Sheryl Swoopes' Hall of Fame Career in Photos
Tue, Sep 6, 2016, 8:49 PM
As she becomes the fourth WNBA player ever to enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, take a look through the best images of four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes’ career.
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- Swoopes poses with Lisa Leslie and Rebecca Lobo as the first three players signed to the WNBA.
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- The Original Three re-creates their iconic picture 20 years later, at WNBA Draft 2016 in Connecticut.
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- Swoopes, Lobo and Leslie pose at the initial player allocation draft in New Jersey on January 22, 1997.
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- Swoopes, pictured here with Michael Jordan in 1996, was called the MJ of the women’s game and became the first women’s basketball player with her own shoe, the “Air Swoopes.”
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- Swoopes and other WNBA stars in front of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro during the 1997 Brazil Tour.
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- Swoopes celebrates with her Comets teammates after Houston captured the first WNBA title in 1997.
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- Swoopes cuts down the net after the Comets repeated in 1998.
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- Houston’s Big Three of Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson and Swoopes celebrate their third straight championship in 1999.
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- Swoopes rejoices after the Comets completed a four-peat in 2000.
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- Swoopes holds up the 2000 WNBA championship trophy.
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- Swoopes celebrates during the 2000 WNBA Finals.
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- Swoopes shoots during the first-ever WNBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden on July 14, 1999.
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- In addition to her storied WNBA career, Swoopes boasts an extensive international resume that includes three Olympic gold medals (1996, 2000, 2004).
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- Swoopes holds up the gold medal her and the U.S. Women’s National Team captured at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
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- Swoopes raises the second of her three WNBA MVP trophies on August 20, 2002. After returning from a knee injury that cost her the 2001 season, she averaged 18.5 points and 2.8 steals per game, also taking home Defensive Player of the Year honors.
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- In her fifth of six All-Star appearances, Swoopes took home MVP honors at the 2005 All-Star Game — during a season in which she won her second scoring title.
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- Swoopes captured 2005 MVP honors after averaging a league-best 18.6 points and a career-high 4.3 assists.
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- Following an injury-plagued 2007, Swoopes signed with the Storm as a free agent in 2008. Seattle’s star-studded lineup featuring fellow Top 20@20 selections Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Yolanda Griffith fell short in the first round of the playoffs that season.
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- After a two-year hiatus from the WNBA, Swoopes returned to the league at the age of 40 when she signed with the Tulsa Shock in March of 2011.
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- Swoopes with fellow Class of 2016 inductee Shaquille O’Neal after the two were selected for Hall of Fame enshrinement.
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