WNBA
Tina Thompson wrote this blog post on her WNBA Draft experience for the Huffington Post.
I wish I could actually start this blog describing my emotions of how nervous and anxious I was in anticipation of my name being called and placed on the Draft board. Um, not so much!
The WNBA has come a long way since then, to say the least. My Draft Day experience was just a little different from what you all see on television today. There was no nervousness, very little anxiety and no anticipation. I actually knew I was going No. 1 overall and so did everyone else participating in the Draft; no uncertainty in any of our futures. This was all possible in large part to our Draft being what was referred to at that time as a Mock Draft. Therefore, any emotion you saw, credit my acting skills. How did I do? No Academy Award, but I think I did a pretty good job of looking surprised.
My decision to play in the WNBA had more drama than my Draft Day itself. I was very unsure whether the WNBA was my future or not. I had just graduated from college. I was in the middle of taking an LSAT prep class in hopes of getting into a top law school. Then there was the other league, the ABL (American Basketball League), referred to by most as the “players” league. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Too many decisions for a kid right out of college.
So there I was with a clear plan of what my future would look like. I had prepared most of my life to get to this point. And in a matter of days it was turned upside down. What I remember most from this experience is my cell phone ringing in the middle of my evening LSAT class and me struggling to stop it from ringing in the midst of sheer embarrassment! Everyone I knew was aware I was in class studying, so why is my phone ringing? I didn’t recognize the number at all; it would have to wait at least until class was over.
On the walk back to campus I listened to my voicemail; there was a message from a lady by the name of Renee Brown (WNBA Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations). She was calling to inform me that the WNBA was inviting me to play in their league. I have to admit — I listened to the message at least five times! Was she sure? Did she have the right number? Did she say Tina Thompson? Dude, was I stoked!
Category : Blog
The Seattle Storm has signed forward Tina Thompson, the all-time leading scorer in the history of the WNBA, Storm Head Coach and General Manager Brian Agler announced today. The team has also re-signed Ewelina Kobryn. A reserved player, Kobryn signed the team’s qualifying offer and has been added to the Storm’s training camp roster. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Thompson, who spent the previous three years with the Los Angeles Sparks, finished the 2011 season with 6,751 points over 15 seasons. With her addition, the Storm boasts the top three active WNBA players in career scoring, as veteran Katie Smith stands at No. 2 with 6,015 points and Lauren Jackson is No. 3 with 5,915. Along with former L.A. center Lisa Leslie, the Storm’s trio makes up three of the four leading scorers in league history.
Thompson was selected by Houston with the No. 1 overall pick in the inaugural WNBA Draft in 1997. She played 12 years with the Comets, leading the team to an unprecedented four WNBA championships, before the team disbanded. Thompson was acquired by the Los Angeles Sparks when she became a free agent in 2009.
An eight-time All-Star and three-time All-WNBA First Team selection, Thompson was recognized as one of the WNBA’s Top 15 Players of All-Time in 2011. She teamed with Storm veteran Sue Bird to lead the USA National Team to Olympic gold medals in the 2004 and 2008 Games.
“I couldn’t be more excited at the opportunity to coach Tina,” Agler said. “I’ve been coaching against her for more than a decade and I sure prefer having her on my side.”
“Adding a player of Tina Thompson’s experience and championship caliber further complements our vision of building a championship team,” Storm CEO and President Karen Bryant added. “She knows what it takes to win a championship.”
Thompson joins newly acquired Ann Wauters (2000), Jackson (2001) and Bird (2002) as the fourth No. 1 pick to play for the Storm. Never before has a WNBA team had more than three No. 1 overall picks at the same time. Previously, Seimone Augustus (2006), Lindsey Harding (2007) and LaToya Thomas (2003) played together for the Minnesota Lynx in 2008.
Kobryn, a 6-4 forward/center from Poland, played in 18 games for the Storm last season after joining the team in late June.
Seattle previously re-signed veteran starters Bird and Tanisha Wright to multi-year contracts and added Wauters, a former All-Star center, as a free agent.
The Storm opens the 2012 season by hosting the Los Angeles Sparks on May 18 at KeyArena.
Category : Blog
From ESPNLA.com
It goes without saying Tina Thompson is a women’s basketball icon. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, she has been a member of the league since the 1997 inaugural season. But she’s also a Los Angeles basketball icon. The Culver City resident was slated to attend Palisades High School, but the desire to play elite basketball prompted a transfer to the famed Morningside High School in Inglewood. (“When I tell you they’re worlds apart,” says Thompson of the schools and the demographics, “they’re worlds apart.”) She enjoyed a storied career — right on the heels of fellow legend Lisa Leslie — after which she graduated as the 1993 California AAA Player of the Year, with over 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in her pocket. At USC, teamed with Leslie for one campaign, her four seasons concluded with her as the fourth-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder in Pac-10 history.
Most strikingly, Thompson learned the game as a kid on the courts at Robertson Park in West L.A. For most elite ballers, this process represents a rite of passage rather than a particularly unique step. For a girl, it’s teeth cut the hard way. She first arrived at 10 years old and wasn’t even allowed run in the actual gym for a few years. From there, even more respect had to be earned, whether absorbing the physical play of a man or simply convincing them she was worth guarding. It wasn’t easy, but that experience made Thompson a tougher, confident player by the time she began carving out a place in the record books.
“Who I was as a basketball player happened way before I came to Morningside,” explains Thompson of her years at Robertson Park. “I pretty much knew who I was.”
Category : Blog
Congrats to Tina Thompson, Yolanda Griffith and the rest of the WNBA greats for being selected to the WNBA’s 15th Anniversary Team. The WNBA’s 15th anniversary team recognized the Top 15 players over the course of the WNBA’s 15 year history.
Category : Blog
