On April 24, 1996, the NBA Board of Governors approved the concept of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The news was shared at a press conference in with legacy players #RebeccaLobo and #LisaLeslie in attendance as well as #SherylSwoopes who was the first player ever signed to the WNBA.
The WNBA began with eight teams: the Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, and New York Liberty in the Eastern Conference; and the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and Utah Starzz in the Western Conference.
While the WNBA was not the first women’s basketball league, it was the first and still is the only one to have the full backing of the NBA.
By June 1997, the first league game was played and featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks.
Fast forward to the end of the season, the Houston Comets beat out the New York Liberty, winning the first ever WNBA championship. #CynthiaCooper was named MVP that year.
There have been so many iconic moments in women’s sports in the last 26 years and we can only expect more as the world of sports becomes more supportive of women! #BWLM💕
