If Sheryl Swoopes isn’t among the half-dozen most influential women’s basketball players who ever lived, you’d have a tough time explaining why and how.
Her career suggests otherwise. There are so many facets and factors about her time in basketball that elevate her to a special class, and a good starting point is her name. It’s perfect.
Swoopes … rhymes with hoops.
Swoopes … as in, a graceful and forceful move toward the rim that results in two points, something she was rather adept at doing.
In college and the pros and on the international level, which is the basketball trifecta, Swoopes won just about every award and championship there is to be won. She was an excellent player who drew crowds and admirers, won championships and influenced a generation of girls and young women to get involved in the game.
She was considered the Michael Jordan of the women’s game, high praise for any player. Her profile grew large enough for her to become the first female player to get her own shoe. Made by Nike, the Air Swoopes model, legend has it, was even worn by boys.
“I have accomplished everything I set out to accomplish when I first started playing the sport at 7, and probably even more,” she once said. “But I didn’t grow up thinking, ‘oh, maybe someday I’m going to have a shoe named after me.’ “
She came along at the right time, too, just as the women’s NCAA tournament, the WNBA and women’s Olympic basketball began to tap into the mainstream and get TV time. Aside from her catchy name, Swoopes had a style that was both entertaining and fundamental … she was easy to emulate, yet hard to duplicate.
She won an NCAA championship by carrying a non-traditional basketball power (Texas Tech, 1993) almost by herself. She was the founding player of the WNBA as she was the first player signed by a league where she eventually became its three-time MVP, won four WNBA titles and three Olympic gold medals. She is also one of the Top 20 @ 20 WNBA players ever, a list of the who’s who of the league.
Those are the credentials that made her nomination to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a layup.
“I could not be more excited and honored,” Swoopes said. “God has blessed me tremendously and I am so grateful to be joining such an amazing group of people that I can call ‘family.’ “
Swoopes was raised by a single mother in Brownfield, a small Texas town, where she followed her brothers to the basketball court. After a two-year stint in junior college, she went to Texas Tech and shortly thereafter took the college game by storm.
“It doesn’t matter how good I was,” she said. “It was always, ‘You’re a girl. You can’t play with the guys.’ It has always been motivation for me.”
Her 1993 season was magical and one of the best by any basketball player of either gender. She was named the college player of the year, averaged 35.4 points in the NCAA tournament and scored 47 in the championship game. By then, she’d become a highlight show and was among the handful of women who enjoyed widespread national glow. It was that name ? Swoopes ? and that style which generated respect.
She wasn’t blessed with great size (6 feet), speed or strength and others were more naturally gifted. However, Swoopes had enough of everything — along with the ability to dribble and shoot — that gave her an edge over most.
She was 26 when the WNBA began, and with her cache from college and international play, she became one of the faces of the league and handed the major responsibility of helping the women’s game grow domestically. Until then, most players made their money in Europe; now they had another option and opportunity.
Swoopes was a hit instantly. She helped the Houston Comets win the inaugural WNBA championship while giving birth to her son during the season. Swoopes had impact on both ends of the floor, too, in the WNBA.
Not only was she a three-time scoring champion, she was also a three-time defensive player of the year. Plus, she was a five-time all-WNBA first team selection and six-time All-Star.
Swoopes was among the league’s best players well into her mid-30s, and she played in the WNBA until she was 40. By then, she’d already left her footprint, which was sizable, undeniable and in the form of her own shoe.
Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here or follow him on Twitter.
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