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Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971 in Brownfield, Texas) is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Houston Comets in the WNBA. After winning the 1993 NCAA women's basketball title with Texas Tech, she gained national prominence when she won the gold medal with the USA Women's Basketball Team at the 1996 Olympic Games.
She is one of the most decorated female athletes in recent memory. She has won a collegiate national title, is a three-time Olympic gold medalist (1996, 2000, 2004) and a four-time WNBA champion (1997 - 2000). As a member of the Houston Comets, she has accumulated over 2,000 career points, 500 career rebounds, 300 career assists and 200 career steals.
Her scoring and defensive ability have helped her become a three-time WNBA MVP (2000, 2002, 2005) and a three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2000, 2002, 2003). Swoopes's contributions to women's basketball as well as her tough play through injury have her generally considered to be one of the best female basketball players of all time. She is also the first women's basketball player to have a Nike shoe named after her: the "Air Swoopes".
Early success
A native of Lubbock, Texas, Swoopes was raised by her mother Louise. She would eventually go on to became a star in her native state as a standout player at Texas Tech. She won a national title with the women's basketball team in 1993 during her senior season. Her jersey was retired by the school the following year.
Swoopes's college career translated to success as a professional basketball player both internationally and in America. She won a gold medal with the United States Women's Basketball team during the 1996 Summer Olympics and became a focal point of the fledgling Women's National Basketball Association. Although she was assigned to the Houston Comets of the WNBA, Swoopes was unable to play during the inaugural WNBA season due to her pregnancy. Despite this, her Houston Comets team went on to win a WNBA Championship in 1997.
Later success and possible retirement
Swoopes had what may be the best year of her career in 2000. After winning a second straight gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics, she went on to win her first WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and her first WNBA Most Valuable Player Award. Swoopes capped off her season by winning her fourth consecutive WNBA Championship with the Comets.
Although she won her second Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in 2002 and her third Defensive Player of the Year award in 2003, nagging injuries plagued Swoopes in the seasons following her fourth championship win. She won a third gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics but was said to have contemplated retiring after the 2004 WNBA season.
Despite these setbacks, Swoopes persisted and returned for the 2005 WNBA season. On July 9, 2005 she won the WNBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award, an award she shared with her son Jordan. She also won the 2005 WNBA Most Valuable Player Award in a narrow win over Lauren Jackson. Swoopes set a WNBA record with this third career win of the MVP award. The win also made her the second player in WNBA history to win both the regular season MVP award and the All-Star Game MVP award in the same season. The first player to accomplish this is Lisa Leslie. During this season, she led the WNBA in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game and made the All-WNBA First Team as a forward for the first time in her career.
Personal life
Swoopes has a young boy named Jordan, named after former professional basketball player Michael Jordan.
Swoopes divorced in 1999. She came out of the closet as a lesbian to ESPN The Magazine in October of 2005 . In the piece, she said that the reason for her divorce wasn’t due to her sexuality and that she does not believe people are born homosexual.
Vital statistics
- Position: Forward
- Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
- College: Texas Tech '93
- Team(s): Houston Comets (WNBA), Dallas Fury (NWBL)
References
Template:Naismith Award Winners Women
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