2000

The 2000 season is when the individual honors began rolling in for Swoopes. She won the first of her three Most Valuable Player awards, the first of her three Defensive Player of the Year awards and the first of her two scoring titles as she dominated the game on both ends of the floor like few players ever have.

Swoopes finished the season as the league-leader in points (20.7) and steals (2.8) to go with 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists (8th in the league) and 1.1 blocks (tied for 9th in the league). Her 32.05 PER is the sixth-highest mark in the history of the WNBA.

For the first time in league history, the Comets did not finish the season with the league’s best record as their 27-5 mark was bested by the L.A. Sparks at 28-4. However, when the two teams met in the Western Conference Finals, the Comets once again swept the Sparks to advance to the Finals, where they met the New York Liberty for the third time in four years.

The Comets swept the Liberty, 2-0, behind a 31-point performance from Swoopes in the championship-clinching game, to complete a 6-0 run through the WNBA playoffs en route to their fourth straight WNBA title.

As if winning MVP, DPOY and a fourth straight WNBA title weren’t enough for the year 2000, Swoopes added a second Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Sydney, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the gold medal game against the host Australia.

2001-2002

After tearing the ACL in her left knee during a workout and missing the entire 2001 WNBA season, Swoopes came back with a vengeance the following season.

She averaged 18.5 points per game (3rd in the league), 2.8 steals (2nd in the league), 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 0.7 blocks in 36.1 minutes per game (4th in the league). Those numbers added up to her second Most Valuable Player and second Defensive Player of the Year awards at the end of the season.

“Never did I think I’d be able to come back this season and accomplish the things I’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time,” Swoopes said after winning MVP honors. “I thought it would take me a full season to come back and be at 100 percent.”

“This award is probably a little more special than the first one for the simple fact of me [being] able to come back in the year’s time and be standing here with the MVP award,” Swoopes added.

Swoopes was the leading vote-getter in the 2002 WNBA All-Star Game and led the Comets to the playoffs for the sixth straight year. Houston was eliminated by Utah in the first round.

2003-2004

In 2003, Swoopes would win her third Defensive Player of the Year award and second straight after leading the WNBA with 2.5 steals per game and maintaining her reputation as the premier perimeter defender in the game. The Comets advanced to the playoffs for the seventh straight year, but once again were knocked out in the first round, this time by the Sacramento Monarchs in three games.

In 2004, Houston’s playoff streak came to an end as they finished with a 13-21 record. Swoopes averaged 14.8 points and 1.5 steals — her lowest marks in those categories since her rookie season when she played limited minutes in nine games after returning from pregnancy.

While she did not find success in the WNBA that season, she did earn her third gold medal as the United States defeated Australia in the gold medal game of the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Swoopes averaged 9.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.4 steals while starting all eight games in her final Olympic appearance.