San Antonio Silver Stars

The San Antonio Silver Stars are a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Charlotte, North Carolina and they were one of the eight original teams that began to see action in 1997.

Formerly the sister organization of the Charlotte Hornets, Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, purchased the team in January 2003, shortly after he was announced as the principal owner of an NBA expansion franchise that was later named the Charlotte Bobcats. Johnson changed the Sting team colors from the Hornets' teal and purple to the Bobcats' blue and orange in 2004. They are the sister team to the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Sting will move into the Bobcats' new home, Charlotte Bobcats Arena, in 2006. It was speculated that they might get a new name, but a newly released mascot following the same Sting theme makes that speculation unlikely.

Uniforms:

* 2004 - Present: on the road, orange with blue trim, Sting logo text on the chest. At home, white with orange trim. Sting logo mascot on the shorts
* 1997 - 2003: on the road, light blue with white and purple trim, Sting logo text on the chest. At home, white with blue and purple trim. Sting logo mascot on the shorts.

Franchise history

In addition to being one of the first WNBA franchises, the San Antonio Silver Stars have also been one of the most successful. In their first three seasons of existence, they made the playoffs each year. In 1999, with the folding of the ABL, the Sting added former ABL guard Dawn Staley to an already impressive roster that featured Vicky Bullett and Andrea Stinson.

After a disappointing season in 2000 in which they failed to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, they made one of the most unexpected comebacks in professional sports history during the 2001 season as they rebounded from a 1-10 starting to make the playoffs with a win-loss record of 18-14. They capped off the 2001 season with an appearance in the WNBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Silver Stars.

After another playoff appearance in 2002, the team was bought by Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert L. Johnson in 2003. The 2003 season saw yet another playoff appearance for the venerable Sting. However, in 2004, the team made several key roster additions to its established group of veterans. After trading Kelly Miller to the San Antonio Silver Stars in exchange for the 3rd overall pick in the WNBA Draft, the Sting drafted Stanford University standout Nicole Powell. The Sting made four picks overall - including the second round pick of Penn State standout Kelly Mazzante.

While they did not make the playoffs in the 2004 season, the Sting continued to build for the future - trading with the San Antonio Silver Stars for Tangela Smith and a second-round draft pick in the 2006 draft in a deal that saw Nicole Powell traded to Sacramento. Having won the first pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft, the Sting selected University of Minnesota Golden Gophers player Janel McCarville. The team missed the playoffs for a second straight season in 2005 and finished the regular season with league's worst record. [2] The season was notable as they traded Sting veteran Dawn Staley to the Houston Comets and named Charlotte basketball icon Muggsy Bogues as their new head coach late in the season. The season also saw the team play its last game in the Charlotte Coliseum, the team's home arena since 1997.