Events in Sport
- 1997-08-30 1st WNBA Championship: Houston Comets beat NY Liberty
- 1997-09-16 ABL MVP Nikki McCray signs with WNBA
- 1997-09-25 WNBA announces it will add Detroit & Washington, D.C. franchises
- 1997-11-11 WNBA announces franchises in Detroit (Shock) and Washington D.C. (Mystics) would join the League as expansion teams for the 1998 season
- 1998-01-27 WNBA begins filling rosters of Washington Mystics & Detroit Shock
- 2006-09-03 Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie wins the WNBA's Most Valuable Player award, joining Sheryl Swoopes as the league's only three-time winners
- 2018-07-17 Australian basketball center Liz Cambage scores 53 points as the Dallas Wings beat the NY Liberty 104-87 to set new WNBA single game scoring record
- 2018-07-22 Seattle basketball guard Sue Bird plays record 500th WNBA game as Storm go down 87-74 to the Atlanta Dream; finishes career on 508 games for Seattle
- 2022-08-04 Russian court sentences WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for drug smuggling amid claims she is being used as a pawn between the US and Russia [1]
First WNBA Player to Reach 10,000 Points
2023-08-03 Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi becomes first WNBA player to reach 10,000 points as she drops 42 points in a 91-71 win over the Atlanta Dream at Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Birthdays in Sport
- 1936-03-08 Sonny Allen, American basketball coach (ODU, Southern Methodist University, University of Nevada, Reno; WNBA Sacramento Monarchs), born in Moundsville, West Virginia (d. 2020)
- 1958-07-01 Nancy Lieberman, American Basketball Hall of Fame point guard and coach (Olympic silver, 1976), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1960-12-06 Jasmina Perazić, Serbian-American basketball guard and forward (NY Liberty), born in Novi Sad, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia
- 1962-06-07 Janice Lawrence Braxton, American WNBA player (Cleveland Rockers, Olympics - gold, 1984), born in Lucedale, Mississippi
- 1962-11-03 Kym Hampton, American basketball center (WNBA All-Star 1999; NY Liberty), born in Louisville, Kentucky
- 1962-12-01 Pamela McGee, American basketball center (Olympic gold 1984; 1997 WNBA Draft, 2nd overall pick, Sacramento Monarchs), born in Flint, Michigan
- 1963-04-14 Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, American WNBA guard (Houston Comets/Olympic gold 1988) and coach, born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1964-06-13 Jennifer Gillom, American WNBA center and forward (Phoenix Mercury/Olympic gold 1988), born in Abbeville, Mississippi
- 1965-03-12 Fran Harris, American basketball guard (FIBA World C'ship gold 1986; Houston Comets, Utah Starzz) and broadcaster (ESPN), born in Dallas, Texas
- 1965-06-28 Michele Timms, Australian WNBA guard (Phoenix Mercury, Olympics 1988, 96), born in Melbourne, Australia
- 1965-08-04 Trena Trice, WNBA forward/center (NY Liberty)
- 1965-12-08 Teresa Weatherspoon, American WNBA guard and coach (NY Liberty), born in Pineland, Texas
- 1966-03-16 Catarina Pollini, Italian European and WNBA basketball forward (Houston Comets - 1997; 12 x Italian League Champion), born in Vicenza, Italy
- 1966-11-26 Sue Wicks, American Women's Basketball Hall of Fame forward (WNBA All-Star 2000; NY Liberty), born in Center Moriches, New York
- 1967-01-18 Kim Perrot, American WNBA guard (Houston Comets), born in Lafayette, Louisiana
- 1967-03-07 Zheng Haixia, Chinese WNBA center (LA Sparks), born in Shangqiu, China
- 1967-04-27 Bridgette Gordon, American basketball forward (Sacramento Monarchs, Olympic gold, 1988), born in DeLand, Florida
- 1967-10-04 Vicky Bullett, American basketball forward and coach (Olympic gold 1988; World C’ship gold 1990), born in Martinsburg, West Virginia
- 1967-11-25 Andrea Stinson, WNBA guard (Charlotte Sting)
- 1968-01-13 Kelly Boucher, Canadian basketball forward (first Canadian to play in WNBA 1998 Charlotte Sting), born in Calgary, Alberta
