The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Cleveland, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started play in 1997. The owner, Gordon Gund, also owned the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers at the time. In October 2003, Gund announced that his Gund Arena Company would no longer operate the Rockers. The team folded after the 2003 season as the league could not find it new ownership.

History The city of Cleveland was granted one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA in October 1996. The Cleveland Rockers got their nickname from Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1997, they started with players Isabelle Fijalkowski and former Harlem Globetrotters member Lynette Woodard, who had been the first female player in Globetrotter history.

The Rockers finished 15–13 in the inaugural 1997 WNBA season, missing the playoffs. In 1998, the Rockers went 20–10 and won the Eastern Conference title. However, the Rockers lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA semifinals (before the WNBA split the playoffs by conference).

The Rockers had their best regular season in 2001, going 22–10 and winning the Eastern Conference, getting the No. 1 seed. Their relentless defense allowed just 55.9 points per game that year, a record that still stands. But the Rockers would be upended by the Charlotte Sting in the 1st round, losing 2 games to 1. The 2002 Rockers fell by 12 games over the previous year's mark, posting a 10–22 record. In 2003, the Rockers would go 17–17, good enough for the No. 4 seed in the East; however, they would fall in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Detroit Shock, 2–1. 2003 was the Rockers' last playoff appearance, and is the only team in the WNBA to qualify for the playoffs in their last season of play.

Folding After the 2002 season, the Gunds decided to buy the Rockers from the WNBA, seemingly ensuring the Rockers' future. However, despite fielding competitive teams and having decent attendance for most games, the Gund family decided they did not wish to operate the Rockers after the 2003 season, citing a lack of revenue and lackluster attendance. No local ownership was found for the team, forcing the Rockers to fold in December 2003, and the players went to the other teams in the league via a dispersal draft in January 2004. The Rockers ceased operation after seven seasons, posting an all-time record of 108–112. A WNBA franchise would next fold in 2008 when the Houston Comets ceased operations because of lack of ownership.

Return of WNBA basketball to Cleveland

WNBA basketball returned to Cleveland when the WNBA announced in 2025 that the state had been awarded an expansion franchise to begin play in the 2028 WNBA season. In 2026, the team's name for the new franchise became the Cleveland Sirens.

Season-by-season records +Overview of Cleveland Rockers seasonsSeasonTeamConferenceRegular seasonPlayoff results Head coach 1997 1997East 4th 15 13 .536 Linda Hill-MacDonald 1998 1998East 1st 20 10 .667 Lost WNBA Semifinals (Phoenix, 1–2) Linda Hill-MacDonald 1999 1999East 6th 7 25 .219 Linda Hill-MacDonald 2000 2000East 2nd 17 15 .531 Won Conference Semifinals (Orlando, 2–1) Lost Conference Finals (New York, 1–2) Dan Hughes 2001 2001East 1st 22 10 .688 Lost Conference Semifinals (Charlotte, 1–2) Dan Hughes 2002 2002East 7th 10 22 .313 Dan Hughes 2003 2003East 4th 17 17 .500 Lost Conference Semifinals (Detroit, 1–2) Dan HughesRegular Season108112.491 0 Conference ChampionshipsPlayoffs69.400 0 WNBA Championships

Hall of famers

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Cleveland Rockers Hall of Famers No. Name Position Tenure Inducted 4 Suzie McConnell-Serio G 1998-2000 2008 44 Michelle Edwards G 1997-2000 2014

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Cleveland Rockers Hall of Famers No. Name Position Tenure Inducted 8 Lynette Woodard G 1997 2004

FIBA Hall of Famers Cleveland Rockers Hall of Famers No. Name Position Tenure Inducted 13 Isabelle Fijalkowski PF 1997–1998 2020

Coaches and others Head coaches: Linda Hill-MacDonald (1997–1999) Dan Hughes (2000–2003)

General Managers: Wayne Embry (1997–99) Jim Paxson

Assistant coaches Mike Wilhelm (1997–99) Lisa Boyer (1998-2002) Cheryl Reeve (2003)

References