Rebecca Lobo pulled her flimsy headphones over her ears and pressed play on her Walkman on the bus ride over to the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif. 

It was June 21, 1997. 

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Lobo had spent months promoting this new U.S. women’s basketball league. On her way to the arena, she passed a massive billboard with her face on it alongside Lisa Leslie’s and the tagline: “We got next.” 

Now, it was finally time for the fun part: the game.