The Cleveland Rockers were a

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) team based in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which started in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. The owner was

Gordon Gund Gordon Gund (born October 15, 1939) is an American businessman and professional sports owner. He is the CEO of Gund Investment Corporation. He is the former co-owner of the San Jose Sharks (National Hockey League) from 1992 to 2002, former princi ...

, who at the time also owned the NBA's

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. 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 was not able to find new ownership for the team.

History

The city of

was granted one of the original 8 franchises of the WNBA in October 1996. The Cleveland Rockers got their nickname from Cleveland's

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

. In 1997, they started with such players like

Isabelle Fijalkowski Isabelle Alice Fijalkowski (born 23 May 1972 in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme), now Isabelle Fijalkowski-Tournebize, is a retired French basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, oppos ...

and former

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

member

Lynette Woodard Lynette Woodard (born August 12, 1959) is an American basketball player and former head women's basketball coach at Winthrop University. Woodward played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks. She became the first female member of the Harle ...

, who had been the first female player in Globetrotter history. The Rockers finished 15–13 in the first WNBA season ever, missing the playoffs in 1997. In 1998, the Rockers went 20–10 and won the Eastern Conference title. However, the Rockers lost to the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

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 The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team disbanded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization ...

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 The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

, 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 A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...

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 The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

ceased operations because of lack of ownership.

Potential revival

In 2025, it was reported that the Rockers would possibly return in 2028 as an expansion franchise.

Season-by-season records

Hall of famers

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

FIBA Hall of Famers

Coaches and others

Head coaches: *

Linda Hill-MacDonald Linda Hill-MacDonald (born August 21, 1948) is an American former women's basketball coach. Career She was head coach at Fredonia from 2013 to 2018 and at the University at Buffalo from 2005 to 2012. She was also head coach at Temple University ...

(1997–1999) * Dan Hughes (2000–2003) General Managers: *

Wayne Embry Wayne Richard Embry (born March 26, 1937) is an American former professional basketball player and basketball executive. Embry's 11-year playing career as a center spanned from 1958 to 1969 playing for the Cincinnati Royals, Boston Celtics and M ...

(1997–99) *

Jim Paxson James Joseph Paxson Jr. (born July 9, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. A 1st round selection (12th pick overall) of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1979 NBA draft, Paxson played for Portland and the Boston Celtics o ...

Assistant coaches * Mike Wilhelm (1997–99) * Lisa Boyer (1998-2002) *

Cheryl Reeve Cheryl Reeve (born September 20, 1966) is an American basketball head coach and President of Basketball Operations for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA. Reeve has coached the Lynx to four league championshi ...

(2003)

References

{{Authority control Defunct Women's National Basketball Association teams Basketball teams established in 1997 Basketball teams disestablished in 2003 1997 establishments in Ohio 2003 disestablishments in Ohio