1997 Los Angeles Sparks season
The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks finished in second place in the Western Division with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses.
| 1997 Los Angeles Sparks season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Linda Sharp |
| Arena | Great Western Forum |
| Attendance | 8,931 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 14–14 (.500) |
| Place | 2nd (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Offseason
Initial Player Allocation
| Pick | Player | Nationality | WNBA Team | College/HS/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Lisa Leslie (C) |  |
Los Angeles Sparks | Southern California |
| 8 | Penny Toler (G) | |
Los Angeles Sparks | Long Beach State |
WNBA Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/HS/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Jamila Wideman | Guard | |
Stanford |
| 2 | 14 | Tamecka Dixon | |
Kansas | |
| 3 | 19 | Katrina Colleton | |||
| 4 | 30 | Travesa Gant | |||
Regular season
The Sparks and WNBA's first game was played on June 21, 1997, in Los Angeles. The Sparks lost to the New York Liberty, 67-57. The attendance at the Forum was 14,284.[3]
Season standings
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Mercury x | 16 | 12 | .571 | 9–3 | – |
| Los Angeles Sparks o | 14 | 14 | .500 | 8–4 | 2.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs o | 10 | 18 | .357 | 4–8 | 6.0 |
| Utah Starzz o | 7 | 21 | .250 | 3–9 | 9.0 |
Season Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 21 | New York | 57-67 | Loss | 0-1 |
| June 23 | @ Utah | 89-102 | Loss | 0-2 |
| June 25 | Charlotte | 74-54 | Win | 1-2 |
| June 27 | Sacramento | 93-73 | Win | 2-2 |
| June 30 | @ Houston | 66-71 (OT) | Loss | 2-3 |
| July 3 | @ Cleveland | 74-62 | Win | 3-3 |
| July 5 | @ Charlotte | 66-78 | Loss | 3-4 |
| July 7 | Cleveland | 70-81 | Loss | 3-5 |
| July 11 | Utah | 75-68 | Win | 4-5 |
| July 13 | Phoenix | 56-57 | Loss | 4-6 |
| July 15 | @ Sacramento | 73-78 | Loss | 4-7 |
| July 16 | Houston | 77-52 | Win | 5-7 |
| July 19 | @ New York | 57-69 | Loss | 5-8 |
| July 21 | @ Charlotte | 64-75 | Loss | 5-9 |
| July 23 | Cleveland | 85-89 | Loss | 5-10 |
| July 25 | @ Phoenix | 86-83 (OT) | Win | 6-10 |
| July 27 | @ Sacramento | 84-62 | Win | 7-10 |
| July 30 | Utah | 91-69 | Win | 8-10 |
| August 1 | Houston | 57-81 | Loss | 8-11 |
| August 3 | Charlotte | 70-77 | Loss | 8-12 |
| August 5 | @ New York | 67-50 | Win | 9-12 |
| August 7 | @ Cleveland | 87-84 (2OT) | Win | 10-12 |
| August 9 | @ Houston | 71-72 | Loss | 10-13 |
| August 16 | @ Utah | 74-64 | Win | 11-13 |
| August 18 | Phoenix | 75-66 | Win | 12-13 |
| August 20 | New York | 78-76 | Win | 13-13 |
| August 22 | Sacramento | 88-77 | Win | 14-13 |
| August 24 | @ Phoenix | 68-73 (OT) | Loss | 14-14 |
Player stats
| Player | Games Played | Minutes | Field Goals | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Leslie | 28 | 902 | 160 | 266 | 74 | 39 | 59 | 445 |
| Penny Toler | 28 | 907 | 144 | 94 | 143 | 36 | 3 | 368 |
| Tamecka Dixon | 27 | 715 | 115 | 81 | 55 | 49 | 5 | 320 |
| Haixia Zheng | 28 | 557 | 110 | 123 | 17 | 11 | 20 | 259 |
| Linda Burgess | 28 | 492 | 73 | 117 | 9 | 20 | 13 | 183 |
| Katrina Colleton | 28 | 613 | 55 | 60 | 45 | 35 | 9 | 136 |
| Mwadi Mabika | 21 | 325 | 53 | 54 | 22 | 23 | 6 | 126 |
| Heidi Burge | 22 | 282 | 32 | 69 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 87 |
| Jamila Wideman | 28 | 633 | 25 | 57 | 103 | 24 | 1 | 84 |
| Daedra Charles | 28 | 282 | 27 | 48 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 64 |
| Travesa Gant | 2 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kim Gessig | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
- Tamecka Dixon was tied for tenth in the WNBA in steals with 49.
- Tamecka Dixon ranked tenth in the WNBA in Field Goal Percentage (.456)
- Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA in points with 445 points.
- Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA in points per game with 15.9
- Lisa Leslie ranked fifth in the WNBA in field goals with 160.
- Lisa Leslie ranked first in the WNBA in total rebounds with 266.
- Lisa Leslie ranked second in the WNBA in blocks with 59.
- Penny Toler ranked tenth in the WNBA in points with 368 points.
- Penny Toler ranked eighth in the WNBA in field goals with 144.
- Penny Toler ranked tenth in the WNBA in points per game with 13.1[5]
- Penny Toler ranked sixth in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .839
- Penny Toler ranked second in the WNBA in assists with 143.
- Jamila Wideman ranked seventh in the WNBA in assists with 103.
- Haixia Zheng ranked ninth in the WNBA in blocks with 20.
Awards and honors
- Lisa Leslie, Center, All WNBA First Team [6]
- Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Defensive Rebounds, 203
- Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Total Rebounds, 266
- Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Rebounds per game, 9.5
- Lisa Leslie ranked second in the WNBA with 2.1 blocks per game.
- Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA with 113 Free Throws.
- Haixia Zheng, WNBA Peak Performer
- Haixia Zheng, Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
- Haixia Zheng: Led WNBA, Field Goal Percentage, .618
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-13. Retrieved 2008-10-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://www.wnba.com/history/sparks_draft_history.html
- http://www.wnba.com/liberty/news/history.html
- https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/LAS/1997.html
- https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/years/1997.html
- http://www.wnba.com/history/awards_1997.html
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