She had played against some of the best American players, but rarely with them.On April 24, 1996, the WNBA was officially founded after the NBA Board of Governors approved it as the premier women's professional basketball league in the U.S. The inaugural WNBA season officially kicked off on June 21, 1997.Wicks, 59, tells PEOPLE the first game back in the United States was "quite emotional.""I grew up in New York as a New York Knicks fan, watched the games, and then, I'm standing there, I'm in Madison Square Garden with my national anthem playing, playing with the best American players, the best players in the world on my team, on my home court with my family in the stands.

There couldn't have been a more homecoming moment for me," Wicks says.Sue Wicks playing for the New York Liberty in 2001Credit: Ray Amati/NBAE via GettyShe remembers having her hand on her heart during the national anthem and crying. "It was so emotional. Every game that season was like that.

It didn't stop. It was again and again and again how important and meaningful it was to be attached to a city that feels like your city in your home and playing in front of your people," Wicks shares. "I was there in my own uniform with my name on the back, New York Liberty on the front, hearing my national anthem, and having a locker room there.

The impact of that, I can't underestimate," Wicks shares.Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The WNBA All-Star shares that she and the other players knew the weight of what they were doing and the history they were making. "We had the weight on our shoulders of knowing that this league had to survive, and had to ensure that we made a connection with fans, and we made a product that was worth watching. We come from a generation that lost leagues, which went bankrupt and dissolved.

We felt like this was our chance," Wicks says. Every game, they had to put everything they had into the game and even give back to the fans who showed up to support them. "Those first years in New York, Madison Square Garden was a scene.

It was on fire. People would come for that type of show that we were putting on," Wicks shares. After the game, the team would meet fans and sign autographs.

"After the games, we'd walk out the front door and sign autographs. 18,000 people attended the game, and many stayed for an autograph. You weren't going to get your meal after the game for quite a while. Your family's gonna stand there and wait for you because it is absolutely positive," Wicks shares."We had to cultivate and build every part of it, and that fan base we gave back to them.

The New York Liberty is very unique in that our fan base, which is the centerpiece of this, is still with us 30 years later," Wicks recalls. She shares that she has such a maternal feeling toward the players, but also holds them in such high esteem because "they've evolved into a different type of female athlete, the type of female athlete that just did this collective bargaining agreement and asked for things that we wouldn't have had the ability to ask for."Wicks has had a front-row seat to seeing how much the league has changed and evolved, and how much the players have been able to advocate for change in the league and beyond.

"They have changed and evolved and know their worth. This is an evolution of women athletes: they are asking for more, giving more, and seeing what they have created. It's transformed into something so beautiful that there's been a cultural change in America as well that was necessary to happen to support women athletes that really didn't exist when we started," Wicks shares.

On the league's 30th anniversary, reflecting on it, Wicks says, "Sometimes I pinch myself." "I can't believe what I'm seeing. These girls get to perform in front of these crowds.

Watching that and how they come into your home and into your life and the charisma, the fun, how they are household names, it's rewarding," Wicks shares. She applauded the league's growth and the players' strength and activism in securing the collective bargaining agreement, which includes revenue sharing, increasing the salary cap and raising minimum salaries. "Now we have a platform, now we have a breed of players that ha