Tina Thompson

Tina Marie Thompson (born February 10, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) is a professional basketball player in the WNBA.

chool years

Thompson graduated from Morningside High School in Inglewood, California, followed by the University of Southern California in 1997.

WNBA career

Thompson became a member of the Houston Comets dynasty that won four consecutive WNBA championships from 1997-2000. She was selected #1 overall in round 1 of the 1997 WNBA draft. Thompson is a five-time All-Star, winning MVP honors at the 2000 All-Star Game. She led all Western Conference players in All-Star voting in 2001. Thompson has 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 is the WNBA's second all-time leading scorer behind Lisa Leslie. Thompson scored 28 points in a loss to the New York Liberty on June 5, 2008, becoming the second player to reach the milestone of 5,000 points in the WNBA.

International career

Thompson was an alternate for the 2000 Olympic squad. Thompson is a current member of the U.S. womens basketball team and she earned a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games: Beijing 2008. She was named to the '98 and 2002 USA World Championship teams, but injuries kept her from both competitions. She would earn her gold medal in 2004 in Greece.

Thompson has also participated in other professional leagues overseas. Following the 2001 WNBA season, Thompson played for Rovereto Basket in Rovereto, Italy and in 2003 she played for the Kumho Falcons of the Women’s Korea Basketball League (WKBL).

Overseas

*2001-2002: flagicon|Italy Rovereto Basket
*2003: flagicon|South Korea Kumho Falcons
*2006-2007: flagicon|Russia Spartak Moscow Region

Vital statistics

*Position: Forward
*Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
*College: University of Southern California
*Team(s): Houston Comets (WNBA)

Trivia

*Tina grew up playing basketball with her brother TJ and his friends at Robertson Park.
*After giving birth to her first child, a baby boy with NBA player Damon Jones, in May 2005, she returned to the Comets mid-season.
*Recorded more than 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in her high school career.
*Attended the same high school (Morningside, Inglewood, CA) and college (USC) as Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie.
*Has several game-day superstitions, including taking a shower after shootaround, taking a 45-minute nap, wearing lipstick to play every game and dressing in a specific order.
*Also played volleyball in high school.

External links

* [http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/tina_thompson/index.html?nav=page WNBA Player Profile]
* [http://www.usabasketball.com/bioswomen/tina_thompson_bio.html USA Basketball Profile]
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_21634.htm Tina Thompson's U.S. Olympic Team bio]