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On June 21, 1997, the WNBA began at The Forum in Los Angeles, with Lisa Leslie and the Sparks battling Rebecca Lobo and Teresa Weatherspoon and the Liberty.
In front of 14,000-plus fans, New York would win that game 67-57.
Thirty years later, the league is growing, and that growth was on full display on Sunday night.
With Lobo, Leslie, Weatherspoon, and many others in the house, the Sparks overcame a 17-point second-half deficit, which was punctuated by a Nneka Ogwumike three at the buzzer as Los Angeles defeated New York 98-97 in front of 18,000-plus fans at Crypto.com Arena.
Ogwumike scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the final 3:50 of the game, as Los Angeles had six players in double figures.
Recently, the league and its players came together on a new CBA, and Ogwumike, who is the president of the players’ association, helped make that happen, which increased player salaries across the league.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts believes it was fitting that Ogwumike, who is a 10-time All-Star, would hit the game-winner on the night the league celebrated the first game in WNBA history,
“Remarkable. I said that in the locker room,” Robert said. “Everyone in our locker room wouldn’t have picked another person to hit that shot. [With] what [Nneka Ogwumike]’s done for the league, she’s one of one. And on a night like tonight, where we are honoring the legacy of not only the Sparks, but of the league. What Nneka has done for the league, especially recently with getting that new CBA done, it’s powerful when you think about it. It’s really cool, and that’s what sports can do. [Sports] brings out these moments, and you couldn’t have scripted it any better.”
The league could not have asked for a better way for the game to end, and thanks to players like Lobo, Weatherspoon, Leslie, Ogwumike, and many others, 30 years later, the league is still here and in a very great place.