Lisa Leslie smiled and held her trophy high above her head as the crowd's deafening cheers filled Madison Square Garden. The 6-5 center for the Los Angeles Sparks said she felt it an honor to be the first ever WNBA All-Star MVP. "It's a great feeling and opportunity to win MVP," Leslie said in an online chat following the game. "Because out of all the other players that could've won they chose me."
Although the WNBA is in it's third season, this is the first year they have held an All-Star game. Ten starters were named on July 1999. For the West team, Cynthia Cooper, a guard from the New York Liberty; Sheryl Swoops, a forward from the Houston Comets; Tina Thompson, a forward from the Houston Comets; Michele Timms, a guard from the Phoenix Mercury; and Lisa Leslie were voted in by fans. Kym Hampton, a center from New York; Chamique Holdsclaw, a forward from the Washington Mystics; Rebecca Lobo, a forward from the New York Liberty; Nikki McCray, a guard from the Mystics; and Teresa Weatherspoon, a guard from New York were nominated for the East. Rebecca Lobo was replaced by Vickie Johnson, a forward from the Liberty, whom Val Ackerman chose. Rebecca tore her ACL in the first game of the season, and is on injured reserve.
The game was sold out with 18, 649 people in attendance, and for a good reason. The game was fast-paced and exciting. The West took off right from the start, with a 10-0 lead. Cynthia Cooper raised the lead even more converting a three-point play with a little over 14 minutes to go in the half, making the score 17-2.
The West had a major size advantage over the East, and used that to it's fullest, out rebounding the East 48-36. "There wasn't much we could do to combat their size advantage," East coach Linda Hill-MacDonald told Reporters. "We had three post players, they had five. I tried to rotate them as best as I could. You just put them in there and let them play."
Chamique Holdsclaw went out in the first half with a broken finger, and did not return to the game. "I think it was within the first three minutes," Chamique said. "It was the first time I went in. I was starting the game and Teresa Weatherspoon passed me the ball and Michele Timms tried to steal it and the ball just hit me dead on the tip of my finger."
