'It really had all come to life': Leslie, Lobo and...
Key takeaways
- "Some of it is a blur," Ackerman, the first president of the WNBA, told ESPN last week.
- The New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks, two of the new league's eight teams, were meeting.
- Leslie won the opening tip over New York's Kym Hampton, Los Angeles' Penny Toler scored the first basket, and the Liberty won 67-57 as history was made.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo, who would both later be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, played in the WNBA's first game on June 21, 1997. Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images Michael Voepel Jun 19, 2026, 07:00 AM ETClose Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.Follow on XMultiple Authors Email Print Open Extended Reactions As the sun rose on the longest day of 1997, Val Ackerman felt flooded with excitement and nerves. It was the Summer Solstice -- Saturday, June 21 -- and the inaugural game of the new women's pro basketball league, the WNBA, was tipping off that day at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California.
"Some of it is a blur," Ackerman, the first president of the WNBA, told ESPN last week. "I'm sure we got there really early."
The New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks, two of the new league's eight teams, were meeting. Sparks center Lisa Leslie and Liberty center Rebecca Lobo, two of the first three players who had signed with the WNBA, were squaring off in the frontcourt.