Tina Thompson

Tina Marie Thompson (born February 10, 1975) is an American former WNBA professional basketball player and coach.

Thompson represented the US at the 1995 World University Games held in Fukuoka, Japan, in August and September 1995.

The team had a record of 5–1, securing the silver medal.

The USA team won early and reached a record of 5–0 when the USA beat Yugoslavia.

In the semi-final game, the USA faced Russia.

The team was behind much of the first half but tied the game at the half.

The USA broke the game open in the second half and won, 101–74.

The gold medal match was against unbeaten Italy.

The Italian team started strong, scoring 12 of the first 14 points of the contest.

Sylvia Crawley scored eight consecutive points to end the first half, but that left the USA nine points behind.

The USA took a small lead in the second half, but the team from Italy responded with a ten-point run, and won the game and the gold medal by a score of 73–65.

Thompson averaged 9.9 points per game and was second on the team with 7.3 rebounds per game.

Thompson was invited to be a member of the Jones Cup team representing the US in 1996.

She helped the team to a 9–0 record, and the gold medal in the event.

In the game against Slovakia, which would determine the gold medal, she combined with teammate Michelle M. Marciniak to score 30 points in a game they had to come from behind to win 72–62.

Thompson averaged 9.6 points per game and 6.2 rebounds, both second highest on the team.

She helped lead the Comets to four consecutive WNBA Championships in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.

She won two Olympic gold medals and made nine WNBA All-Star Game appearances.

She then went on to play basketball at the University of Southern California, where she graduated in 1997.

She attended both high school and college with fellow WNBA player Lisa Leslie.

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Thompson was selected No. 1 overall in the first round of the inaugural 1997 WNBA draft by the Houston Comets.

There, she was a member of a dynasty along with Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper that won four consecutive WNBA championships from 1997 to 2000.

Thompson was selected to be a member of the National team for 1998 World Championships, but was injured and unable to compete.

During her stint with the Comets, Thompson had won All-Star MVP honors at the 2000 WNBA All-Star Game, led all Western Conference players in All-Star voting in 2001, had been named to the All-WNBA First Team three times (1997, 1998, 2004) and All-WNBA Second Team four times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002).

Thompson also played for Team USA in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, winning two Olympic gold medals with the team.

Prior to the 2005 season, Thompson had given birth to Dyllan Thompson-Jones, her first child in May, with then NBA player Damon Jones being the biological father; she resumed playing with the Comets two months later.

Following her pregnancy she had a sluggish season in 2005, averaging only 10.1 ppg.

Thompson was named to the national team representing the US at the 2006 World Championships, held in Barueri and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The team won eight of their nine contests, but the lone loss came in the semifinal medal round to Russia.

The USA beat Brazil in the final game to earn the bronze medal.

Thompson led all scorers with 14.4 points per game.

In a game against Russia, she tied a team record by hitting four of four three-point attempts.

Until 2017, she was the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and, as of 2024, she ranks second in WNBA history.

Thompson was born in Los Angeles, California.

She grew up playing basketball with her brother TJ and his friends at Robertson Park in West Los Angeles, California.

She recorded more than 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in her high school career at Morningside High School in Inglewood, California, where she also played volleyball.

Most recently, she served as the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers women's basketball team from 2018 to 2022.

Thompson was inducted into both the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

The first college draft pick in WNBA history, Thompson was selected first by the Houston Comets.