Tina Thompson
(Born 1975)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2018
Card Shown:
1999 Skybox Hoops WNBA
Position: F
Height: 6’2″
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Tina Thompson grew up dreaming of going to Harvard University and later becoming a lawyer. Instead, due to her tremendous basketball talents, she ended up starring at the University of Southern California (USC) before beginning a seventeen-year career in the WNBA. Tina believes in hard work and credits her basketball success to that hard work.
In college, Tina led USC to a 77-37 record and three NCAA tournament appearances. She went on to star in the Olympics and to have a long and illustrious career in the WNBA. After her retirement as a player, Thompson became an assistant coach and then a head coach at the college level.
Awards and Honors
- Tina was selected as a WNBA All-Star nine times during her NBA career. She was chosen seven times as a member of the Houston Comets and once each while she played for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Seattle Storm. Thompson received the 2000 WNBA All-Star Most Valuable Player Award.
- The Big Three, Thompson, Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper, led the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA Championships from 1997-2000.
- Tina retired from the WNBA in 2013 as its all-time leading scorer with 7,488 career points. She also finished her career third all-time in rebounds with 3,070.
- Thompson was recognized with All-WNBA First Team honors three times and All-WNBA Second Team honors five times during her career.
- Tina helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the Olympics in 2004 in Athens, Greece and again in 2008 in Beijing, China.
Points of Interest
- Tina was the first overall selection in the first WNBA draft.
- Thompson was the first player to be named an All-Star in three different decades. Her first selection was in 1999 and her final all-star selection took place in 2013.
- Tina finished her long and storied WNBA career with averages of 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
- Thompson was honored as a member of the WNBA All-Decade Team in 2006, the Top 15 Players of All-Time in 2011, and the Top 20@20 in 2016. She is one of the greatest women’s players to ever play the game of basketball.
- In 2018, Tina accepted her first head coaching position at the University of Virginia, where she will lead the Cavaliers.
Statistics
Tina Thompson Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com