The Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) is a league that began in 2017 with seven teams. It now has over 20 teams across the country. Season 4 was cancelled in the face of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in 2020. There have been previous women's professional basketball leagues in the United States known by the same name and a similar name, the Women's Basketball Association, some of which are described below, but the current league is not a continuation of any of those and is unrelated to them in any way other than by similarity of name and the sport played.

WABA (1984)

The first Women's American Basketball Association was founded by Bill Byrne, founder of the

Women's Professional Basketball League The Women's Professional Basketball League (abbreviated WBL) was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league was the first professional w ...

(WBL), in hopes of cashing in on the USA Olympic team's success in Los Angeles in 1984. While some talented players played in the league (including

Nancy Lieberman Nancy Elizabeth Lieberman (born July 1, 1958), nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thun ...

Molly Bolin "Machine Gun" Molly Bolin (born Monna Lea Van Benthuysen; November 13, 1957) is a retired American basketball player who mainly played for the Women's Professional Basketball League. Although her accomplishments for the most part went unrecognized ...

Pamela McGee Pamela Denise McGee (born December 1, 1962) is an American former professional women's basketball player, 2012 Women's Basketball Hall of Famer, and mother of two professional basketball players. She is the first WNBA mom to have a son and dau ...

and

Paula McGee Paula McGee (born December 1, 1962) is an American preacher, writer, inspirational speaker and former basketball player. She played college basketball for the University of Southern California where she won the NCAA championship in 1983 and 1984 ...

) most of the league's teams folded before the league championship, which was won by Dallas over Chicago.

WWBA/WBA (1992–95)

The

Women's Basketball Association The Women's Basketball Association (WBA or WWBA) was the first women's professional basketball summer league, operating from 1992 to 1995. The league was called the WWBA and WBA for the first All-Star tour in 1992, before settling on WBA. The pion ...

(WBA) was the first women's professional basketball summer league. The league was called the WWBA and WBA for the first All-Star tour in 1992, before settling on WBA. The pioneer league was formed in 1992 by Lightning N Mitchell and played three full seasons from 1993–95. The WBA played a 15-game schedule, and games were broadcast on Liberty Sports of Dallas. The All-Star games were also televised on

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

All-American Geri "Kay-Kay" Hart and Robelyn "Robbie" Garcia announced the game on Fox Radio and

was the TV announcer for the 1995 All-Star game. The WBA played three full seasons, with plans to play as a 12-team league in 1997, but disbanded before the season began. When Fox Sports purchased Liberty Sports and the WBA, they dissolved the league shortly after and sold off the franchising rights. The league was the first American professional women's basketball league to be successful as a summer league, like their counterpart

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). Guard

Laurie Byrd Laurie Byrd is a basketball coach and former basketball player from Flint, Michigan. She is sister to the professional boxer Chris Byrd. College A graduate of Hamady High School in Flint, Michigan, Byrd joined the Eastern Michigan Hurons women's ...

played for the WWBA, WBA, American Basketball League and the WNBA.

WBA Champions

* 1993 – Kansas Crusaders – MVP:

Robelyn Garcia Robelyn Annette Garcia (born September 16, 1965, in Phoenix, Arizona) is a former collegiate All-American and professional All-Star basketball player. Garcia currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was the Big Six Championship Game MVP on ...

* 1994 – Nebraska Express – MVP: Maurtice Ivy (Tice) * 1995 – Chicago Twisters – MVP: Diana Vines

1993 WBA regular season

;World Conference ;American Conference MVP: Sarah Campbell WBA 1st Round Playoffs
Missouri 2–1 over Iowa
Iowa 119, Missouri 103
Missouri 98, Iowa 93
Missouri 117, Iowa 112 (OT)

Kansas 2–0 over Oklahoma
Kansas 92, Oklahoma 77
Kansas 114, Oklahoma 64

Nebraska 2–0 over Illinois
Nebraska 166, Illinois 129
Nebraska 127, Illinois 115

WBA 2nd Round Playoffs
Kansas 2–0 over Missouri
Kansas 121, Missouri 97
Kansas 109, Missouri 99

1993 WBA Championship (best-of five)
Kansas 3–1 over Nebraska
Kansas 125, Nebraska 119
Nebraska 118, Kansas 100
Kansas 111, Nebraska 96
First WBA Championship: Kansas 100, Nebraska 98
MVP: Robelyn "Robbie" Garcia

