Swoopes, Sheryl (1971-…), is one of the greatest players in basketball history. As a 6-foot (183-centimeter) tall guard-forward, she became known for both strong offensive and defensive play. She won many individual awards and helped lead championship teams at the high school, university, professional, and international levels.
Sheryl Denise Swoopes was born in Brownfield, Texas, on March 25, 1971. She started playing basketball with her brothers and joined a children’s league around age 7. She led her team at Brownfield High School to a state championship in 1988. Swoopes attended South Plains Junior College, in Levelland, for two years. She then transferred to Texas Tech University, where she was twice named to All-America teams. She led Texas Tech to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title in 1993.
In 1996, Swoopes played on the United States team that won a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games. She became the first player to sign a contract with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in January 1997. She was assigned to the WNBA Houston Comets before the start of league play in 1997. Swoopes, with fellow stars Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson, helped the Comets capture the league’s first four championships. Swoopes won the WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2000, 2002, and 2005. She won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2000, 2002, and 2003. In 1999, she became the first WNBA player to record a triple-double, tallying double figures in points, rebounds, and assists.
Swoopes missed the 2001 season after suffering a knee injury. In 2005, she became the first player with a triple-double in a WNBA playoff game. Swoopes won additional gold medals with United States teams in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. She also played for professional teams in Italy, Russia, and Greece. She joined the WNBA’s Seattle Storm for the 2008 season and played her last professional season, in 2011, for the Tulsa Shock. Swoopes later coached teams in high school and college. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
