Tina Marie Thompson was born on February 10,1975 and is an American former WNBA professional basketball player and coach.
28 Facts About Tina Thompson
2.
The first college draft pick in WNBA history, Tina Thompson was selected first by the Houston Comets.
3.
Tina Thompson helped lead the Comets to four consecutive WNBA Championships in 1997,1998,1999, and 2000.
4.
Tina Thompson won two Olympic gold medals and made nine WNBA All-Star Game appearances.
5.
Tina Thompson grew up playing basketball with her brother TJ and his friends at Robertson Park in West Los Angeles, California.
6.
Tina Thompson recorded more than 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in her high school career at Morningside High School in Inglewood, California, where she played volleyball.
7.
Tina Thompson then went on to play basketball at the University of Southern California, where she graduated in 1997.
8.
Tina Thompson attended both high school and college with fellow WNBA player Lisa Leslie.
9.
Tina Thompson represented the US at the 1995 World University Games held in Fukuoka, Japan, in August and September 1995.
10.
Tina Thompson averaged 9.9 points per game and was second on the team with 7.3 rebounds per game.
11.
Tina Thompson was invited to be a member of the Jones Cup team representing the US in 1996.
12.
Tina Thompson averaged 9.6 points per game and 6.2 rebounds, both second highest on the team.
13.
Tina Thompson was selected to be a member of the National team for 1998 World Championships, but was injured and unable to compete.
14.
Tina Thompson was named to the national team representing the US at the 2006 World Championships, held in Barueri and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
15.
Tina Thompson played for Team USA in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, winning two Olympic gold medals with the team.
16.
Tina Thompson was selected No 1 overall in the first round of the inaugural 1997 WNBA draft by the Houston Comets.
17.
In 2006, Tina Thompson returned to peak condition, averaging 18.7 ppg and scored a career-high 37 points in a triple-overtime loss to the Phoenix Mercury.
18.
An unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2011 season, Tina Thompson signed with the Seattle Storm on February 27,2012, to fill gaps left by Australia's Lauren Jackson, concurrent her commitment to the Australian national team for the 2012 Olympics, and small forward Swin Cash, who was traded to the Chicago Sky as part of a package deal for the second-overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft.
19.
On May 31,2013, Tina Thompson announced that she would retire from the WNBA at the end of the 2013 season.
20.
Tina Thompson was selected to the 2013 WNBA All-Star Game to replace an injured Brittney Griner.
21.
In 2016, Tina Thompson was again honored by the WNBA, being named in the WNBA Top 20@20 in celebration of the league's twentieth anniversary.
22.
On March 31,2018, Tina Thompson was named to the 2018 class of inductees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
23.
Tina Thompson was a member of the US women's basketball team and she earned a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games: Beijing 2008.
24.
Tina Thompson was named to the 1998 and 2002 USA World Championship teams, but injuries kept her from both competitions.
25.
Tina Thompson earned her gold medal in 2004 in Greece.
26.
On March 18,2015, the University of Texas at Austin athletic department announced Tina Thompson's hire as an assistant coach for the Longhorn women's basketball team, beginning her collegiate coaching career.
27.
Two years later, Tina Thompson was promoted to Associate Head Coach with the Lady Longhorns.
28.
Tina Thompson was hired by the first African American female athletics director of any power conference university, Carla Williams.