1998 WNBA season
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| 1998 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Women's National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | June 11 – September 1, 1998 |
| Games | 30 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Total attendance | 1,630,315 |
| Average attendance | 10,869 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, NBC, Lifetime |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Margo Dydek |
| Picked by | Utah Starzz |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP |  Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Houston) |
| Top scorer | Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Houston) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Houston Comets |
| Runners-up | Phoenix Mercury |
| Finals MVP | Cynthia Cooper (Houston) |
The 1998 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's second season. The 1998 season saw two expansion teams join the league, the Detroit Shock and Washington Mystics with an expansion draft being held on February 18, 1998.[1][2] The expansion teams allowed the defending champions, Houston Comets, to move to the Western Conference. The regular season was extended from 28 games to 30 games. During the season, Kelly Boucher became the first Canadian to play in the league, suiting up for the Charlotte Sting.[3] The season ended with the Comets winning their second WNBA championship.
Standings
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Rockers x | 20 | 10 | .667 | 12–4 | – |
| Charlotte Sting x | 18 | 12 | .600 | 11–5 | 2.0 |
| New York Liberty o | 18 | 12 | .600 | 8–8 | 2.0 |
| Detroit Shock o | 17 | 13 | .567 | 8–8 | 3.0 |
| Washington Mystics o | 3 | 27 | .100 | 1–15 | 17.0 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Comets x | 27 | 3 | .900 | 15–1 | – |
| Phoenix Mercury x | 19 | 11 | .633 | 10–6 | 8.0 |
| Los Angeles Sparks o | 12 | 18 | .400 | 6–10 | 15.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs o | 8 | 22 | .267 | 5–11 | 19.0 |
| Utah Starzz o | 8 | 22 | .267 | 4–12 | 19.0 |
Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.
Playoffs
For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was switched to the Western Conference so two Western Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Finals.
| Semifinals Best-of-3 | WNBA Championship Best-of-3 | ||||||||
| 1 | Houston | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Charlotte | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Houston | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Phoenix | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | Cleveland | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Phoenix | 2 | |||||||
- Bold – Series winner
- Italic – Team with home-court advantage