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1996 The Women’s
National Basketball Association was created under the leadership of
Valerie Ackerman, President of the league. There were
eight teams in the opening season- Utah Jazz, Cleveland Rockers, Charlotte
Sting, New York Liberty, Houston Comets, Sacramento Monarchs, Phoenix
Mercury and the Los Angeles Sparks.
1997 On January
22, the New York Liberty acquired Rebecca Lobo and
Theresa Weatherspoon in the initial player allocations. In the Elite
draft held on February 27, the Liberty had the 4th pick overall
and chose Kym Hampton. They also acquired Vicki Johnson with the
12th pick. Nancy Darsch was named Head Coach on April
29th, after spending 12 seasons as women’s basketball head
coach at Ohio State.
Their first game was against the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles on
June 21st. On June 29th, the Liberty played their
first home game against the Phoenix Mercury. They were victorious in both
games. The Liberty finished second overall in the Eastern Conference,
with a record of 17-11. They beat Phoenix in the semifinals 59-41 only to
be defeated by Houston 65-51 in the championship game on August 30.
Theresa Weatherspoon won the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and
also led the league in assists and steals per game. She and Rebecca Lobo
made the All-WNBA second team.
1998 The Liberty had the
9th pick overall and
chose Alicia Thompson. Sophia Witherspoon lead the team with 413 points
scored, 92 free throws made, and 33 three-pointers made. Once again,
Theresa Weatherspoon was named Defensive Player of the Year and led the
league in steals per game. They finished the season 18-12 and third in
the Eastern Conference.
1999 Richie Adubato took
over as head coach for the Liberty
replacing Nancy
Darsch. He was an NBA coach for the Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks,
and the Orlando Magic. He was also the assistant coach for the New York
Knicks from 1982-1986 under Hubie Brown.
The Liberty finished first in the Eastern Conference with a record of
18-14. They advanced to the finals by defeating the Charlotte Sting. In
the finals, they met the 2-time WNBA Champion Houston Comets. Houston
defeated New York in the 1997 Championship game. The defending champs won
the first game of the series with a convincing 73-60 victory.
Game 2 was the most exciting WNBA Championship Series game ever played.
It was a seesaw battle that Houston’s players and fans thought they had
won. Fortunately for the Liberty, Theresa Weatherspoon kept their dreams
alive. She made a spectacular half-court shot to win the game 68-67 at
the final buzzer to push the series to a Game 3. The Liberty lost in the
decisive Game 3 of the Championship Series, once again, in Houston, 59-47,
making it Houston’s third WNBA title. Sue Wicks had a game high of 11
points. Theresa Weatherspoon, who scored 8 points, was named to the
All-WNBA Second Team.
This game was also Kym Hampton’s last game as a professional basketball
player. She ended a three-year career with the Liberty and a 14-year
professional career that began overseas in 1985. In her career with the
Liberty, she started in all of New York’s 90 regular-season games over
three seasons, averaging 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds.
2000
After another successful regular season (20-12 record, 1st in the Eastern Conference), the Liberty began yet another championship run. After rolling past the Washington Mystics in the first round, the Liberty took on the Cleveland Rockers in the Eastern Conference Finals. In a best-of-three series, the Liberty were able to defeat the Rockers in the decisive third game, thus reaching the WNBA Final for the third time in four years. New York would have to take on their Western Conference rivals, the three-time defending champion Houston Comets. While both games went down to the wire, the Comets claimed the WNBA Championship for the fourth straight season.
2001
The two-time defending conference champion New York Liberty ended its 2001 season with an impressive 21-11 record, the second best of the Eastern Conference. Teresa Weatherspoon led the League in assists with a total of 203, averaging 6.3 per game.
In the post season the Liberty went on to defeat Miami (2-1) in the first round after winning 72-61 in an explosive Game 3. With team leader Teresa Weatherspoon suffering from a strained right ankle, Vickie Johnson stepped up to score 22 points, grab seven rebounds and hand out six assists in Game 3. Teammate Debbie Black, Defensive Player of the Year, helped with six points and four assists.
In the second round of the Eastern Conference Finals, New York lost to Charlotte (1-2) in a best of three game battle, cutting short their journey to the WNBA finals for the fourth time in five years. The Sting, led by Allison Feaster and Dawn Staley, came back from shooting an embarrassing 19 percent in the first half, to overpower the Liberty in the second half.
In preparation for next season, the Liberty acquired 6'4 center Camille Cooper from the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for its second round pick in the 2002 draft. Cooper, a Purdue University star, was the 16th overall 2001 draft pick and was selected by the Sparks as their number one draft pick.
