American Basketball League (1996–1998)
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| Sponsor(s) | Reebok |
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| Notes | |
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The American Basketball League, often abbreviated to the ABL of 1996 was a professional women's
The ABL lasted two full seasons: 1996–97 and 1997–98. The
The ABL got off the ground before the WNBA, and at least early on its quality of play was higher than the rival league. This was partly due to the league's signing of a majority of players from the 1996 USA women's national team. Although the WNBA was bankrolled by the NBA, the ABL offered higher salaries. The two leagues did not compete directly; the ABL played during the winter while the WNBA played during the summer. However, this arrangement put the ABL in competition with the established men's NBA for an audience. Ultimately, the ABL found the WNBA's stronger financial resources—augmented by the NBA's marketing machine—to be too much to overcome.
The league operated as a single-entity structure, which was intended to control costs until it found its feet. However, it also meant that even the most basic decisions related to team operations had to go through the league office in Palo Alto, California. The ABL was also under-financed.[4]
Of all the ABL cities, Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta now have WNBA teams.
1996–98 clubs
Seasons
1996–97
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The 1996–97 ABL All-Star Game was played on December 15, 1996, at the
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| E1 | Columbus | 2 | |||||||
| W2 | San Jose | 0 | |||||||
| E1 | Columbus | 3 | |||||||
| E2 | Richmond | 2 | |||||||
| E2 | Richmond | 2 | |||||||
| W1 | Colorado | 0 | |||||||
1997–98
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The 1997–98 ABL All-Star Game was played on January 18, 1998, at
| First Round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Columbus | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | New England | 0 | W4 | San Jose | 0 | |||||||||
| W4 | San Jose | 2 | E1 | Columbus | 3 | |||||||||
| W2 | Long Beach | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Portland | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Long Beach | 2 | W2 | Long Beach | 2 | |||||||||
| W3 | Colorado | 1 | ||||||||||||
1998–99
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The 1998–99 ABL All-Star Game was scheduled to be played on January 24, 1999, in San Jose, California, but was canceled when the league ceased operations in December 1998.[6]
Notable players
- Jennifer Azzi
- Debbie Black
- Cindy Brown
- Edna Campbell
- Sylvia Crawley
- Teresa Edwards
- Tonya Edwards, now head coach at Alcorn State University
- Shalonda Enis
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the Olympic-champion long jumper and heptathlete
- Molly Goodenbour
- Yolanda Griffith
- Sonja Henning
- Kedra Holland-Corn
- Shannon Johnson
- Carolyn Jones-Young
- Venus Lacy
- Andrea Lloyd-Curry
- Stacey Lovelace
- Michelle M. Marciniak
- Nikki McCray
- Carla McGhee
- Chasity Melvin
- Delisha Milton
- Taj McWilliams-Franklin
- Kate Paye, now an assistant coach at Stanford University
- Tari Phillips
- Elaine Powell
- Katrina Price
- Jennifer Rizzotti, now the President of the Connecticut Sun
- Crystal Robinson
- Saudia Roundtree
- Sheri Sam
- Katie Smith, now an assistant coach for the Minnesota Lynx
- Charlotte Smith, now the head coach at Elon University
- Dawn Staley, now the head coach at the University of South Carolina
- Katy Steding
- Kate Starbird
- Sonja Tate
- Val Whiting
- Natalie Williams
- Kara Wolters
See also
- National Women's Basketball League
- Women's American Basketball Association
- Women's National Basketball Association
- Women's Professional Basketball League
- American Basketball League (1996–1998) on television
References
- ^ "History of the American Basketball League". apbr.org. Association for Professional Basketball Research. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "American Basketball League Human Resources Manual". funwhileitlasted.com. American Basketball League. 1997. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "The 1995 Connecticut Huskies: The Team That Made Women's Basketball". The Big Lead. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ^ Former Team Official Recounts the A.B.L.'s Dizzying Descent
- ^ West beat East, according to Spokesman
- ^ "SHOCK: EnShocklopedia – A". Women's National Basketball Association.