1997 Los Angeles Sparks season
WNBA team season
1997 Los Angeles Sparks season | |
---|---|
Coach | Linda Sharp (fired Jul. 16, 4–7 record) Julie Rousseau (10–7 record) |
Arena | Great Western Forum |
Attendance | 8,931 per game |
Results | |
Record | 14–14 (.500) |
Place | 2nd (Western) |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
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.
Transactions
WNBA allocation draft
Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
---|---|---|
Lisa Leslie | United States | USC |
Penny Toler | United States | Long Beach State |
WNBA elite draft
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | Daedra Charles | United States | Tennessee |
2 | 16 | Zheng Haixia | China | China |
WNBA draft
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | Jamila Wideman | United States | Stanford |
2 | 14 | Tamecka Dixon | United States | Kansas |
3 | 19 | Katrina Colleton | United States | Maryland |
4 | 30 | Travesa Gant | United States | Lamar |
Transactions
Date | Transaction | |
---|---|---|
January 22, 1997 | Drafted Lisa Leslie and Penny Toler in the 1997 WNBA Allocation Draft[1] | |
February 27, 1997 | Drafted Daedra Charles and Zheng Haixia in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft[1] | |
April 16, 1997 | Hired Linda Sharp as Head Coach[1] | |
April 28, 1997 | Drafted Jamila Wideman, Tamecka Dixon, Katrina Colleton and Travesa Gant in the 1997 WNBA Draft[1] | |
July 16, 1997 | Fired Linda Sharp as Head Coach[1] | |
Hired Julie Rousseau as Head Coach[1] |
Roster
1997 Los Angeles Sparks roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
Regular season
1997 game log Total: 14–14 (Home: 8–6; Road: 6–8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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June: 2–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–2)
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July : 6–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 3–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
August : 6–4 (Home: 3–2; Road: 3–2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1997 season schedule |
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 |
Statistics
Legend | |||||||
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GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader |
Regular Season
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Penny Toler | 28 | 28 | 32.4 | .426 | .184 | .839 | 3.4 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 13.1 |
Lisa Leslie | 28 | 28 | 32.2 | .431 | .261 | .598 | 9.5 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 15.9 |
Tamecka Dixon | 27 | 21 | 26.5 | .456 | .423 | .773 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 11.9 |
Jamila Wideman | 28 | 14 | 22.6 | .236 | .194 | .794 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
Katrina Colleton | 28 | 14 | 21.9 | .437 | .360 | .567 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 4.9 |
Zheng Haixia | 28 | 21 | 19.9 | .618 | N/A | .661 | 4.4 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 9.3 |
Linda Burgess | 28 | 6 | 17.6 | .541 | .500 | .735 | 4.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 6.5 |
Mwadi Mabika | 21 | 1 | 15.5 | .390 | .184 | .542 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 6.0 |
Heidi Burge | 22 | 6 | 12.8 | .444 | .000 | .511 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
Daedra Charles | 28 | 1 | 10.1 | .403 | .000 | .667 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 2.3 |
Travesa Gant | 2 | 0 | 6.5 | .000 | N/A | N/A | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Kim Gessig | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
- 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[2]
- 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 [3]
- 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
- ^ a b c d e f "1997 Los Angeles Sparks Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ a b "1997 WNBA Season Summary".
- ^ "Postseason Awards: 1997". WNBA.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
Sparks on Basketball Reference
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1997 WNBA season by team
- Los Angeles Sparks
- Phoenix Mercury
- Sacramento Monarchs
- Utah Starzz
- ← 1996 . WNBA season
- 1998 →