1999 WNBA Championship
The 1999 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1999 WNBA season , and the conclusion of the season's playoffs . The Houston Comets , top-seeded champions of the Western Conference , defeated the New York Liberty , top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference , two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's third title.[ 1]
The Comets made their third appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Liberty made their second Finals appearance.
Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had ever won a WNBA championship (1997 and 1998 ).
The Comets had a 26–6 record (.813), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (18–14).
Road to the finals
Houston Comets
New York Liberty
26–6 (.813) 1st West, 1st overall
Regular season
18–14 (.563) 1st East, 4th overall
Received a bye
Conference Semifinals
Received a bye
Defeated the (2) Los Angeles Sparks , 2–1
Conference Finals
Defeated the (3) Charlotte Sting , 2–1
Regular season series
The Comets and the Liberty split the regular season series:
Game summaries
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time .
Game 1
Game 2
With Houston leading 67–65 over New York and the Liberty out of timeouts with only 2.4 seconds remaining on the clock after Tina Thompson's jumper, New York would have to go the length of the court if they had any hope of winning. Kym Hampton inbounded the ball to Teresa Weatherspoon who took a couple dribbles and let the ball fly 50 feet away from the basket. To the awe and ire of the Houston fans, the ball smacked off the backboard and banked into the basket and the Liberty won the game 68–67. The lasting image of this moment is Weatherspoon falling over on the ground smiling as her teammates mob her from the bench.
Game 3
Awards
Rosters
1999 Houston Comets Finals roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
From
F
4
Arcain, Janeth
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
147 lb (67 kg)
Brazil
G
14
Cooper, Cynthia
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
USC
G
34
Henning, Sonja
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
143 lb (65 kg)
Stanford
F
23
Jackson, Tammy
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Florida
C
40
Lamb, Monica (IN)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
206 lb (93 kg)
USC
F
24
Nikolich, Mila
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
Israel
G
21
Rizzotti, Jennifer
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
146 lb (66 kg)
Connecticut
F
22
Swoopes, Sheryl
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
145 lb (66 kg)
Texas Tech
F
7
Thompson, Tina
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
USC
C
15
Tzekova, Polina
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
189 lb (86 kg)
Bulgaria
F
13
Valdemoro, Amaya
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Spain
C
52
Wolters, Kara
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
227 lb (103 kg)
Connecticut
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Unknown
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
1999 New York Liberty Finals roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
From
G
25
Hammon, Becky
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
136 lb (62 kg)
Colorado State
C
34
Hampton, Kym
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Arizona State
G
55
Johnson, Vickie
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
150 lb (68 kg)
Louisiana Tech
G
12
Jones-Young, Carolyn (IN)
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Auburn
C
5
Lacy, Venus
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
234 lb (106 kg)
Louisiana Tech
C
50
Lobo, Rebecca
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Connecticut
F
3
Robinson, Crystal
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
C
31
VanGorp, Michele
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
187 lb (85 kg)
Duke
G
4
Washington, Coquese
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
138 lb (63 kg)
Notre Dame
G
11
Weatherspoon, Teresa
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
161 lb (73 kg)
Louisiana Tech
F
44
Whitmore, Tamika
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Memphis
F
23
Wicks, Sue
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
174 lb (79 kg)
Rutgers
G
13
Witherspoon, Sophia
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
145 lb (66 kg)
Florida
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Unknown
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
References
External links
1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s WNBA Championship prior to 2002
Franchise Arenas Head coaches Administration WNBA All-Stars Seasons Playoff appearances Conference Championships / Finals appearances WNBA Championships Rivals Media
The Franchise Arenas Head coaches Administration All-Stars Seasons Playoff appearances Conference titles WNBA titles Rivals