The Los Angeles Sparks inaugural season tipped off June 21, 1997. See below for all of the highlights from the WNBA’s inception!
April 24, 1996: Women’s basketball announces “We Got Next” as the NBA Board of Governors approves the concept of a WNBA.
August 7, 1996: Val Ackerman is named first president of the WNBA.
October 30, 1996: WNBA announces eight teams to compete in the inaugural season – Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah.
The Los Angeles Sparks was officially added to the WNBA Western Conference in 1997 under the late Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss.
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
Lisa Leslie led the team with 445 PTS, 266 REB, 109 STLS and 59 BLK.
Haixia Zheng led the league with the highest free throw percentage at .618 and won the 1997 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award.
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).
The Sparks finished in second place in the Western Division with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses.
