Three times the ladies: The Houston Comets still are the only champions the WNBA has ever known (Photo: AP)

In 1999 the league's chief competition, the ABL, folded the year before and after the NBA lockout resulted in an abbreviated NBA season, the WNBA started to come into its own. Four teams had been added since the 1997 season, bringing the number of teams in the league up to 12. The drafting of University of Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw before the season signaled a new youth movement in a league that had traditionally been comprised of international/college veterans.
The 1999 season also began with the signing of the collective bargaining agreement between players and the league - the first collective bargaining agreement to be signed in the history of women's professional sports.
The league added two more teams, the Minnesota Lynx and Orlando Miracle, in 1999.

Houston Comets - WNBA Champions 1999
Head Coach: Van Chancellor
* Cynthia Cooper (Finals MVP)
* Sheryl Swoopes
* Tina Thompson
* Polina Tzekova
* Janeth Arcain
Monica Lamb
Sonja Henning
Tammy Jackson
Amaya Valdemoro
Jennifer Rizzotti
Kara Wolters
Mila Nikolich

WNBA Awards 1999:
WNBA Most Valuable Player: Yolanda Griffith, Sacramento Monarchs
WNBA Finals MVP: Cynthia Cooper, Houston Comets
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year: Yolanda Griffith, Sacramento Monarchs
WNBA Rookie of the Year: Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington Mystics
WNBA Coach of the Year: Van Chancellor, Houston Comets
WNBA Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award Winners: Dawn Staley, Charlotte Sting
All-WNBA 1st Team:
Natalie Williams, Utah
Sheryl Swoopes, Houston
Yolanda Griffin, Sacramento
Yicha Penicherio, Sacramento
Cynthia Cooper, Houston
All-WNBA 2nd Team:
Chamique Holdsclaw, Washington
Tina Thompson, Houston
Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles
Teresa Weatherspoon, New York
Shannon Johnson, Orlando

WNBA Finals 1999:
Houston Comets - New York 2-1

WNBA All-Star Game 1999
July 14, 1999 Madison Square Garden (New York) West 79 East 61 18,649
Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks earned Most Valuable Player honors with 13 points as the Western Conference rolled to a 79-61 victory over the East in the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game.
Before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden, Leslie and the Houston Comets' tandem of Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes combined for 21 points in the first half, when the West jumped to a 10-0 lead and never looked back.
East
Teresa Weatherspoon G New York 5-8 161 Louisiana Tech '88
Nikki McCray G Washington 5-11 158 Tennessee '95
Kym Hampton C New York 6-2 210 Arizona State '84
Chamique Holdsclaw F Washington 6-2 167 Tennessee '99
Vicky Bullett F Charlotte 6-3 185 Maryland '89
Sandy Brondello G Detroit 5-7 136 Australia
Shannon Johnson G Orlando 5-7 144 South Carolina '96
Vickie Johnson F New York 5-9 150 Louisiana Tech '96
Merlakia Jones G Cleveland 5-9 147 Florida '95
Rebecca Lobo* C New York 6-4 185 Connecticut '95
Taj McWilliams F Orlando 6-2 184 St. Edwards '93
Nykesha Sales G Orlando 6-0 181 Connecticut '98
West
Cynthia Cooper G Houston 5-10 150 USC '86
Michele Timms G Phoenix 5-7 132 Australia
Sheryl Swoopes F Houston 6-0 145 Texas Tech '93
Tina Thompson F Houston 6-2 178 USC '97
Lisa Leslie C Los Angeles 6-5 170 USC '94 (MVP)
Ruthie Bolton-Holifield F Sacramento 5-9 150 Auburn '89
Tonya Edwards G Minnesota 5-10 178 Tennessee '90
Jennifer Gillom F Phoenix 6-3 180 Mississippi '86
Yolanda Griffith C Sacramento 6-3 176 Florida Atlantic '93
Ticha Penicheiro G Sacramento 5-11 158 Old Dominion '98
Natalie Williams F Utah 6-2 217 UCLA '94