1994 WBA regular season

;National Conference ;American Conference MVP: Evette Ott, Sarah Campbell WBA 1st Round Playoffs
Memphis 2–0 over St. Louis
Memphis 126, St. Louis 111
Memphis 122, St. Louis 110

Indiana 2–0 over Oklahoma
Indiana 107, Oklahoma 91
Indiana 103, Oklahoma 91

WBA 2nd Round Playoffs (Best out of 2 or the total number of points score in 2 games)
Memphis won series in Points (195–185)
Kansas City 98, Memphis 94
Memphis 101, Kansas City 87

Nebraska won series by winning 2–0 over Indiana
Nebraska 99, Indiana 89
Nebraska 91, Indiana 87

1994 WBA Championship (best-of five)
Nebraska 3–2 over Memphis
Memphis 102, Nebraska 101
Nebraska 123, Memphis 108
Memphis 138, Nebraska 128
Nebraska 111, Memphis 101
Nebraska 103, Memphis 101 MVP: Maurtice (Tice) Ivy

1995 WBA regular season

;National Conference ;American Conference MVP: Evette Ott, Sarah Campbell 1995 Last WBA Championship Game
Chicago 107, St. Louis 96
Co-MVP: Diana Vines & Petra Jackson

WABA (2001–02)

The Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) formed in 2001 and played one season in 2002. Six teams played in the league:

Allentown Crunch Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taz ...

Reading Rage Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus of ...

Schuylkill Syrens Schuylkill may refer to: Places * Schuylkill, Philadelphia, neighborhood in South Philadelphia * Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania * Schuylkill Expressway, portion of I-76 in Philadelphia * Schuylkill Gap, water gap through Blue Mountain in Pennsyl ...

, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Scream,

Wilmington Jaguars Wilmington may refer to: Places Australia *Wilmington, South Australia, a town and locality **District Council of Wilmington, a former local government area ** Wilmington railway line, a former railway line United Kingdom * Wilmington, Devon * ...

and

York City Noise York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...

. The 2002 championship game was played June 2, 2002, and won by the York City Noise. Meggan Yedsena (who went on to play for the

Colorado Chill The Colorado Chill were a professional women's basketball team playing in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) from 2004 to 2006. Based in Loveland, Colorado. They were Colorado's second and longest-lived women's pro basketball team. T ...

) led the Schuylkill Syrens in the league's inaugural season. Some of the teams made the transition to the

WEBA South Carolina Educational Television (branded as South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is owned and operated by ...

and continue to play semi-professional Basketball. Yedsena was the only player to play in both the 1990s WABA (for

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

) and the 2002 WABA.

WABA (2017–present)

Management of the modern-day men’s semi-professional

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA) are attempting to create a "new" WABA.

WABA Champions

Notable players

Janice Lawrence Braxton Janice Faye Lawrence Braxton (born June 7, 1962) is an American professional women's basketball player. She was born in Lucedale, Mississippi. Braxton was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. College Braxton played college ...

, Molly Bolin,

and

Krista Blunk Krista Lee Blunk acts as a play-by-play broadcaster or an analyst for Pac-12 Network, Westwood One, and ESPN covering women's soccer, women's volleyball, softball, and women's basketball. In addition to the networks above, she has been a sideline re ...

, Lisa Braddy,

, Sarah Campbell, Lisa Carlsen, Joy Champ, Surina Dixon, Cledella Evans, Crystal Flint, Robbie Garcia, Kay Kay Hart, Michelle Clark-Heard, Patty Jo Hedges, Petra Jackson, Patrice Marshall, Evette Ott,

Angie Paccione Angela Veronica "Angie" Paccione (born February 21, 1960) is a former Colorado legislator and was a 2006 Congressional candidate. A college basketball player at Stanford and professional basketball player in the 1980s, Paccione became a high ...

, Lynn Page, Lisa Sandbothe, Danielle Shareef, Melissa Stanford, Lisa Tate, Diana Vines, Tammy Williams, Cynthia Wilson, and Meggan Yedsena

References

External links

1995 All-Star Photos

Beckett Cards

Professional basketball research

WABA 2002 news by OurSportsCentral

Women's Pro Basketball
video {{Major women's sport leagues in North America 2002 establishments in the United States Women's basketball leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States