2002
The New York Liberty stayed true to form, completing the 2002 season with another winning record (18-14 regular season). Tari Phillips led the team in points, averaging 14.1 per game, while Teresa Weatherspoon was third in the league for assists, averaging 5.7 per game. In the post season, the Liberty defeated the Washington Mystics to claim their third Eastern Conference Championship Title. The Liberty appeared in their fourth WNBA Finals against the defending WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks. Looking to end a series of Championship losses, the Liberty went out hard against the Sparks in Game One at the Garden. Despite a valiant run by the Liberty, the Sparks, led by rookie point guard Nikki Teasley, captured the game 71-63. The Liberty opened Game 2 in LA with an amazing 18-4 run in the first half. After a grueling match-up, Teasley’s three-pointer sealed another Championship Title for the Sparks with a 69-66 victory. The Liberty will return next season with a strong core of veteran talent.
2003
The New York Liberty finished the 2003 season with a record of 16-18 and fell short of the WNBA playoffs. Despite their disappointing season, the Liberty are constantly among the league leaders in wins, attendance and community involvement. The 2004 season will certainly be the most unique and exciting season in New York Liberty history, as the Liberty will be playing a number of games at Radio City Music Hall.
2004
Although the New York Liberty’s 2004 season did not end the way the team had hoped, there are still achievements of which to be proud. They ended their regular season with a record of 18-16 and returned to the playoffs, an accomplishment they just missed reaching in 2003. In a thrilling three-game series, the Liberty eliminated the defending WNBA Champion Detroit Shock in the first round of the playoffs. After starting out the season with a 6-1 record, the Liberty preceded to lose eight of their next nine games. Despite their mid-season struggles, they finished the regular season tied with the Sun for the best record in the Eastern Conference.
During the regular season, point guard Becky Hammon was the team’s leading scorer with 13.5 points per game average, ranking 14th in that league category. Hammon efforts were awarded with an All-Star selection in this year’s WNBA All-Star Game against Team USA. Crystal Robinson and Elana Baranova also averaged double-digit points per game with 12.1 and 11.6, respectively.
Also worthy of note, a new star emerged during the Liberty’s season. New York City native Bethany Donaphin, a third-string center at the start of the season, became a starter in July after centers Tari Phillips and Ann Wauters both went down with injuries. Donaphin became a consistent contributor on the team, and gained league-wide notoriety after her last-second basket to give the Liberty a Game Three victory over the Shock.
2005
After making the playoffs for the sixth time in the last eight seasons, the Liberty’s season was cut short after being ousted by the Indiana Fever in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. For the second-consecutive season, the Liberty finished with an 18-16 record, placing them third in the final Eastern Conference standings.
The 2005 season was marked by some impressive personal accomplishments for several Liberty players. Guard Becky Hammon, who led the WNBA in free-throw percentage, was elected to her third-straight All-Star game. 6-foot-4 center Ann Wauters joined Hammon in Connecticut for the All-Star festivities this year after her dominating performance over the first half of the season earned her a first-ever All-Star selection. Wauters’ season was cut short, however, due to a hand injury in late August which prevented her from suiting-up for playoff action. Hammon and forward Elena Baranova also achieved individual milestones this season when both scored their 2,000th points of their respective careers. Finally, Liberty legend Vickie Johnson, the last remaining member of the inaugural Liberty team, became the all-time leader in WNBA playoff appearances with 36 games played. Hammon led the team with a 13.9 points-per-game scoring average, while Wauters averaged an impressive 13.7 points before her injury.
2006
The New York Liberty ended their disappointing 2006 season with a glimpse of a bright future with their young and talented core players. Despite finishing with the worst record in franchise history (11-23), the Liberty managed to win seven of their last 10 games. Entering the season down four starters--Crystal Robinson, Vickie Johnson, Elena Baranova and All-Star center Ann Wauters--from a 2005 team that finished third in the conference, the Liberty had to overcome the turmoil of an overhauled roster and injuries that sidelined All-Star guard Becky Hammon for 12 games. Hammon, however, still managed to lead the team in scoring and assists with averages of 14.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Based on the improvement shown by the team over the course of the season, the Liberty should be able to bounce back in 2007.
2007
Despite a valiant effort, the New York Liberty saw their season come to an end in a first round, Game 3 overtime loss to the defending champion Detroit Shock. Throughout the series and regular season, the team displayed a tenacity and passion that was missing during their dismal 2006 season. Last year, during the worst season in franchise history, the Liberty went 11-23 and missed the playoffs. The Liberty began a rebuilding campaign by trading fan favorite Becky Hammond to the San Antonio Silver Stars for the second overall pick in the 2007 Draft--center Jessica Davenport from Ohio State. After starting the season 5-0, the Liberty went 5-15 in their next 20 games but finished strong and qualified for the playoffs.
Two Liberty players were honored with individual awards in recognition of their stellar seasons. Center Janel McCarville, taken with the third pick in this year’s dispersal draft, was named the WNBA’s most improved player, while guard Loree Moore was named to the league’s All-Defensive Second Team. With their rebuilding campaign progressing well, the Liberty hope for further improvement next year as their young players continue to develop.
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