Silver Stars

San Antonio Spurs & Womens National Basketball Association

The San Antonio Silver Stars are a team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in San Antonio, Texas. They are one of the original eight founding teams in the WNBA.
Originally based in Salt Lake City, Utah under the name the Utah Starzz, the team moved to Texas in 2003. The Stars are the sister team of the San Antonio Spurs.

The Utah Starzz Years (1997-2002)

They held the distinction of having the worst recond in the WNBA in 1997 and were the first team to select in the 1998 WNBA Draft. Unfortunately, the pick did little to help their cause and they again finished near to bottom of the league in the 1998-99 seasons. The Starzz finally posted a winning record in 2000, but did not make the playoffs. In 2001 the Starzz made it to the playoffs, for the first time, but they were quickly swept in the first round and in 2002 their playoffs ended in Western Finals.

Relocation to San Antonio

When the NBA divested itself of all of its WNBA franchises at the end of the 2002 season, the Utah Jazz owner did not wish to retain ownership of the Starzz. The Starzz then looked for local Utah potential buyers, but none were found, leaving the franchise with the choices of either being sold to out-of-town investor(s) or folding.
The Starzz avoided being folded when the franchise was sold to Peter Holt (the owner of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs) and relocated to San Antonio, Texas. The team's name was changed to San Antonio Silver Stars and change its team colors to the silver and black motif used by the Spurs.

The San Antonio Silver Stars (2003-Present)

For the first four seasons (2003-06) after moving to San Antonio, the franchise was unable to change its old losing trend. The 2007 season brought a lot of change for Silver Stars. They acquired stars Becky Hammon, Ruth Riley, and Sandora Irvin in trades, selected Helen Darling in Charlotte Sting's disperal draft, signed Erin Buescher during the off-season, and retained key players, such as Vickie Johnson, Sophia Young, and Shanna Crossley. The new-look Silver Stars become an instant contender in the Western Conference. The Stars clinched their first playoff berth since the franchise relocated to San Antonio in 2003. Their had the #2 seed in the Western Conference but lose to the #1 seed. Heading into 2008, the Stars were regarded as a premiere contender with Ann Wauters, and did not disappoint. After an average start, the Stars siezed control of the Western Conference and rode to the best record and the #1 seed in the West. And won the Western
Conference Championship for the first time in franchise history.