The Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s have often been dubbed as the greatest team to have ever played in the NBA. Led by the great Michael Jordan, the team dominated an entire decade of basketball as they won 6 titles in the space of 8 years. Achieving two 3-peats during the time, the Bulls also became one of only 4 NBA teams to ever achieve a 3-peat as they became a feared entity across the league. The trio of MJ, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman was one that tyrannized the NBA and helped the league become a global event. While Michael Jordan and the Bulls cemented the NBA as a worldwide phenomenon Kobe Bryant’s LA Lakers took the league to another level as they became the last side to achieve a 3-peat in the NBA.

Doing so under the stewardship of former Bulls coach Phil Jackson, Bryant and the Lakers went on a storming run between 2000-2002 as they won three titles in a row. Unlike the 90’s Bulls, the LA Lakers didn’t have a trio to rely on, but they had undoubtedly the greatest duo in NBA history as Kobe alongside Shaquille O’Neal dominated the league during the early 2000’s. While the Bull’s and the Lakers each have a three peat none of the sides could achieve a fourth consecutive title as they both failed to reach the NBA Finals during their quadruple attempt. Although winning 4 titles in a row may seem impossible to many the feat was achieved in the WNBA during its initial seasons as one team attained the glory that both MJ’s Bulls and Bean’s Lakers couldn’t.

WNBA team achieves unprecedented feat

The WNBA was founded on April 22nd, 1996, as then NBA commissioner David Stern looked to compete with the newly formed American Basketball League. Beginning its inaugural season with 8 teams, the league was supposed to provide a platform and elite competition for women’s basketball but what audiences got in return was pure one-sided domination. During the first 4 years of its existence, the league had one champion in the Houston Comets as they achieved a feat which neither MJ’s Bulls nor Kobe’s Lakers could achieve in a quadruple-title. Their dominance between 1997-2000 was mainly down to their big three of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson as they led the team to 4 straight titles in as many years. While the Comets controlled the league star Cynthia Cooper was the guiding light of the franchise as the 4x champion won the Finals MVP four times while claiming the regular season MVP twice. This feat made Cooper a fan favorite in Houston as the Comets became the first women’s professional team to ever visit the White House.

During the first season of the WNBA the Comets were placed in the Eastern Conference and defeated the Charlotte Sting in the playoffs to set up a Finals match up against the NY Liberty. Winning the one-legged tie by a score of 65-51 the Comets were crowned the first ever WNBA champions in The Summit Arena in Houston and that kickstarted a domination that lasted almost half a decade. The second season saw the Comets be moved to the Western Conference as new teams joined the division to help up the ante. While many expected the newly revamped league to provide a different result the Comets took advantage of their new conference and set a .900 winning record of 27-3 a feat that still stands tall to this day. The second season also saw a change in the playoffs structure as the one-legged fixture was disbanded in favor of a three-game series which meant team would need to win 2 games in order to win the championship. Despite this change the Comets swept the Charlotte Sting once again in the 1st round before meeting the Phoenix Mercury in the Finals. Losing the first game by a score of 54-51 it seemed like the Mercury would clinch the second ever WNBA crown but a late OT victory in Game 2 saw a resurgent Comets beat the Mercury in Game 3 giving the side their second WNBA title.

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The 1999 season wasn’t as successful as the previous year as the Comets lost 8 games during the season, but it was the loss of former player Kim Perot to cancer that made the entire year a grim one for the Comets faithful. Despite the sudden loss of their teammate the team rallied together to win the three-peat as they defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in the playoffs before dispatching the NY Liberty in 3 games during the Finals. With their third title in the bag many believed that was the end of the Comets dynasty, a 2nd place finish in their division that year didn’t help the cause further but under the stewardship of MVP winner Sheryl Swoopes the Comets exceeded all expectations and swept through the Playoffs and Finals making them the greatest WNBA side of all time. Their triumphant season would serve as Cynthia Cooper’s last as she retired at the end of the season. Their 2000 win would also be the last time that they ever reached the WNBA Finals as the team that achieved what NBA greats couldn’t slowly faded into obscurity and folded in 2008.

While the NY Liberty make their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2002 with $24 million Nike stalwart Sabrina Ionescu leading the line, one can’t help but wonder what could have been of the Houston Comets had they not folded? I guess we’ll never know.

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