This second entry in our new NBA Tuesday miniseries looks at the second season of the WNBA, where two new teams joined the fray (Detroit Shock, Washington Mystics). The league also added 2 games to the regular-season schedule, so it was now a 30-game slate for the league. The playoffs also expanded in terms of moving away from the single-elimination format of the first season. All in all, it was a success, for sure.

1998 WNBA MVP: Cynthia Cooper, G, Houston (original, confirmed)

In a season where the teams played 30 games, Houston Comets guard Cynthia Cooper somehow accrued 10.0 Win Shares—which is like an NBA player putting up 27.3 Win Shares. No one else in the league managed more than 6.0 WS, so she won the MVP vote at the time, and we’re going to confirm it without a lot of discussion. It was a historic season that easily left everyone else in the 10-team league far behind.

1998 WNBA ROTY: Tracy Reid, F, Charlotte (original); Michelle Brogan, F, Phoenix (revised)

We have two candidates for this award: Charlotte Sting forward Tracy Reid (3.6 WS) and Phoenix Mercury F Michelle Brogan (4.0). Reid won the vote, and Brogan didn’t get a single ballot in her favor. Both teams improved three wins from the season before, although Phoenix finished one game better in the standings with 19 victories. But Brogan was second on her team in WS, while Reid was third on her team. That matters.

1998 WNBA DPOY: Teresa Witherspoon, G, New York (original); Cindy Brown, F, Detroit (revised)

New York Liberty guard Teresa Witherspoon (2.7 defensive Win Shares) won her second straight vote for this award; she did top the WNBA in DWS, but three other players also reached the 2.5 DWS threshold. Two of them played for Houston, so this comes down to Witherspoon and Detroit Shock F Cindy Brown (2.6). Both teams missed the postseason, and the Liberty were not an expansion team like the Shock. Hmmm.

1998 WNBA FINALS MVP: Cooper (original, confirmed)

The league got some better playoffs in Year 2, staging best-of-three semifinals and a best-of-three final. The Comets eliminated the Sting with a sweep in the semis before beating the Mercury in Game 3 of the Finals. We’re giving the nod to Cooper again: she played 39.6 mpg in the five postseason contests, scoring 25.8 ppg while adding 4.4 apg and 1.8 spg—at age 35, no less.