With two fewer teams, two of the biggest names in the game back on the court and five head coaching changes, the WNBA's seventh season promises plenty of change.

After the Miami and Portland franchises folded, the league now consists of 14 teams. Utah moved to San Antonio, and Orlando is now in Connecticut -- with Nykesha Sales and Rebecca Lobo once again playing in front of the Husky Nation.

But of course, some things remain the same. Los Angeles and Houston have combined to win each of the league's first six crowns and are again the frontrunners for this summer's championship.

A look at some of the storylines around the league as we count down to season No. 7:

Return of the legends
Two of the game's greatest will be back on the hardwood this summer as Cynthia Cooper comes out of retirement and Teresa Edwards makes her WNBA debut.

Cooper, who helped Houston take home the league's first four titles, retired after the 2000 season, then coached one year in Phoenix. The 40-year-old won three scoring titles and two most valuable player trophies. Everybody's anxious to see what Cooper can do, and even if she's not quite as good as before, Cooper will no doubt have a Michael Jordan-like effect on the Comets.

Edwards, 38, is a five-time Olympian who hasn't played in a U.S. pro league since the ABL disbanded. But America has been deprived of watching one of the greatest players of all time all these years, and I'm thrilled that she's back. Minnesota needed a point guard couldn't have gotten a better floor leader. Edwards' experience and knowledge are unsurpassed, and she immediately will take her teammates' games to a different level.

West still best
Like the NBA, the best teams in the WNBA are in the Western Conference. Two-time defending champion Los Angeles is still the favorite, but Houston, which won the first four titles in league history, is a close second. Sacramento, Seattle and San Antonio aren't far behind.

As much as Houston fans are happy to see the Big Three -- Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson -- back together again, Cooper's return probably gives Los Angeles even more incentive to try and threepeat. When the Sparks won their first WNBA title two years ago, critics said it wouldn't have happened if Cooper hadn't retired and if Swoopes hadn't missed the 2001 season with a torn ACL. Now L.A. has the chance to prove the skeptics wrong.

Not bigger, but better
Whereas expansion can dilute the talent pool, subtraction makes everybody a little bit better. And with two fewer WNBA teams this summer, the league won't have to spread the wealth as much as in past seasons. In 2003, everybody's rosters should be stronger and everybody's bench should be a little bit deeper, with some big-name players coming off the bench.

A few of the inaugural franchises, such as Detroit and Phoenix, don't have a single player left from the team's original roster in 1997. But season No. 7 will feature the best talent this league has ever had. And we already are anxiously awaiting next year's rookie class, which will include college standouts such as Diana Taurasi, Alana Beard, Nicole Powell, Kelly Mazzante and Lindsay Whalen.

Two-player race
The MVP award will probably go to either Sheryl Swoopes or Lisa Leslie, depending on how much and how far each player carries her team. Leslie is the best post in the world, and she redefines what the position means in women's basketball. She is so skilled and so mentally tough.

The all-everything Swoopes was great last year in her first season back from a torn ACL and will probably be even more impressive this summer. There aren't many players who are quicker with the basketball than she is. She's clutch, very deceptive and incredibly intelligent at both ends of the floor. Swoopes' scoring average, however, might dip a bit this season with Cooper back.

More preseason ponderings
Cleveland's LaToya Thomas, the No. 1 draft pick, and Sacramento's Chantelle Anderson will probably content for the league's top rookie honors. Thomas, however, will probably see a lot more minutes and is the preseason favorite.

All the usual suspects -- including Swoopes, Leslie, Katie Smith, Chamique Holdsclaw and Tamika Catchings -- should vie for the scoring title this season. But another name that might be near the top is guard Tamicha Jackson. She's going to need to score close to 20 points a night for Phoenix. And Holdsclaw will continue to score a lot of points for the high-scoring Mystics.

Of the league's premier players, Catchings is probably the one I'd most expect to take her game to another level, perhaps even adding three or four points to her scoring average.

In the West, Los Angeles is the favorite, and the rest of the conference might end up with Houston in second and Sacramento at third, followed by San Antonio, Seattle, Minnesota and Phoenix. Indiana is the favorite in the East, followed by New York, Washington, Charlotte, Connecticut, Cleveland and Detroit.

Thanks for the memories
While we welcome Cooper and Edwards back to the game, we also must say goodbye to some greats as at least four well-known and accomplished players have retired.

Washington will miss Vicky Bullett, who was a steady and tremendous contributor to the game on and off the court. Michelle Marciniak had an up-and-down career at times but worked hard and reinvented her game to become a legitimate pro before leaving for South Carolina, where she'll be an assistant coach.

Tammy Jackson never played a lot of minutes in Houston, but Van Chancellor had to have her on his team and she was invaluable. Jackson came up big in big games and her teammates have championship rings because of her efforts.

Fans at Madison Square Garden will surely miss Sue Wicks, who always did all the unnoticed but necessary things that never show up in the box score. She showed up mentally and physically prepared night in and night out, is one of the league's top rebounders, picked up more charges and irritated more players than anybody in the league. She was the sort of player you hated to play against but loved as long as she was on your team.

Nancy Lieberman, an ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. Contact her at www.nancylieberman.com.