Hall Of Famer Tina Thompson: By The Numbers


WNBA legend Tina Thompson is set to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. We celebrate her incredible WNBA career with 10 key numbers to remember.

1 – Thompson was the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural WNBA Draft in 1997 by the Houston Comets following a successful collegiate career as the University of Southern California.

2 – Thompson is currently the second-leading scorer in WNBA history with 7,488 career points. She finished her career in first place, but was passed by Diana Taurasi in 2017. Thompson is also the fourth-leading rebounder in league history with 3,070 boards during her career.

3 – She played for three franchises in her 17-year WNBA career. She played her first 12 seasons with the Houston Comets (1997-2008) before joining her hometown Los Angeles Sparks for three seasons (2009-2011) and finally closing out her career with the Seattle Storm (2012-2013).

4 – Thompson won the first four WNBA championships with the Houston Comets (1997-2000) as she was part of the WNBA’s first big three alongside Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes. The Comets were the league’s first dynasty and set the bar for team excellence. It wasn’t until 2017 that a franchise was able to match Houston’s four titles. However, no team has come close to matching Houston’s four in a row. The 2001-02 Los Angeles Sparks are the only other team to ever win back-to-back titles in the WNBA.

8 – She was selected to eight All-WNBA Teams during her career with three First Team honors (1997, 1998, 2004) and five Second Team selections (1999–2002, 2007)

9 – Thompson was selected to nine WNBA All-Star Games (1999–2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013) and was named All-Star MVP in 2000. Her final All-Star nod in 2013 made Thompson the first and only player to be named an All-Star in three different decades.

20 – She averaged a career-best 20.0 points per game in 2004 as she tied for third in league MVP voting behind winner Lisa Leslie and runner-up Lauren Jackson.

10/15/20 – Thompson was a member of the WNBA All-Decade Team (2006), Top 15 Players of All-Time (2011) and Top 20@20 (2016) as they honored the best players in league history after 10, 15 and 20 years, respectively.

496 – She played in 496 games during the regular season (third-most all-time behind Sue Bird and DeLisha Milton-Jones) as well as 47 playoff games.

2004/2008 – Thompson is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist as she help USA Basketball win gold at the 2004 Games in Athens and 2008 Games in Beijing. She also won gold in the FIBA World Cup in 1998 and bronze in 2006.

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