The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), America's premier women's professional basketball league, was officially founded on April 24, 1996, as the counterpart to the NBA, with its inaugural season beginning in June 1997. Fully backed by the NBA, the league launched with stars like Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and Sheryl Swoopes, quickly establishing dominance over its rival, the American Basketball League, which later ceased operations.

The Houston Comets, led by MVP Cynthia Cooper, dominated the initial championships, while the WNBA rapidly expanded from 8 to 16 teams by 2000 and secured the first collective bargaining agreement in women's professional sports in 1999. Currently comprising 13 teams, with plans to expand to 18 by 2030, the league's regular season runs from May to September, culminating in the WNBA Finals each October.