The Los Angeles Sparks inaugural season tipped off June 21, 1997. See below for all of the highlights from the WNBA’s inception!
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April 24, 1996: Women’s basketball announces “We Got Next” as the NBA Board of Governors approves the concept of a WNBA.
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August 7, 1996: Val Ackerman is named first president of the WNBA.
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October 30, 1996: WNBA announces eight teams to compete in the inaugural season – Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah.
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The Los Angeles Sparks was officially added to the WNBA Western Conference in 1997 under the late Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss.
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June 21, 1997: The Los Angeles Sparks and the New York Liberty tip-off the first WNBA game at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles in front of a crowd of 14,284. Sparks Guard Penny Toler scores the league’s first basket at 19:01
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Lisa Leslie led the team with 445 PTS, 266 REB, 109 STLS and 59 BLK.
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Haixia Zheng led the league with the highest free throw percentage at .618 and won the 1997 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award.
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Lisa Leslie made the All WNBA First-Team alongside Eva Nemcova (Cleveland Rockers), Tina Thompson (Houston Comets), Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets) and Ruthie Bolton (Sacramento Monarchs).
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The Sparks finished in second place in the Western Division with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses.
