The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a professional basketball league in the United States. It is currently composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All Star game being played midway through the season in July and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October. Starting in 2020, a midseason tournament, the Commissioner's Cup, will be added. Initially, regular-season Cup games were to be played through early July, followed by a final match in August; however, this schedule is subject to change due to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual as the most performing player in an entire league, for a particular competition, or on a specific team. Initially used in professional sports, the term is now also commonly used in amateur sports, as well as in other completely unrelated fields such as business and music. In many sports, MVP awards are presented for a specific match—in other words, a player of the match award.

Toni Kukoč is a Croatian former professional basketball player who is currently Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of the first established European stars to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996.

Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin is an American television basketball analyst and former women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the center position for much of her career. Lobo played college basketball at the University of Connecticut, where she was a member of the team that won the 1995 national championship, going 35–0 on the season in the process. Lobo was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In April 2017, she was announced as one of the members of the 2017 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Tracy McGrady and Muffet McGraw.

Teresa Gaye Weatherspoon is a retired American basketball player who played for the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and served as the head basketball coach of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Weatherspoon was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. In 2016, Weatherspoon was chosen to the WNBA Top 20@20, a list of the league's best 20 players ever in celebration of the WNBA's twentieth anniversary.

The Serbia national basketball team represents Serbia in international basketball competition and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked sixth in the FIBA World Rankings.

Marlou Bucao Aquino is a Filipino professional basketball player who currently plays for Bacoor City Strikers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). During his prime he was known by fans as "The Skyscraper" and was, along with Dennis Espino, one-half of the so-called "Twin Towers" of the now-disbanded Sta. Lucia Realtors.

Tiit Sokk is a retired Estonian professional basketball player and the current coach of the Estonian national basketball team. Often cited as one of the very best European point guards of his generation, he is widely recognised as the greatest Estonian basketball player in history. In August 2011, Sokk was inducted into the Estonian Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Navy Midshipmen men's basketball team represents the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland, in NCAA Division I college basketball. The team competes in the Patriot League and plays its home games in Alumni Hall.

The 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1998 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament whose finals were held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Kentucky Wildcats earned their seventh national championship by defeating the Utah Utes 78–69 on March 30, 1998. They were coached by Tubby Smith and the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Jeff Shepherd.

The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament whose finals were held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Arizona Wildcats earned their first national championship by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 84–79 on March 31, 1997. They were coached by Lute Olsen and the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player was Arizona's Miles Simon.

The 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament whose finals were held at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Kentucky Wildcats earned their sixth national championship by defeating the Syracuse Orangemen 76–67 on April 1, 1996. They were coached by Rick Pitino and the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Tony Delk.