1998 WNBA season
| 1998 WNBA season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | May – September |
| Games | 30 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Total attendance | 1,630,315 |
| Average attendance | 10,869 |
| TV partner/s | ESPN, NBC, Lifetime |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Margo Dydek |
| Picked by | Utah Starzz |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Cynthia Cooper (Houston) |
| Stat leaders | |
| Points | C. Cooper (22.7) |
| Rebounds | L. Leslie (10.2) |
| Assists | T. Penicheiro (7.5) |
| Playoffs | |
| East champions | none due to setup |
| East runners-up | Cleveland Rockers |
| West champions | Houston Comets, Phoenix Mercury |
| West runners-up | none due to setup |
| Finals | |
| Finals champions | Houston Comets |
| Runners-up | Phoenix Mercury |
| Finals MVP | Cynthia Cooper (Houston) |
| WNBA seasons | |
The 1998 WNBA season was the Women's National Basketball Association's second season. The 1998 season saw two expansion teams join the league, the Detroit Shock and Washington Mystics. The expansion teams allowed the defending champions Houston Comets to move to the Western Conference. The regular season was extended from 28 games to 30 games. The season ended with the Comets winning their second WNBA championship.
Regular season standings
Eastern Conference
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Rockers x | 20 | 10 | .667 | 12–4 | – |
| Charlotte Sting x | 18 | 12 | .600 | 11–5 | 2.0 |
| New York Liberty o | 18 | 12 | .600 | 8–8 | 2.0 |
| Detroit Shock o | 17 | 13 | .567 | 8–8 | 3.0 |
| Washington Mystics o | 3 | 27 | .100 | 1–15 | 17.0 |
Western Conference
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Comets x | 27 | 3 | .900 | 15–1 | – |
| Phoenix Mercury x | 19 | 11 | .633 | 10–6 | 8.0 |
| Los Angeles Sparks o | 12 | 18 | .400 | 6–10 | 15.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs o | 8 | 22 | .267 | 5–11 | 19.0 |
| Utah Starzz o | 8 | 22 | .267 | 4–12 | 19.0 |
Season award winners
Playoffs
There were 10 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was switched to the Western Conference in 1997 so two Western Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Finals. Each round of the playoffs were played a best-of-three series.
| WNBA Semi-Finals Best of 3 | WNBA Finals Best of 3 | ||||||||
| W1 | Houston | 2 | |||||||
| E2 | Charlotte | 0 | |||||||
| W1 | Houston | 2 | |||||||
| W2 | Phoenix | 1 | |||||||
| W2 | Phoenix | 2 | |||||||
| E1 | Cleveland | 1 | |||||||