Tina Thompson, WNBA And International Star

By Janet Webster: SPM AZ Writer
Posted Monday, August 25, 2008

ABOVE: Tina Thompson with USA Basketball in 2007. BELOW: Thompson watches from the bench during a USA Basketball exhibition against Australia; Thompson with son Dyllan post-game. File photos by Tara Polen.

Tina Thompson has had a basketball career that most girls can only dream about. Little did she know, at the age of nine, that the pick up games she played outside a local recreation center near her Los Angeles, California home would open the doors of the world. At the time she just wanted to open the doors of the recreation center and play basketball with the boys. The boys eventually came to respect Tina’s game and invited her inside to play.

Thompson went on to play organized basketball at Morningside High School in Los Angeles and, in 1993, was named the California AAA Player of the Year. Following the path of another Morningside High School basketball alumna, Lisa Leslie, Thompson accepted a basketball scholarship at the University of Southern California. At USC, Thompson received several recognitions, including 1994 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and an Associated Press All-American second-team selection in 1997.

When Thompson started her senior year at USC in the fall of 1996, a lot of exciting things were happening in women’s basketball in the United States. Fueled by the USA National Team gold medal in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, interest in women’s basketball was at an all-time high, and another pathway in Thompson’s basketball experience was emerging.

On April 24, 1996 the NBA Board of Governors approved the creation of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) to begin play in June 1997. Thompson became an instant trivia question answer as she was selected as the league's first overall collegiate draft pick, going to the Houston Comets. In her eleven years of experience playing with the Comets, she has won four WNBA championships and leads the Comets in the majority of statistical accomplishments including career points (5,261) and rebounds (2,155).

Playing in the WNBA, Thompson quickly established herself among the elite. Her WNBA credits include the following:

WNBA All- Star Games: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2007
(She won game MVP in 2000, but was injured for the 2003 and 2006 seasons). She was also a member of WNBA All-Star Teams in 1997 and 1998 that toured Europe and Brazil, respectively.)

All-WNBA First Team: 1997, 1998

All-WNBA Second Team: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002

WNBA Titles: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000

WNBA All-Decade Team

A personal highlight for Thompson was the birth of her son, Dyllan, in May 2005. The birth delayed the start of the WNBA season for Thompson, but she came back to play in the final 15 games of the year. Dyllan has traveled with his mother throughout all of her basketball ventures since his birth.

During the WNBA offseason, Thompson has played professionally in the NWBL league with the Houston Stealth and overseas in Italy, Korea, and Russia. In 2007 and 2008, Tina’s Russian team, Spartak Moscow, won both the EuroLeague and the Russia Super League titles. Thompson was named EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2007.

Thompson was also introduced to the USA National team and international exposure during her collegiate years, first playing on the Junior (Under 18) National Team and then graduating to the Senior National Team. Playing with USA basketball has sent Thompson around the world, to Australia, Brazil, Italy, Chile, Greece, Israel, Slovakia, Hungary, France, and China.

With eleven years of WNBA experience and exposure at the international level, Thompson has become a fan favorite. Fans admire her on-court skills and enjoy her positive and upbeat personality.

SPM had a chance to talk with Thompson about her experiences and her expectation for the Olympics.

SPM: As far as your game in concerned, what you do think is your greatest strength?

TT: "I think it might be my versatility, being able to play kind of inside as well as out. Players are getting a lot taller these days. At one point I was considered to be tall. We would run out and I would be at the back of my team. Now I am probably like the sixth person out. It has changed a lot but I think my versatility has allowed me to be successful in this league."

SPM: You have been in the WNBA since the inaugural year, what changes have you seen in the league since the beginning?

TT: "Well, I think youth. When we started the WNBA and we were very mature in our inaugural season in 1997. There were very few younger players coming straight out of college and making an impact on their teams. There were a lot of veteran players on the teams that were building the stage or the foundation for right now. Although I was there at that time, I mean I was straight out of college, my true rookie season in the sense that it was my first year playing professionally. Although I did make an impact it just wasn’t very common for young players to actually be starting and being part of their team, winning and contributing in that way. You have players now like Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter coming right out of college and making an impact on their team. This season you have Candace Parker and the girls in her class that are making an impact straight out of college. I think that the evolution of the game has changed so that the girls in college and even before that have something to work for. So getting to the WNBA through college they are ready to play. So they have taken women’s basketball to another level, not that it wasn’t very high already. It’s just a bigger pool. A lot of very, very talented players and now they have a stage to actually move on professionally to show off their talent."

SPM: You have a young son who seems very well rounded and acclimated to your basketball schedule. How difficult is it to be a mother in this league or as a professional basketball player?

TT: "It is very difficult. For the most part, Dyllan as well as my mom travels and goes with me wherever, so it is very rare that I am traveling alone. I don’t get much rest but that is part of the job. It is not something I would ever complain about at all. I am very happy for him being here and being a part of my life. It’s the best thing probably that has happened to me. I think that him being so great and adjusting more to the environment more so than me changing my pattern is the best thing. I mean he gets up and goes whether we are flying to a different country or whether we have delays on a WNBA trip. It doesn’t matter. He enjoys being at the game and he’s totally a trooper. I think that if at any point it was difficult for him, or he kind of didn’t adjust well, it would be a bigger problem. But he kept on going [and that's] the best thing."

SPM: You are a veteran of USA Basketball. What do you think the National Team needs to do to bring home the Gold Medal?

TT: "I think we need to take advantage of the extremely talented players that we have. I mean, we have a very talented inside as well as outside game, and I think if we play together, which we always do, then we’ll be successful. Defensively, I know, is something we will focus on because teams in the European countries as well as the Asian countries have gotten better. They have gotten better offensively and they play a style we are not used to. They do a lot of driving and kicking, just kind of different aspects or styles of the game that we don’t necessarily use all the time here that we just kind of need to capitalize on defensively. I think our offense will come."

SPM: How difficult is it to being playing with your WNBA team, then stop, and two weeks later be playing with a new team, with a different style and different rules, and against teams from around the world?

TT: "I think with the players who are actually going to the Olympics it’s probably going to be a little easier. Although all of my teammates would like to rest and hang out a little, having that kind of break and then have to play at a high level, to me, would be a little tougher. Our team is very familiar with each other. We’ve played with each other whether it be abroad or with USA basketball. Some of us play on the same [WNBA] teams with one another. Diana and Cappie play in Phoenix together. Candace [Parker], Lisa [Leslie], and DeLisha [Milton-Jones] play together in LA. I think that definitely has an impact on how we play, but our focus is so intense and so trained that we have one goal and that is to get the gold medal. It is get the gold medal or failure. So that attitude, instantly, makes us a cohesive group."

SPM: What was it like playing overseas in Russia in the WNBA off-season with Diana Taurasi?

TT: "Oh, it’s great. Any time you get to play with a player of Diana’s caliber it’s always great. She makes the game so easy. The main thing is that she is so awesome offensively. She could probably shoot the ball or create a shot at any point but I think one of the aspects of her game that people overlook is that she is an awesome passer. Probably one of the best passers in this game, but she plays so well offensively that that overshadows that part of her game. But I think her passing ability is underrated. She is an extreme student of the game. She not only knows how to get her shot, she creates opportunities for her teammates. Any time you play with a player like that it is great."

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