The Shot: Teresa Weatherspoon's Magical Moment -- Part VI


Part VI: The Shot’s Legacy and Impact

As the WNBA celebrates its 20th season, it is still a shot from season No. 3 that stands above the rest as the top moment in the history of the league.

Breen: That game meant so much because the women needed games like that to fortify their place. They were still struggling to find their place in terms of an American TV audience and games like that can really make a difference, and plays like that can really make a difference. Again, I can remember being thrilled for the league and for the players, that people were talking about the WNBA and just how amazing these women’s basketball players were.

Brown: It was one of those shots that when you look at sports in general, there’s always a hockey play, or Michael Jordan’s famous shot, you have all of these [moments], and I would think that besides Spoon’s play, the one Maya [Moore] did last year, that was one of the most iconic plays for the WNBA in its three-year youthful history.

Maya Moore (current Minnesota Lynx star): It definitely made the half-court shot even more exciting. You’d practice it, like, “Hey, I may need to hit one of these one day.”

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[Making a buzzer-beater in the Finals] is kind of an out-of-body experience. You’re so locked into the moment, and the ball goes in. … Just the eerie silence that was felt after the ball went in. It was kind of like time stood still. I was shocked back into reality when my teammates came and grabbed me. I was just kind of in shock in the moment. You go from such an intense time in the game to – it’s over. It’s over and it’s time to move on and celebrate the victory.

The WNBA has had a handful of signature moments – tipping off the opening game, Lisa Leslie with the first dunk in league history, Riquna Williams with the first 50-point game to break the long-standing scoring record by Diana Taurasi and Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird with “Showtime” passes in the WNBA All-Star Game, Sheryl Swoopes with the league’s first triple-double, Playoff and Finals buzzer-beaters that won games (Maya Moore, Sophia Young) and clinched titles (Nikki Teasley, Deanna Nolan) – but none measure up to Weatherspoon’s miraculous shot.

Lisa Borders, WNBA President: What I think it demonstrates is the remarkable talent of our players dating back to September 4, 1999. As we celebrate 20 years of talents, it’s remarkable to look back and see what actually happened on that day 17 years ago. It speaks to the talent of the day but also the potential for talent for the future. I don’t think that anyone else has hit that shot that far away at that critical juncture. You have to have the talent to do it, but also the talent to do it under pressure.

Ackerman: For me, that was a Top 5 moment. I’d put alongside it the first game, another thing in the summer of ‘99 – the first WNBA All-Star Game in New York. We had Whitney Houston sing the national anthem and it was electrifying. We had her up on the court surrounded by a bunch of young girls and it was one of the most amazing renditions I‘ve ever seen and the game itself was memorable, too. Announcing the league in April of ’97 was a high. Lisa’s first dunk in the WNBA, which was an important moment for the league. Houston’s first championship, which was incredible because it was a full house in Houston and they were such an incredible team led by the Big Three of Sheryl, Tina and Cynthia. Those were the kind of moments that defined the league early on.

It speaks to the talent of the day but also the potential for talent for the future. I don’t think that anyone else has hit that shot that far away at that critical juncture. — WNBA President Lisa Borders

Thompson: I don’t know, that’s kind of a hard question for me. It’s not a memorable moment for me because it wasn’t in my favor – it’s not something that I would pick as one of the best moments in my WNBA experience. I would assume that it’s a big moment for the league because of the significance of it, the crowd reaction, the fact that the Compaq Center was so packed and it just kind of shows the history of the WNBA. But when Liberty fans and fans on social media show the shot or @ me on the shot, I’ll just respond with a championship trophy or my ring or something.

I remember a couple of people posted the video or “Do you remember this moment?” or kind of gloating about being a Liberty fan, which I think is awesome, but I’m like, “The reality trumps everything.” It’s fun and definitely being that the Comets are no longer in existence, it gives people a look into the history. …. Those moments are always great from a reflection type of standpoint, but from a personal standpoint I’m like, “Uh, screw that shot.”

Borders: There are two different reactions, one inside and one outside. Inside the league, there’s a full appreciation for the talent, the precision, the focus that it takes to make a shot like that. We have more information and we are certainly more aware of what it takes to do that. From the outside perspective, it offers one of those memorable moments when people can say, “Where were you when this happened? Were you aware that this happened?” Because there’s a question about the level of talent in our league, and this is what I would call a proof point.

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Ackerman: There was an ad campaign all keyed off of Spoon, people imitating Spoon taking the shot, different baskets of all kinds, people in different basketball settings imitating the shot — that was kind of the lynchpin of the spot. It’s a bunch of cool shots of people taking the shot and then falling to their knees when they make the shot. I don’t remember what our tag was that year, but we tried to keep it going by carrying that moment into the ad campaign for the next year.

Adubato: You don’t know how many people who watched it think we won the championship on that shot. With the way the whole thing went, the way we went crazy, come out, and the way they were so down.

But I don’t tell anybody when they say, “Well, when you won that championship against Houston, what a shot that was that Spoon made.” I just say, “Yeah, how do you like it even though the confetti was coming down?” That’s what I say.

To me it’s a message: With 2.4 seconds to go, it’s a message that says to never give up. It’s never over until it’s over. You have to press forward and find a way. — Teresa Weatherspoon

Brown: Take the shot 10 more times and I don’t know if it would go in again. She was in the moment. And it could not have happened to a fiercer competitor. … For her to say, “It ain’t over, I’m going to do all that I can to force this into a Game 3,” it was amazing. It was an amazing moment for the Liberty, for the league and from just a standpoint of competition.

Tamika Catchings (current Indiana Fever star): That shot itself was unexpected, but that’s why we play. You play for the moments like that, you play for the exciting shots like that. T-Spoon [is] one of my favorites of all time, being able to watch as a youngster, but then having an opportunity to get to know her as a person. So I think it’s one thing when you watch shots on TV and you aspire to be in those shoes of whoever you’re watching, but it puts everything in perspective when you get to know them off the court. Having an opportunity to play in the league as long as I have, she’s one of the reasons this opportunity is here for me.

Charles: When I got back to New York — around 5th grade — is when I started following the New York Liberty very hard. When you heard Teresa Weatherspoon’s name, that shot followed. It shows the heart of a champion. That’s Teresa Weatherspoon.

Weatherspoon: When people continue to talk about The Shot and can tell me where they were when The Shot happened, what they were doing — my hometown of 882 people, they all ran out just to celebrate together — to me it’s a message: With 2.4 seconds to go, it’s a message that says to never give up. It’s never over until it’s over. You have to press forward and find a way. And that’s what we did.

WNBA.com’s Brian Kotloff, Anthony Oliva and Jack Maloney contributed to this report.