Houston Comets

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Houston Comets
Houston Comets logo
Conference Western Conference
Founded 1997
Arena Toyota Center
City Houston, Texas
Team Colors Red, Blue
Owner Hilton Koch
General Manager Karleen Thompson
Head Coach Karleen Thompson
WNBA Championships 4 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
Conference Titles 4 (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
Mascot Haley [1]

The Houston Comets are a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas. Formed in 1997, the team is one of the original WNBA teams and after winning four championships in the first four years of the league's existence, the Comets are also the first dynasty of the WNBA. They have also won more championships than any other team in the WNBA.

The Comets are also known for their roster of women's basketball stars. The team had the WNBA's first WNBA MVP in Cynthia Cooper, college and national team standout Sheryl Swoopes and college star Tina Thompson.

The Comets are the sister team of the Houston Rockets.

Uniforms:

  • Red, white and blue home with a C simulating a comet, name comets in white and a WNBA basketball. Red and blue on the road

Contents

The Comets were one of the original teams in the WNBA. They capped off a good inaugural season in 1997 with a win over the New York Liberty in the WNBA championship game to win the WNBA's first championship. When the league expanded the next season, the Comets were moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. In 1998, they repeated the championship, although by then the championship game had been extended into a three game championship series. They beat the Phoenix Mercury in the Finals that year.

In 1999, led by what was already known as the Big Three, (Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson), the Comets survived a highlight film last second, court to court game winning shot by the Liberty's Teresa Weatherspoon in Game 2 of the finals to beat the Liberty in three games and win their third straight title, this one after the death of teammate Kim Perrot, who died of cancer.

In 2000, the Comets went all the way to the Finals again, and beat the Liberty in two games to win their fourth title in a row, becoming known as a sports dynasty. But after losing Cooper to retirement in 2001, they were able to reach only the quarterfinals, and in 2002, when Swoopes was injured most of the year with a broken ankle, they lost at the Quarterfinals again. They missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2004, but earned a playoff berth in 2005.

After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs to the Sacramento Monarchs in 2006, the Comets underwent major front-office changes during the off-season. In October 2006, team owner Leslie Alexander (who also owns the NBA's Houston Rockets team) announced he was selling the Comets, and longtime Head Coach Van Chancellor resigned in January 2007. On January 31, 2007, the WNBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the team to Hilton Koch, a Houston-based mattress and furniture businessman. Two weeks later, Comets assistant coach Karleen Thompson was named to become the team's new Head Coach and General Manager for the 2007 season.

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win-Loss %

Season W L % Playoffs Results
Houston Comets
1997 18 10 .643 Won WNBA Semifinals
Won WNBA Finals
Houston 70, Charlotte 54
Houston 65, New York 51
1998 27 3 .900 Won WNBA Semifinals
Won WNBA Finals
Houston 2, Charlotte 0
Houston 2, Phoenix 1
1999 26 6 .813 Won Conference Finals
Won WNBA Finals
Houston 2, Los Angeles 1
Houston 2, New York 1
2000 27 5 .844 Won First Round
Won Conference Finals
Won WNBA Finals
Houston 2, Sacramento 0
Houston 2, Los Angeles 0
Houston 2, New York 0
2001 19 13 .594 Lost First Round Los Angeles 2, Houston 0
2002 24 8 .750 Lost First Round Utah 2, Houston 1
2003 20 14 .588 Lost First Round Sacramento 2, Houston 1
2004 13 21 .382
2005 19 15 .559 Won First Round
Lost Conference Finals
Houston 2, Seattle 1
Sacramento 2, Houston 0
2006 18 16 .529 Lost First Round Sacramento 2, Houston 0
Totals 211 111 .655
Playoffs 20 14 .588 4 WNBA Championships

Stats updated August 20, 2006

1997-2007 Leslie Alexander (still owner of Houston Rockets)

2007- Hilton Koch

none

Houston Comets
Current Roster
Head Coach: Karleen Thompson Edit
Pos. No. Name College
G 15 Roneeka Hodges Florida State
G 55 Anastasia Kostaki Greece
C 33 Yelena Leuchanka West Virginia
C 21 Sancho Lyttle Houston
G-F 9 Hamchétou Maïga-Ba Old Dominion
C-F 24 Tari Phillips Central Florida
C 2 Michelle Snow Tennessee
G 5 Dawn Staley Virginia
F 22 Sheryl Swoopes Texas Tech
F 7 Tina Thompson USC
F 8 Mistie Williams Duke
(IL) - Inactive List

Head Coaches:

Women's National Basketball Association
Eastern Conference Western Conference
Chicago Sky | Connecticut Sun | Detroit Shock | Indiana Fever | New York Liberty | Washington Mystics Houston Comets | Los Angeles Sparks | Minnesota Lynx | Phoenix Mercury | Sacramento Monarchs | San Antonio Silver Stars | Seattle Storm
Defunct teams: Charlotte Sting | Cleveland Rockers | Miami Sol | Portland Fire
Media: WNBA on ESPN | List of WNBA Finals broadcasters
Other Women's Leagues: National Women's Basketball League | Women's National Basketball League (Australia)
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