37 Facts About Sheryl Swoopes

Sheryl Denise Swoopes was born on March 25,1971 and is an American former professional basketball player.

Sheryl Swoopes was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game.

Sheryl Swoopes was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Sheryl Swoopes began competing at age seven in a local children's league called Little Dribblers.

In 1993, Sheryl Swoopes won the NCAA women's basketball championship with the Texas Tech Lady Raiders during her senior season.

Sheryl Swoopes's jersey was retired by the school the following year, making her one of only three Lady Raiders to be honored in this way.

Sheryl Swoopes set the record for the most field goals in the championship game with 16.

Sheryl Swoopes was the 1993 winner of the Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Honda Sports Award, was selected as that year's WBCA Player of the Year, and was chosen to the Division I All-American squad in both 1992 and 1993.

Sheryl Swoopes was named the 1993 Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation.

Sheryl Swoopes was named to the USA national team and competed in the 1994 World Championships, held in June 1994 in Sydney, Australia.

Sheryl Swoopes averaged 9.1 points per game, while recording seven steals, second highest on the team.

Sheryl Swoopes was selected to represent the US at the 1995 USA Women's Pan American Games, but only four teams committed to participate, so the event was cancelled.

Sheryl Swoopes continued as a member of the USA team at the 1996 Olympics, held in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2002, Sheryl Swoopes was named to the national team which competed in the World Championships in Zhangjiagang, Changzhou, and Nanjing, China.

Sheryl Swoopes scored 16.9 points per game, second highest on the team and recorded a team-high 24 steals.

Sheryl Swoopes was named to the National Team representing the US at the 2006 World Championships, held in Barueri and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Sheryl Swoopes, hampered by injuries, averaged 3.0 points per game and was second on the team with six blocks.

Sheryl Swoopes was recruited for the Houston Comets of the WNBA during the 1997 inaugural season.

Sheryl Swoopes returned only six weeks after giving birth to her son to play the last third of the WNBA inaugural season and led the Comets in the 1997 WNBA Championship.

Sheryl Swoopes's extraordinary scoring and defensive ability made her the first three-time WNBA MVP and the first three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Sheryl Swoopes is the second player in WNBA history to win both the regular season MVP award and the All-Star Game MVP award in the same season.

Sheryl Swoopes is the first player in WNBA history to record a triple-double in both the regular season and the playoffs.

Sheryl Swoopes gained national prominence when she won the gold medal with the USA Basketball Women's National Team at the 1996 Olympic Games and became a focal point of the fledgling WNBA.

Sheryl Swoopes is the first women's basketball player to have a Nike shoe named after her: the "Air Sheryl Swoopes".

On March 3,2008, Sheryl Swoopes signed with the Seattle Storm, ending her 11-year career with the Houston Comets.

Sheryl Swoopes was waived by the Storm on February 3,2009.

Two days after her 40th birthday in 2011, sources for the Associated Press claimed that Sheryl Swoopes was preparing to return to the WNBA in anticipation of an official signing announcement from the Tulsa Shock.

Sheryl Swoopes became an unrestricted free agent after the 2011 season: Tulsa Shock owner Steve Swetoha announced on 15 February 2012 that the team did not intend to offer Sheryl Swoopes a new contract.

Sheryl Swoopes mentored the San Francisco Rockdogs, a gay basketball team, and shared her experiences on basketball, family, faith, and coming out.

In 2010, Sheryl Swoopes was an assistant basketball coach at Mercer Island High School in Washington.

In 2013, Sheryl Swoopes became head coach of the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball team.

In July 2017, Sheryl Swoopes returned to her alma mater, Texas Tech, hired as the women's basketball program's Director of Player Development, where her job included resuming work as broadcast color analysis for Lady Raiders games.

In October 2005, Sheryl Swoopes announced she was gay, becoming one of the highest-profile athletes in a team sport to do so publicly.

Later that year, Sheryl Swoopes got engaged to Chris Unclesho, a longtime male friend; the couple wed after a long engagement on July 21,2017.

Sheryl Swoopes won the female Associated Press Athlete of the Year award in 1993.

Sheryl Swoopes was named one of the 20 female athletes of the decade for 2000 to 2010 by Sports Illustrated.

Sheryl Swoopes was named an LGBT History Month Icon by the Equality Forum.