Uncovering the Next Generation's Hall of Fame
The Best WNBA Players who Debuted in the 1997 Season
The following list of WNBA players made their debut in the 1997 season, ranked according to their Legends Score, which is a simple measure of a player's individual career accolades (a minimum of 1 point is required to make the list). Tap on other column headers to sort by name or position.
| ⇦ 1996 | 1998 ⇨ |
| Player | Primary Teams | Position | Status | Legends Score |
| Lisa Leslie |  | C |  | 141 |
| Sheryl Swoopes |  | F-G | | 85 |
| Cynthia Cooper | | G | | 78 |
| Tina Thompson |  | F | | 50 |
| Teresa Weatherspoon |  | G | | 25 |
| Jennifer Gillom |  | F-C | Eligible 2009 | 16 |
| Andrea Stinson |  | G | Eligible 2011 | 16 |
| Merlakia Jones |  | G | Eligible 2010 | 8 |
| Eva Nemcova | | F | Eligible 2007 | 8 |
| Ruthie Bolton |  | G | Eligible 2010 | 7 |
| Mwadi Mabika | | G | Eligible 2014 | 7 |
| Tamecka Dixon | | G | Eligible 2015 | 6 |
| Janeth Arcain | | G | Eligible 2011 | 6 |
| Rebecca Lobo | | C | | 4 |
| Wendy Palmer |   | F | Eligible 2013 | 4 |
| Michele Timms | | G | | 3 |
| Elena Baranova |  | F | Eligible 2011 | 3 |
| Kim Perrot | Eligible 2004 | 2 | ||
| Vickie Johnson | | Eligible 2015 | 2 |