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1ST QUARTER

1980s

Lady Techsters

While Women's college teams had prior experience in other tournaments such as AIAW, it wasn't until 1982 that the NCAA officially introduced the D1 Women's Basketball Tournament.

Already an established powerhouse, The Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech became the first team to win an NCAA Women's Basketball title. Between 1980 and 1984, the Techsters' record was 130-6. They cruised to the '82 Finals with a 35-1 record and Pam Kelly as their all-star. Kelly won two national championships for the Lady Techsters and was named to the All-American team in 1980, 1981, and 1982, making her Louisiana Tech's only three-time All-American.

Another Lady Techster standout is Janice Lawrence Braxton. As a sophomore (1982), she was the leading scorer in the tournament and won the MVP award. She is also a two-time Kodak All-American (1983, 1984), Olympic gold medalist (1984), and Wade Trophy Winner (1984).

WOMEN OF TROY

While the Lady Techsters won it all in '82, a new team materialized.

In 1982 the Lady Trojans out University of Southern California (USC) made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with the help of a then unknown small forward from Riverside, California.

On the heels of their successful run in 1982, the Lady Trojans returned in 1983. With Cheryl Miller as the lead, Juliette Robinson, Pam McGee, Paula McGee, and Cynthia Cooper went 31-2. They flaunted their signature style: hustling and attacking the basket, which ushered in a golden ticket to the Finals, ultimately beating the reigning champs of Louisiana Tech by two points. This 1983 team will go down in history as the most dynamic women's team of their time.

The Trojans won the championship again in '84, going 24-4 that season. While still enrolled at USC, Cooper, Miller, and Pam McGee represented the USA in the '84 Olympics in Los Angeles.

And just like that, Black women became the face of women's basketball.

2nd quarter

1990s

The Titans

Led by Stanford University's Women's Basketball head coach, Tara VanDerveer, the 1996 U.S. Women's Basketball team consisted of: 

Teresa Edwards, Ruthie Bolton-Holifield, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Katrina McClain, Dawn Staley, Jennifer Azzi, Carla McGhee, Katy Steding, Rebecca Lobo, Venus Lacy, and Nikki McCray. 

The National team embarked on a 52-game pre-Olympic tour to prepare for the summer games to ensure they took home nothing less than gold. They traveled across the world, playing multiple colleges and countries, beating every single opponent. 

Their Olympic run was no different. The team went undefeated and, as expected, won gold. In total, pre-Olympic and Olympic, the team went 60-0 that summer. 

“WE GOT NEXT”

Before the '90s, the only option women had to play professional basketball after college was overseas. While there were attempts to create long-standing leagues, like the Women's Basketball Association and American Basketball League, none of them amounted to more than a few years. The Women's Basketball League started in 1978, but due to roadblocks, it had disbanded by 1981.

So, the timing of this successive league couldn't have been better. After being undefeated in the '96 Olympics, the women's team picked up where they left off and began introducing the Women's National Basketball Association, aka the WNBA, to the world.

The WNBA started in 1997 with an inaugural eight teams. The Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, and the New York Liberty made up the Eastern Conference. And on the other side of the states, the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and Utah Starzz rounded out the West.

The NBA owned all franchises until 2002, when they opened ownership to any groups, making the league untethered to NBA teams.

The WNBA has undergone many changes - the game's structure, franchises folding (most shockingly, the Comets in 2008), and multiple dynasties beginning and ending. Still, above all, superstars have remained on the main stage.

That's where I got my passion for the game, watching the WNBA on TV. Cynthia Cooper, Raise the Roof, We Got Next, I was into all of it.

—Maya Moore

3RD QUARTER

2000s

DYNASTY

As the WNBA entered its second decade, super teams were establishing themselves as new rulers of the court. Players were becoming household names and national sensations as they began to take over the league.

Houston Comets

Led by their big three, Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, and Sheryl Swoopes, the Comets solidified themselves as the first dynasty of the WNBA by winning the first four championships of the league, 1997 - 2000.

LA Sparks

The Sparks, with Lisa Leslie as their pilot, won back to back chips in 2001 and 2002. They won again in 2016, defeating the Minnesota Lynx, with the help of Candace Parker and Nneka Ogumike.

Minnesota Lynx

The Minnesota Lynx had their own superhero in Maya Moore. Moore, the  #1 draft pick out of UCONN, and the winningest WNBA player of all time, led the Lynx to four championships, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017.

4TH QUARTER

2020s

The Wubble

In 2020, the league had to modify the season due to Covid-19. They pivoted to an abbreviated season in a quarantined area, closed to fans and family, known as The Wubble.

The Wubble, unbeknownst to anyone at the time, turned basketball on its head by centering games in social justice and advocacy.

One of the biggest triumphs of the season, spearheaded by the Atlanta Dream, was the Vote Warnock push. The WNBA decided to dedicate the 2020 season to Black Lives Matter, given the past and recent murders. At the time, Atlanta Dream owner and U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler criticized the decision, claiming it to be "divisive," promoting "violence and antisemitism." In addition to being a presidential election year, 2020 included runoff races in Georgia, where Loeffler, the incumbent Senator of Georgia, was up for re-election. Shortly after Loeffler's vocal criticism, the Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury showed up to their game wearing black shirts with the text "VOTE WARNOCK" on the front. Raphael Warnock was the Democratic challenger and Loeffler's direct competition. From there, the rest of the league began to wear the same shirts, and the "Vote Warnock" movement spilled into social media. This visibility, along with the grassroots work of Stacey Abrams and others, made Warnock Georgia's first Black senator.

Related, later on in the season, the league released a statement pushing for immediate action in the murders of Black women: Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Michelle Cusseaux, Shelly Frey, Korryn Gaines, India Kager, Kayla Moore, Layleen Polanco, and Michelle Shirley.

Yet, advocacy within the WNBA isn't new, and demanding change and defining action isn't either.

Running it back to 2016, WNBA players wore "Change Starts With Us" shirts to protest the police killings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. On top of their already small salary, they were fined for steering from regulated warm-ups.

Looking ahead

It's a tale as old as time; every decade introduces a new set of stars and changes to the game. With the league entering its 26th year, ratings are up, player and brand collaborations are aplenty, and contracts are beginning to be equitable.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which governs the league's contracts, increased player salaries by almost 53%. For the first time in the history of the WNBA, player salaries will eclipse six figures, with headliners receiving upwards of $500,000 per year.

The New School of icons --A'ja Wilson (who was coached by Dawn Staley at the University of South Carolina), Kahleah Copper, Arike Ogunbowale, Liz Cambage, and others -- are now household names. The league has expanded to twelve teams (East: Atlanta Drea, Chicago Sky, Indiana Fever, Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty, and the Washington Mystics. West: Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks, Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury, Minnesota Lynx, and Dallas Wings).

With so much progress made since 40 years ago when the Lady Techsters won the first NCAA Women's Basketball tournament, it's clear there's no slowing us down.

It wasn’t just about me. There’s a bigger meaning for every little girl who had dreams of playing professional basketball.

—Sheryl Swoopes