‘Baby, that city was electric!’: when the Houston Comets ruled the WNBA

In 1997, the Comets defied the odds to win the league’s inaugural championship. From clashing stars and run-ins with Hakeem Olajuwon to city parades and mourning Princess Diana on title night, this is the story of their historic season

Fran Harris remembers a late-night dinner in Sacramento. Her Houston Comets squad had just dispatched the lowly Monarchs by 10 points. To celebrate, she and a few teammates, including Cynthia Cooper, Tammy Jackson and Kim Perrot, decided to grab a bite. Cooper had scored 44 in the 25 July 1997 contest, and her talents dazzled even her dinner companions.

“I said to Cynthia, ‘I just cannot believe how great you’re playing – and I know how great you are!’” Harris tells the Guardian. “And she goes, ‘I know!’ She was just, like, Yeah, I’m the motherfucker! I was like, ‘You absolutely are!’”