington Mystics in the WNBA, as well as for European and South American professional teams, the U.S. Olympic team, and the University of Maryland Terrapins...

  • Monique Currie
    Monique Currie
    Monique Currie is a WNBA basketball player who plays for the Washington Mystics.Currie was traded from the Chicago Sky during the 2007 season in exchange for Chasity Melvin...

    , now a member of the Washington Mystics
    Washington Mystics
    The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...

  • Helen Darling
    Helen Darling
    Helen Marie Darling is an American professional basketball player, who played most recently for the San Antonio Silver Stars of the Women's National Basketball Association ; as of May 15, 2011 Darling was an unsigned free agent....

  • Anna DeForge
    Anna DeForge
    Anna Louise DeForge is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA. She is the first player from the University of Nebraska to ever play in the WNBA. After finding little success and playing time for several WNBA teams, she finally earned...

  • Shalonda Enis
  • Rhonda Mapp
  • Kelly Mazzante
    Kelly Mazzante
    Kelly Anne Mazzante is a professional basketball player in the WNBA. She is the all-time leading scorer in Big Ten basketball history .-Early life and college career:...

  • Janel McCarville
    Janel McCarville
    Janel McCarville is an American professional basketball player. She currently is suspended from the WNBA's New York Liberty for failure to report to Training Camp on time.-High school years:...

    , now a member of the New York Liberty
    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...

  • Kelly Miller
    Kelly Miller (basketball player)
    -External links:***...

    , now a member of the Washington Mystics
    Washington Mystics
    The Washington Mystics is a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment , who also owns the Mystics'...

  • Jia Perkins
    Jia Perkins
    Jia Dorene Perkins is an American professional basketball player. She currently plays the guard position for the San Antonio Silver Stars in the WNBA.-WNBA career:...

    , now a member of the San Antonio Silver Stars
    San Antonio Silver Stars
    The San Antonio Silver Stars are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; the team moved to San Antonio...

  • Nicole Powell
    Nicole Powell
    Nicole Kristen Powell is a basketball player who was a standout at Stanford University and now plays for the New York Liberty in the WNBA...

    , now a member of the New York Liberty
    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...

  • Tracy Reid
    Tracy Reid
    Tracy Reid is a former professional basketball player.Reid attended college at University of North Carolina and graduated in 1998. Selected by the Charlotte Sting in the first round of the 1998 WNBA Draft, Reid went on to capture the 1998 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the lowest pick to win the honor...

  • Charlotte Smith
  • Tangela Smith
    Tangela Smith
    -External links:***...

    , now a member of the Indiana Fever
    Indiana Fever
    The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...

  • Dawn Staley
    Dawn Staley
    Dawn Michelle Staley is an American basketball player and coach. Staley is a three-time Olympian and was elected to carry the United States flag at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. She was named the University of South Carolina women's head basketball coach on May 7, 2008...

  • Andrea Stinson
    Andrea Stinson
    Andrea Stinson is a retired professional basketball player from the United States, playing from 1998-2005 for the Charlotte Sting and the Detroit Shock...

  • Tammy Sutton-Brown
    Tammy Sutton-Brown
    Tamara "Tammy" Kim Sutton-Brown is a Canadian professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. Her primary position is center.-High school years:...

    , now a member of the Indiana Fever
    Indiana Fever
    The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...


Head coaches

  • Marynell Meadors
    Marynell Meadors
    Marynell Meadors is a women's basketball coach at the college and professional level. She is currently the head coach and general manager of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association and was one of the original eight head coaches when the WNBA started in...

     (1997–1999), now the Head Coach of the Atlanta Dream
    Atlanta Dream
    The Atlanta Dream is a professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2008 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Dream Too LLC, which is composed of two Atlanta...

  • Dan Hughes
    Dan Hughes
    Dan Hughes is an American basketball head coach, most recently of the San Antonio Silver Stars of the Women's National Basketball Association .-Career:...

     (1999)
  • T.R. Dunn
    T.R. Dunn
    Theodore Roosevelt "T. R." Dunn is an American former professional basketball player and coach....

     (2000)
  • Anne Donovan
    Anne Donovan
    Anne Donovan is an American retired basketball player and the current head coach of the women's basketball team at Seton Hall University. She was formerly an assistant coach, then interim head coach of the New York Liberty of the WNBA...

     (2001–2002) (Hall of Famer)
  • Trudi Lacey (2003–August 2, 2005), also served as the team's General Manager
  • Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues
    Muggsy Bogues
    Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues is a retired American professional basketball player and former head coach of the now-defunct Charlotte Sting of the Women's National Basketball Association . The shortest player ever to play in the NBA, the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his...

     (August 3, 2005–2007)
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