What It Was Really Like To Play In The WNBA’s First Season

When Kym Hampton played professional basketball overseas in the 1980s and ’90s, little girls didn't wear her jersey. “They didn’t even make them,” she says.

Then came the WNBA. The league formed in 1996 with eight teams, and the following year, Hampton became the New York Liberty’s first-ever draft pick. During the inaugural game in Los Angeles on June 21, 1997, the 35-year-old center took the opening tip against the LA Sparks’ Lisa Leslie. It was her first time on national television.

“I remember both teams being extremely nervous,” says Hampton, now 63. “Everyone was missing shots that they may have normally made. We realized, ‘Oh my God, the world is watching us.’”

The Liberty won 67–57 that night, ushering in a new era of women’s pro basketball. “The salaries weren’t a lot, but we didn’t care,” she says. (In 1997, WNBA salaries were capped at $50,000; today, the average player earns $583,000.) “We didn’t know any different. We just felt like, ‘Finally.’”

Hampton helped the Liberty reach the championship series in 1997, 1999, and 2000, and was the starting center at the inaugural All-Star Game in 1999. Nearly three decades later, she’s deeply proud of her role as a trailblazer but clear-eyed that early players didn’t get their due.

“We just understood the call to action to step up, to make sure that it was the best, and to soak it all in,” she says. “But we had fun. We were just excited to be there.”As the WNBA celebrates its 30th season, the OG great opens up about the league’s early days, the naysayers who underestimated the Liberty, the team’s surprising practice facility, and what it was like sharing an arena with the “cursed” Knicks.

What was training for the inaugural season like? The Liberty’s coach, Nancy Darsch, was hired only 53 days out from the first game. Was it a whirlwind?

Practices could be long and grueling. Nancy came from the Ohio State Buckeyes and wanted more collegiate players. We had the oldest team in the league, and she was like, “I don’t know these old women coming in.” [Editor’s note: The average Liberty player was 29.] But when we went 7 and 0, she wouldn’t talk about that anymore. Rest in peace, Nancy.

What do you remember about the inaugural game?

The media had pinned Lisa Leslie and the Sparks as this star team, and we were just has-beens. I asked Nancy if I could defend Lisa starting out and allow Rebecca Lobo to defend someone else. It was a lot of pressure on Rebecca coming straight out of college. My teammates and I, we were true veterans, so we were protecting our babies. Nancy didn’t think I was tall enough, but I said, “Just let me try. In the first three minutes, if I’m not doing a good job, then switch me off.” She said OK. So, I had Lisa on lock, and she was my assignment from then on. So, we came out defensive-minded, playing hard. When we won, we were just ecstatic.

What was that first year like?

Finding a practice facility was tough. We were practicing at a Catholic middle school or something like that where the court was probably only three-quarters of a regular court. They didn’t give us cars. Here we are, the best players in the world, taking the subway.

You’re from Louisville, Kentucky. What was it like to play for New York?

It’s like that song: “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” New York has an energy, and the moment you step out of that airport, it’s like, “Let’s go, let’s move.” I remember being booed if you missed a box-out. New Yorkers, they keep it 100. They love hard, but if you are not doing it, they will let you know.

The fans did it up really big for us at our first home game in Madison Square Garden. We felt the love of that audience. I got the chance to see little girls wearing our jerseys.

How did that feel?

It was amazing, like, “Oh my gosh, I get an opportunity to be a role model.” After games, we would sign as many autographs as was necessary.

More than half of today’s WNBA players were born after the league was formed. How do you think growing up with a professional league changes the experience of being a young athlete?

I think it allows girls at a very young age to aspire to play at that level. It gives them a goal to work toward.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A singer. I didn’t even start playing organized sports until my freshman year of high school. The next summer, I was a lifeguard and played basketball with the boys in the park almost every day, and by senior year, I was the top female player in the state of Kentucky.

“You’re going to be a part of something really, really big. You’re not going to be able to benefit from it, but what you and the rest of the women are doing now is going to be so important. You are going to be a part of history.”

When you watch the Liberty play today, what goes through your head?

I feel like I’m still on that team. I get pissed off when they’re playing bad. I’m elated for them when they’re playing good. I cried when they won the championship in 2024 because I felt like, oh my God, we’re the only cornerstone team in the league that hadn’t won one yet. And before we got Sabrina Ionescu, we hadn’t had a No. 1 draft pick. So I was just like, is some bad mojo going on here?

You always heard stories with the Knicks that they’re cursed. I’m like, well, sh*t, we were in the building with them! Now they done put their curse on us. We both lifted that rumor and burned it to the ground.

Are you still in touch with any of your teammates?

Yeah, we have our own little group chat. Every game, we’re like, “What’s up with such-and-such? Y’all need to box out.” Spoon [Teresa Weatherspoon] and I, we were at All-Star Weekend together this year.

Did you see former President Obama there?

No, but I got a chance to do a couple of events with him when he was campaigning, and we did shooting contests with him. I’m left-handed like him, and when I knocked down my first three, he was like, “OK, Kym, I see you.” He came over and hugged me, high-fived me. It was really cool. But he was off that day. I was like, “Come on now, you got to hold it down for the lefties.”

If you could go back to 1997, what would you tell your former self?

You’re going to be a part of something really, really big. You’re not going to be able to benefit from it, but what you and the rest of the women are doing now is going to be so important. You are going to be a part of history.

I probably would be mad as well. After the season was over, they didn’t even cover our insurance. We had to pay for COBRA.

But also, I signed with Clique Models and Wilhelmina Models and did some plus-size modeling. I got a CoverGirl campaign. CBS did a halftime feature with me singing. I got a chance to live some of my dreams. So I probably would be like, “Oh my goodness, it’s not fair! But, OK.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.