Tina Thompson

Tina Thompson is a retired professional American basketball player. She is a Basketball Hall of Famer, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and a four-time WNBA champion. She is currently the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers.

Thompson was born on February 10, 1975 in Los Angeles, California. She has an older brother, Tommy Thompson, Jr. She graduated from Morningside High School in Inglewood, California (the same high school which Lisa Leslie attended). She recorded more than 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in her high school career. Thompson attended the University of Southern California, where she graduated in 1997, with a degree in sociology with a minor in psychology.

In her basketball career, Thompson was selected to the 1997 Kodak District VIII All-American Team as well as the All Pac-10 First Team and was a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year in 1997. She finished her career as the Pac-10’s third leading scorer (2,248 points) and its second leading rebounder (1,168).

Tina was the #1 overall pick in the first round of the 1997 WNBA draft, by the Houston Comets. In her long and distinguished career, she has acquired numerous awards and accolades. She is a four-time All-Star, winning MVP honors at the 2000 All-Star Game. She led all Western Conference players in All-Star voting in 2001. She was 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. When she scored 28 points in a loss to the New York Liberty on June 5, 2008, she became the second player to reach the milestone of 5,000 points in the WNBA.

Thompson was an alternate for the 2000 Olympic squad. 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. Following the 2001 WNBA season, Thompson played for Rovereto Basket in Rovereto, Italy. In 2003, she played for the Kumho Falcons of the Women

She became pregnant with her first child in May and had a slow return in the 2005 Season. She was back to peak condition in 2006 and scored career-high points. After the 2011 Season, Thompson became an unrestricted free agent and joined the Seattle Storm.

She was the first WNBA player to reach a milestone of 7,000 points and 3,000 rebounds on August 17, 2013. She announced her retirement and played her last match in the 2013 WNBA Playoffs second game.

She joined the University of Texas Lady Longhorns as assistant coach on March 18, 2015. She became the Associate Head Coach after two years. On April 16, 2018, she became the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers.

Career Accomplishments:

• Gold medal, 2004 Athens Olympic Games
• Gold medal, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
• Gold medal, 1998 Germany World Cup
• Bronze medal, 2006 Brazil World Cup
• Silver medal, 1995 Universiade
• Gold medal, 1996 Jones Cup
• 4-time WNBA champion (1997–2000)
• 9-time WNBA All-Star (1999–2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013)
• WNBA All-Star Game MVP (2000)
• 3-time All-WNBA First Team (1997, 1998, 2004)
• 4-time All-WNBA Second Team (1999–2002)
• WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time (2011)
• WNBA Top 20@20 (2016)
• Member of WNBA All-Decade Team
• Russian National League champion (2007)
• EuroLeague champion (2007)
• Romanian National League champion (2010)]