The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association

Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

 (WNBA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season

1997 WNBA Season

-External links:*...

 as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

 where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars

San Antonio Silver Stars

The San Antonio Silver Stars are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; the team moved to San Antonio...

. The Starzz was the sister team to the NBA's Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

.

Franchise History

One of the eight original WNBA teams, the Starzz (partially named after the old ABA team, the Utah Stars

Utah Stars

The Utah Stars was an American Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.-History:...

, but with the zz at the end like the Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

) never met the same success as their (former) NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 counterpart, the Utah Jazz. They held the distinction of having the worst record in the WNBA in 1997 and were the first team to select in the 1998 WNBA Draft

WNBA Draft

The WNBA Draft is an annual draft held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. The first WNBA draft was held in 1997...

. With their selection, they picked 7 ft. 2 in. center Margo Dydek

Margo Dydek

Małgorzata Dydek , known as Margo Dydek in the United States, was a Polish international professional basketball player. Standing tall, she was famous for being the tallest active professional female basketball player in the world...

, who easily became the tallest player in WNBA history. Unfortunately, the pickup of Dydek did little to help their cause and they again finished near the bottom of the league in the 1998 & 1999 seasons. The Starzz finally posted a winning record in 2000, but did not make the playoffs. In 2001, the Utah Starzz made it to the playoffs for the first time, but they were quickly swept in the first round by the Sacramento Monarchs

Sacramento Monarchs

The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...

. In 2002, the Starzz made it to the playoffs again, and this time beat the Houston Comets

Houston Comets

The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...

 in the Western Conference Semifinals 2 games to 1. Their playoff run ended in the Western Finals, however, as they were swept aside by the eventual champs, the Los Angeles Sparks

Los Angeles Sparks

The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...

.

Relocation to San Antonio

After the 2002 WNBA season

2002 WNBA season

-External links:***...

, the NBA sold off all of the WNBA franchises to the operators of the teams. Utah Jazz ownership was not interested in keeping the Starzz. The team needed to find other ownership; if it did not, the Starzz had to fold. No local ownership was found, so in 2002, the Starzz announced their intentions to move out of Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

. On December 5, 2002, the Utah Starzz was bought by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, and it was announced that the Starzz would move immediately to San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

 and change their nickname to the Silver Stars.

Uniforms

• 1997–2002: For home games, white with blue on the sides and shoulders and white Starzz logo text on the chest. For away games, blue with purple on the sides and white Starzz logo text on the chest. The Starzz logo is on the shorts.

Season-by-season records

Season	Team	Conference		Regular season			Playoff WNBA Playoffs The WNBA Playoffs is a best-of-three elimination tournament between eight teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association , ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals....  Results
				W	L	PCT
Utah Starzz Utah Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
1997 1997 WNBA Season -External links:*...	1997 1997 Utah Starzz season The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Utah Starzz. The Starzz were partially named after the old ABA team, the Utah Stars, but with the zz at the end like the Utah Jazz)...	West Western Conference (WNBA) The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...	4th	7	21	.250
1998 1998 WNBA season -External links:**...	1998 1998 Utah Starzz season The 1998 WNBA season was the 2nd for the Utah Starzz. The team finished dead last in the West for the second consecutive season.-WNBA Draft:-Season schedule:-Player stats:-External links:*...	West Western Conference (WNBA) The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...	5th	8	22	.267
1999 1999 WNBA season -External links:**...	1999 1999 Utah Starzz season The 1999 WNBA season was the 3rd for the Utah Starzz. The Starzz finished last in the West, despite improving to a 15-17 mark.-WNBA Draft:-Season schedule:-Player stats:-External links:*...	West Western Conference (WNBA) The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...	6th	15	17	.469
2000 2000 WNBA season -External links:**...	2000 2000 Utah Starzz season The 2000 WNBA season was the 4th season for the Utah Starzz. The team finally finished the season with a winning record, but fell short for the WNBA Playoffs, falling two games back to the Phoenix Mercury.-Offseason:...	West Western Conference (WNBA) The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...	5th	18	14	.563
2001 2001 WNBA season -External links:**...	2001 2001 Utah Starzz season The 2001 WNBA season was the 5th season for the Utah Starzz. The Starzz entered the WNBA Playoffs for the first time in franchise history, where they lost in the first round to the Sacramento Monarchs.-WNBA Draft:-Season schedule:-Playoffs:-Player stats:...	West Western Conference (WNBA) The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...	3rd	19	13	.594	Lost Conference Semifinals (Sacramento Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009... , 0–2)
2002 2002 WNBA season -External links:***...	2002 2002 Utah Starzz season The 2002 WNBA season was the 6th season and their last in Utah. They won their first playoff series with a 1st round victory over the Houston Comets, but lost in a sweep to the Los Angeles Sparks in the West Finals. After the season, the team relocated to San Antonio, Texas to become the San...	West Western Conference (WNBA) The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...	3rd	20	12	.625	Won Conference Semifinals (Houston Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and... , 2–1) Lost Conference Finals (Los Angeles Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began... , 0–2)
Regular season				87	99	.468	0 Conference Championships
Playoffs				2	5	.286	0 WNBA Championships

