National Basketball AssociationNorth American professional basketball leagueThe National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world. The league is headquartered in New York City and Secaucus, New Jersey.
Women's National Basketball AssociationThe Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in North America composed of 15 teams (14 in the United States and 1 in Canada), scheduled to expand to 18 by 2030. The WNBA is one of the professional women's sports leagues in North America. The league is headquartered in New York City. The WNBA was founded on April 24, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA); league play began in 1997.
Utah StarsThe Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. HistoryPrior to moving to Utah (1967–1970)The team was founded as the Anaheim Amigos, a charter member of the ABA based in Anaheim, California. They played at the Anaheim Convention Center. The team's colors were orange and black.
San AntonioCity in Texas, United StatesCity in Texas, United StatesSan Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seventh-most populous city in the United States, the second-most populous city in Texas (after Houston), and the second-most populous city in the Southern U.S., with a population of 1.43 million at the 2020 census.Utah JazzThe Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the team has played its home games at the Delta Center, an arena they share with the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Olympia ScottAmerican basketball player (born 1976) Olympia Scott (born Olympia Ranee Scott; August 5, 1976), formerly known under her married name of Olympia Scott-Richardson, is an American former professional basketball player in the WNBA, and a former college coach. Early life Olympia Ranee Scott was born on August 5, 1976, in Los Angeles, California. She was named a Kodak High School All-American by the WBCA.1997 WNBA seasonThe 1997 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's inaugural season. It started off with 8 franchises: Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs, and the Utah Starzz. It featured an inaugural game between the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks lost to the New York Liberty, 67–57. The attendance at the Forum was 14,284.Kristen RasmussenKristen Rasmussen (born November 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player in the WNBA, also playing for of Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania. Born in Lansing, Michigan, Rasmussen attended college at Michigan State University and graduated in 2000. While playing for the Spartans, Rasmussen set the school record for blocked shots with 194. She averaged 12.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in her career.
American Basketball AssociationThe American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association throughout its existence. The second of two leagues established in the 1960s after the American Basketball League, the ABA was the more successful rival to the NBA.
Salt Lake CityState capital and largest city of Utah, U.S.State capital in Utah, United StatesSalt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The population was 199,723 at the 2020 census, while the Salt Lake City metropolitan area has an estimated 1.3 million residents and is the 46th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.Marie Ferdinand-HarrisMarie Ferdinand-Harris (born October 13, 1978) is an American professional basketball player most recently for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association.San Antonio StarsThe San Antonio Stars were a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; then moved to San Antonio before the 2003 season and became the San Antonio Silver Stars, then simply the San Antonio Stars in 2014.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.