Way back in 1997, Tina was the first "ever" pick in the WNBA. She signed with the Houston Comets and now, seventeen years later, she will be retiring as the last remaining player from that inaugural season and as the WNBA's all-time leading scorer.
Tina Thompson
"I never expected to keep playing this long in the WNBA. My initial goal was
to come in and play a few years and save a little money so that I wouldn’t have
any student loans and I would be able to pay for law school, and kind of go on
to the career that I started out initially. And here I am 17 years later, being
the only person from the original season, so it’s been a great ride.”
LB: Tina won four WNBA championships with the Comets and several were at the expense of the Sparks. Man, they had some great battles over the years and Tina and Lisa Leslie always seemed to be right in the thick of the action.
TT: “They were pretty intense. But considering the roster and the players that they had on their team, we wouldn’t have expected anything different than that. I
think that the reason why the intensity was so high was that Lisa and I played
against each other and we approached the game in the same way. We were both confident professionals and unbelievable competitors. We kind of had the same expectations from the
personality perspective or a mental game perspective. So knowing that I’m not going to expect her to
play less than her best and she knowing the same thing about me, theres a
battle to be had, and its something that I looked forward to and I know that
she looked forward to as well, it’s just who we are, and I respect it.”
LB: Ironically, when the Comets' franchise folded, Tina signed a free agent deal to join Lisa and the Sparks in 2009. It was a homecoming for the former Morningside High School and USC star.
TT: "That was just a blessing to be able to come back home. I think being able to come back home was really like coming full circle for me. I grew up in Los Angeles, so being able to come home and play in front of my family friends meant so much. They had seen me early in my basketball career so they really enjoyed that. I would also have to say playing with Lisa, at any point, to know that we had such a great chemistry playing in college and USA basketball, being able to play with her in her final season was a highlight as well. Of course it didn’t go the way we intended or wanted it to go, but the opportunity itself was great.”
TT: "That was just a blessing to be able to come back home. I think being able to come back home was really like coming full circle for me. I grew up in Los Angeles, so being able to come home and play in front of my family friends meant so much. They had seen me early in my basketball career so they really enjoyed that. I would also have to say playing with Lisa, at any point, to know that we had such a great chemistry playing in college and USA basketball, being able to play with her in her final season was a highlight as well. Of course it didn’t go the way we intended or wanted it to go, but the opportunity itself was great.”
What was the highlight of Tina Thomspon's WNBA career?
Which players had the biggest impact on her game?
Find out in my next blog here on larrybmedia.com
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