Final Roster

{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background-color: #008080; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" | Utah Starzz roster
|- style="background-color:#483D8B; color:white; text-align: center;"
! Players !! Coaches
|-
| valign="top" |
{| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"
! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !! Ht. !! Wt. !! From
|-

Former players

• Margo Dydek
  Margo Dydek
  Małgorzata Dydek , known as Margo Dydek in the United States, was a Polish international professional basketball player. Standing tall, she was famous for being the tallest active professional female basketball player in the world...
  
  
• Marie Ferdinand-Harris, now a member of the Phoenix Mercury
  Phoenix Mercury
  The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...
  
  
• Kristen Rasmussen
  Kristen Rasmussen
  Kristen Rasmussen is a professional basketball player in the WNBA, currently playing for CSS LMK BC Sepsi of Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania....
  
  
• Olympia Scott
  Olympia Scott
  Olympia Scott, formerly known under her married name of Olympia Scott-Richardson, is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA a former college coach and the co-founder, President & CEO of Super Parenting LLC and A Wonderful Life! Coaching....
  
  
• Natalie Williams
  Natalie Williams
  Natalie Williams was a professional basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
  
  
• Fran Harris
  Fran Harris
  Fran Harris is an American television host and former professional basketball player. She is currently the host of Home Rules, a television series on HGTV.-Early life and education:...
  
  
• Erin Alexander

Head coaches

• Denise Taylor (1997–1998)
• Frank Layden (1998–1999)
• Fred Williams (1999–2001)
• Candi Harvey (2001–2002)

Draft Picks

Current WNBA players are in italics.

• 1997 Elite Draft: Dena Head (1), Wendy Palmer (9)
• 1997 WNBA Draft: Tammi Reiss (5), Jessie Hicks (12), Raegan Scott (21), Kim Williams (28)
• 1998 WNBA Draft: Margo Dydek (1), Olympia Scott (11), LaTonya Johnson (21), Tricia Bader (31)
• 1999 WNBA Draft: Natalie Williams (3), Debbie Black (15), Adrienne Goodson (27), Dalma Ivanyi (39)
• 2000 WNBA Draft: Naomi Mulitauaopele (12), Stacy Frese (35), Kristen Rasmussen (51)
• 2001 WNBA Draft: Marie Ferdinand (8), Michaela Pavlickova (24), Shea Ralph (40), Cara Consuegra (56)
• 2002 WNBA Draft: Danielle Crockrom (11), Andrea Gardner (27), Edmarie Lumbsley (43), Jaclyn Winfield (59)

All-Stars

• 1999: Natalie Williams
• 2000: Natalie Williams
• 2001: Natalie Williams
• 2002: Marie Ferdinand, Adrienne Goodson