- 1968-03-17 Judy Mosley McAfee, American basketball player (Sacramento Monarchs), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1968-10-14 Wanda Guyton, American WNBA forward (Houston Comets), born in Tampa, Florida
- 1968-11-18 Milica Vukadinovic, WNBA guard (Charlotte Sting)
- 1968-11-22 Daedra Charles, WNBA forward/center (LA Sparks)
- 1969-04-11 Janeth Arcain, Brazilian basketball guard (WNBA C'ship 1997–2000; WNBA All-Star & All-WNBA First Team 2001 Houston Comets; Olympic silver 1996, bronze 2000), born in São Paulo, Brazil
- 1969-07-06 Sophia Witherspoon, American WNBA guard (NY Liberty), born in Fort Pierce, Florida
- 1969-07-27 Linda Burgess, American basketball forward (L.A. Sparks), born in Madison, Alabama
- 1969-10-13 Rhonda Mapp, American WNBA center and forward (Charlotte Sting), born in Asheville, North Carolina
- 1969-10-20 Chantel Tremitiere, American WNBA guard (Sacramento Monarchs), born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- 1970-03-01 Yolanda Griffith, American Women's Basketball Hall of Fame center (Olympic gold 2000, 04; WNBA Finals MVP 2005, Sacramento Monarchs; 8 × WNBA All-Star), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1970-04-02 Tammi Reiss, American actress and former WNBA guard (Utah Starzz), born in New York
- 1970-04-27 Mikiko Hagiwara, Japanese basketball player, born in Fukushima, Japan
- 1970-05-04 Dawn Staley, American Basketball HOF guard (6 × WNBA All-Star, Charlotte Sting, Houston Comets; Olympic gold 1996, 2000, 04) and coach (Olympic gold 2020), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1970-06-03 Andrea Congreaves, British WNBA player (Charlotte Sting), born in Epsom, England
- 1970-08-16 Dena Head, WNBA guard (Utah Starzz)
- 1970-11-30 Natalie Williams, American Women's Basketball HOF forward (Olympic gold 2000; 4×WNBA All-Star; 3×All-WNBA First Team; Portland Power, Utah Starzz, Indiana Fever) and executive (GM WNBA LV Aces), born in Long Beach, California
- 1970-12-21 Monique Ambers, WNBA forward (Phoenix Mercury)
- 1971-01-01 Bridget Pettis, American basketball guard (WNBA champion 2007, 09 assistant coach, Phoenix Mercury), born in East Chicago, Indiana
- 1971-03-17 Katrina Colleton, American basketball player (LA Sparks), born in Tampa, Florida
- 1971-03-25 Sheryl Swoopes, American, WNBA forward, 1997-2011 (Olympic gold 1996; Houston Comets and 2 other teams), born Brownfield, Texas
- 1971-11-12 Heidi Burge, WNBA forward (LA Sparks), born in Harbor City, California
- 1971-12-17 Nikki McCray, American Women's Basketball HOF guard (WNBA All-Star 1999, 2000, 01 Washington Mystics; ABL MVP 1997 Columbus Quest; Olympic gold 1996, 2000) and coach (Old Dominion, Mississippi State), born in Collierville, Tennessee (d. 2023)
- 1972-01-28 Elena Baranova, Russian WNBA center (Utah Starzz), born in Frunze, Kirghiz SSR, Soviet Union
- 1972-04-15 Vickie Johnson, American basketball guard and coach (WNBA All-Star 1999, 2001; NY Liberty; coach San Antonio Stars), born in Coushatta, Louisiana
- 1972-05-05 Rushia Brown, American WNBA forward & center (Cleveland Rockers), born in New York
- 1972-05-23 Isabelle Fijalkowski, WNBA center/forward (Cleveland Rockers)
- 1972-07-07 Lisa Leslie, American WNBA center (LA Sparks)/forward (Olympic gold 1996), born in Gardena, California
- 1972-12-03 Eva Němcová, Czech basketball forward (WNBA record 66 consecutive free throws 2000; Cleveland Rockers), born in Prague, Czech Republic
- 1973-04-04 Tiffany Woosley, American basketball player (Houston Comets), born in Shelbyville, Tennessee
- 1973-05-25 Racquel Spurlock, WNBA center (Houston Comets)
- 1973-06-21 Merlakia Jones, American WNBA player (Cleveland Rockers), born in Montgomery, Alabama
- 1973-07-09 Katasha Artis, WNBA forward (Charlotte Sting) ans collegiate coach, born in New York City
- 1973-08-12 Latasha Byears, American WNBA player (Sacramento Monarchs), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- 1973-09-27 Tina Nicholson, WNBA guard (Cleveland Rockers)
