However, despite fielding competitive teams and having decent attendance for most games, the Gund family decided they did not wish to operate the Rockers after the 2003 season. However, the Rockers lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA semi-finals (before the WNBA split the playoffs by conference).After the 2002 season, the Gunds decided to buy the Rockers from the WNBA, seemingly ensuring the Rockers’ future. The CLEVELAND ROCKERS were Cleveland's first professional women's basketball franchise. The team folded after the 2003 season as the league was not able to find new ownership for the team.Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. The first two players named to the team were Iowa's Michelle Edwards and Louisiana Tech's Janice Lawrence Braxton, both of whom were playing professionally in Italy at the time. In 1997, they started with such players like Isabelle Fijalkowski and former Harlem Globetrotters member Lynette Woodard, who had been the first female player in Globetrotter history.The Rockers finished 15-13 in the first WNBA season ever, missing the playoffs in 1997. That same year, the Rockers lost their leading scorer and center, Isabelle Fijalkowski, due to a contractual dispute. The team reached the playoffs again in 2001, losing to Charlotte in the first round. No local ownership was found for the team, forcing the Rockers to fold. On September 19 of that year, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to discontinue operation of the Rockers, in part because of declining home game attendance (averaging 7,400 per game in 2003, down from a high of 10,350 in 1998) and financial losses. On October 31, 1996, the Women's National Basketball Association announced that Cleveland and seven other cities would be awarded franchises to open the inaugural 28-game summer season in … Cleveland Rockers.
Every Sports Reference Social Media Account. The owner was Gordon Gund, who at the time also owned the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Guitar-bats on the jerseys and all that. In October 2003, Gund announced that his Gund Arena Company would no longer operate the Rockers.

The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997. That year, they beat the New York Liberty in their final game to claim the Eastern Conference title but would lose to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA semi-finals. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in 1997.

In October 2002, the Board of Governors of the National Basketball Association voted to restructure the WNBA, meaning that Cleveland Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund now controlled the Rockers, rather than the national organization.In 2003, the Rockers finished with a 17-17 record, losing to the Detroit Shock in the first round of the playoffs.
Eva Nemcova led the league in three-point shooting and helped the Rockers achieve a WNBA-best 46.8 shooting percentage.Following a rocky third season in 1999 (holding the worst record in the WNBA at 7-25), Hill-McDonald was fired by General Manager Wayne Embry. The Cleveland Rockers were a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, Ohio, that played from 1997 until 2003. In their second year in 1998, the Rockers finished the season with the second best record in the WNBA at 19-11. Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so this one is seamless enough. Dan Hughes, the assistant and interim coach of the Charlotte Sting, took over as head coach in October 1999. In February 1997, the Cleveland Cavaliers unveiled the name and logo for the Cleveland Rockers - using the team colors of the men's team with the addition of silver.

In May, Linda Hill-McDonald, the head coach at University of Minnesota and former president of the Women's Basketball Coaches of America, became the first head coach for the Rockers.The team opened the inaugural season with a disappointing 3-8 start, but turned things around to finish with a 15-13 record. But disappointment returned in 2002, as the Rockers finished with a 10-22 record, the second worst in the league for that year. With Hughes' direction and the leadership of Merlakia Jones, the team's lone All-Star, the Rockers returned to the semi-finals in the 2000 season before losing to New York. In 1998, the Rockers went 20-10 and won the Eastern Conference title. 1997 – 2003 / Women’s National Basketball Association

The Rockers ceased operation after 7 seasons, posting an all-time record of 108-112. Lynette Woodard, a basketball legend who was the first woman to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, came out of retirement to join the Rockers. Index of Cleveland Rockers seasons. Krokus had … This wouldn’t happen again until 2008 when the Houston Comets ceased operations because of lack of ownership.The Cleveland Rockers were a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, Ohio, that played from 1997 until 2003. Despite efforts by local fans to recruit new investors to take over ownership of the team, the Rockers disbanded, with players sent to other teams in a dispersal draft held in January 2004. The city of Cleveland was granted one of the original 8 franchises of the WNBA. The Rockers' second round pick that year, Suzie McConnell Serio, was named Newcomer of the Year, received the WNBA's Sportsmanship Award, and was a member of the all-WNBA first team. Site Last … The owner was Gordon Gund, who at the time also owned the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. The Rockers won the second pick in the first WNBA draft and selected Eva Nemcova, a player from the Czech Republic who was voted the best European player in 1996. The Rockers lost to the New York Liberty in overtime in a season finale that put an end to their playoff hopes.


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