- 1973-10-06 Rebecca Lobo, American WNBA basketball center (Olympic gold, 1996; NY Liberty), born in Hartford, Connecticut
- 1973-12-05 Corissa Yasen, American WNBA forward and guard (Sacramento Monarchs), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- 1973-12-20 Jenny Boucek, WNBA guard (Cleveland Rockers), born in Nashville, Tennessee
- 1974-02-05 Adrienne Johnson, American basketball guard, administrator, broadcaster (WNBA Cleveland Rockers; University of Louisville), born in Louisville, Kentucky
- 1974-08-12 Wendy Palmer, American basketball player, WNBA forward (Utah Starzz), born in Timberlake, North Carolina
- 1974-11-23 Tora Suber, WNBA guard (Charlotte Sting), born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania
- 1975-02-10 Tina Thompson, WNBA forward (Houston Comets), born in Los Angeles, California
- 1975-04-04 Kisha Ford, American WNBA guard and forward (NY Liberty), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- 1975-04-12 Marcie Alberts, American basketball player (Cleveland Rockers), born in Wooster, Ohio
- 1975-08-25 Molly Tuter, WNBA guard (Phoenix Mercury)
- 1975-09-27 Tajama Abraham, WNBA center (Sacramento Monarchs)
- 1975-10-16 Jamila Wideman, WNBA guard (LA Sparks)
- 1975-12-14 Tamecka Dixon, American WNBA guard (LA Sparks), born in Linden, New Jersey
- 1976-07-27 Mwadi Mabika, WNBA guard and forward (LA Sparks), born in Kinshasa, Zaire
- 1976-12-04 Betty Lennox, American basketball guard (WNBA champion, WNBA Finals MVP 2004, Seattle Storm), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- 1977-03-11 Becky Hammon, American Basketball HOF point guard (WNBA: NY Liberty, SA Stars; Russia Olympics 2008, 12) and coach (first female to coach an NBA team; SA Spurs 2020; LV Aces), born in Rapid City, South Dakota
- 1977-04-01 Tangela Smith, American basketball forward (WNBA All-Star 2006 Charlotte Sting; WNBA C'ship 2007, 09 Phoenix Mercury), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1980-10-16 Sue Bird, American basketball guard (record 508 WNBA games, Seattle Storm; Olympic gold 2004, 08, 12, 16, 20), born in Syosset, New York
- 1981-05-24 Penny Taylor, Australian basketball forward (World C'ship gold 2006; Olympic silver 2004, 08; WNBA C'ship 2007, 09, 14 Phoenix Mercury; 3 x WNBA All-Star), born in Melbourne, Australia
- 1982-03-13 Nicole Ohlde, American basketball player, born in Clay Center, Kansas
Diana Taurasi (41 years old)
1982-06-11 American basketball player (10 x WNBA All Star, Phoenix Mercury; Olympic gold 2004, 08, 12, 16, 20), born in Glendale, California
- 1989-06-11 Maya Moore, American basketball small forward (WNBA C'ship 2011, 13 [MVP], 15, 17; WNBA MVP 2014; 6×WNBA All-Star; 5×All-WNBA First Team; Olympic gold 2012, 16; Minnesota Lynx), born in Jefferson City, Missouri
- 1990-10-18 Brittany Griner, American basketball center (Olympic gold 2016, 20; WNBA C'ship 2014 Phoenix Mercury; 8 × WNBA All-Star; WNBA scoring champion 2017, 19; detained in Russia for drug smuggling Feb-Dec 2022), born in Houston, Texas
- 1991-08-18 Liz Cambage, Australian basketball center (WNBA single game record 53), born in London, England
Breanna Stewart (29 years old)
1994-08-27 American basketball power forward (NCAA C'ship 2013-16 UConn; WNBA C'ship 2018, 20 Seattle Storm; EuroLeague C'ship 2021 UMMC Ekaterinburg), born in Syracuse, New York
Weddings in Sport
Diana Taurasi
2017-05-13 Former WNBA player Diana Taurasi (34) weds teammate Penny Taylor (36) in Phoenix, Arizona
Deaths in Sport
- 2020-09-11 Sonny Allen, American basketball coach (ODU, Southern Methodist University, University of Nevada, Reno; WNBA Sacramento Monarchs), dies of Parkinson's Disease at 84
- 2023-07-07 Nikki McCray, American Women's Basketball HOF guard (WNBA All-Star 1999-2001 Washington Mystics; ABL MVP 1997 Columbus Quest; Olympic gold 1996, 2000) and coach (Old Dominion, Mississippi State), dies at 51